Böcker av Philip Haythornthwaite

A detailed, authoritative single-volume study of the Waterloo armies.

In an age when infantry units manoeuvred and fought in rigid blocks, the idea of encouraging initiative and allowing a unit to 'skirmish' was regarded as revolutionary and fell out of favour in the years following the French-Indian and American Revolutionary wars. It was revived by far-sighted British and foreign-mercenary officers, who observed the way in which French Revolutionary armies deployed skirmishers to prepare the way for their assault columns.Offering a detailed analysis of the tactics, this book is studded with period 'battle descriptions' quoted from eye-witness accounts, creating a comprehensive guide to the Light and Rifles units of Wellington's Light Division. As the result of the first tentative experiments in skirmishing the units achieved an unsurpassed peak of efficiency - they marched faster, were versatile in any sort of tactical situation and could shoot more accurately than either friend or foe. No other national army, either allied or enemy, achieved these standards.

The battle of Borodino was one of the greatest encounters in European history, and one of the largest and most sanguinary in the Napoleonic Wars. This title covers the events of Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 in its entirety, with the set-piece battle of Borodino proving the focal point of the book.

Napoleon's line infantry was founded upon that of the Ancien Régime. A total re-organisation began on 1 January 1791 with the abolition of the old regimental titles, and over the next two years an increasing number of conscript and volunteer battalions were formed. Their quality varied from the proficiency of the early National Guard regiments to the untrained and ill-equipped rabble of the levée. To combine the discipline and steadiness of the regular army with the revolutionary fervour of the new army, the Amalgame was decreed on 21 February; by this measure each regular battalion became the nucleus of a new Demi-Brigade.

Details the uniforms of one of the most skilled and professional navies in the world, the men who swept the seas clean of Britain's enemies. This book covers many of the most famous battles and personalities of that period, as well as the ships, combat and crews.