Book
Review:
Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns
By
Michael Barthorp
Artwork by Gerry Embleton
Napoleon
Bonaparte's move on Egypt was an attempt by the young general
to not only hurt the British empire - and in particular its hold
on India - but also to make sure his name remained in the public
eye.
He
assembled an experienced army, together with a large scientific
expedition, and set about imposing French ways upon Egypt and
Syria.
Unfortunately,
for Bonaparte, the campaign was not a hugely successful one and
while his army won almost all of the battles, he was unable to
complete his conquest.
In
Osprey's Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns 1798-1801, Michael
Barthrop throws readers right into one of the lesser covered
areas of the Napoleonic Wars.
Barthorp
begins with a three-and-a-half page chronology of the campaign
and then details the French, Mameluke, Turkish and British armies'
organisation, campaigns and uniforms into a series of clearly
set out sections.
His
level of detail on both the armies' structure and uniforms is
excellent and it is informative without being a hard read.
For
quick reference there are two large charts with the regimental
facing colours of the Frencha dn british units involved in the
campaign.
There
are 36 black and white pictures of battles, uniforms, equipment
and two small maps. Many of the battle scenes I had not seen before
so that is a bonus.
Gerry
Embleton's eight colour plates are terrific and the associated
uniform details have all the information you'll need to know about
how the soldiers were dressed on the expeditions to Egypt.
If
you are a miniatures buff, or are particularly interested in the
Egypt campaign then Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns 1798-1801
can be highly recommended as a reference work.
-
Richard Moore
8.5/10
