Delving into original sources, including eyewitness accounts and regimental histories known only to German scholars, this book tells the story of the soldiers on the ground: how they were organised and drilled, their previous service; their march to the battlefield; and what they did when they got there.
"The conventional wisdom is that Prussian tactics remained essentially stagnant from the end of Frederick the Great's campaigns in the Seven Year's War until the shocking defeat by a more modern French army at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. Many commentators have claimed that it was only after this that Prussia made the reforms that delivered in 1813-1815, the transformed Army's victories in the Wars of Liberation and at Waterloo. Using close analysis of specific battles, both victories and defeats, this book argues that many of the important tactical reforms were actually part of a continuous process that began far earlier. Covering line infantry, skirmishers and cavalry, from Valmy to Waterloo, the Prussian weapons, drills, battlefield organization and tactics are described and explained clearly, and illustrated by tactical diagrams from contemporary training manuals, as well as colour plates showing detailed troop formations and tactical scenarios"--Page 4 of cover
Histories of the Waterloo campaign and tours of the battlefield generally concentrate on the battle between the armies of Napoleon and Wellington and the role of Blucher's Prussians is left in the background. This account tells how the Prussians advanced towards the battlefield and records the decisive fight that broke out when they arrived.
25 illustrations, 25 maps 6 x 9 Demonstrates the decisive German contribution to victory at Waterloo Unpublished German eyewitness accounts and regimental reports Covers the battles of Waterloo, Wavre and the taking of Paris Peter Hofschrer, in this second volume of his masterly study of 1815, challenges the accepted version of events at the battle of Waterloo. He demonstrtaes convincingly that Allied victory was due not to steadfast British infantry repelling the French, but to the timely arrival of Prussian troops who stole victory from Napoleon and sealed the fate of the last Grande Arme. Drawing on previously unpublished accounts, Hofschrer gives not only the Prussian perspective of their march to Waterloo and decisive attack on Napoleons flank, but also details of the actions fought by some of the 25,000 Germans in Wellingtons British armymore than a third of the Dukes force. A gripping narrative of astonishing detail captures such key episodes of Waterloo as La Haye Sainte, Papelotte, Hougoumont and the Prussian struggle with the Imperial Guard for Plancenoit. In addition, Hofschrer examines the battle at Wavre, the Allied offensive into France, the taking of Paris and the sieges across northern France. 1815: The Waterloo CampaignThe German Victory is a definitive work on an epic confrontation by one of todays leading military writers.
Previously unpublished eyewitness accounts and battle reports German, British, and Dutch archive material published for the first time Controversial reassessment of the whole campaign Here is a unique reassessment of the Hundred Days and a powerful analysis of the epic confrontation at Waterloo. The first of two volumes, this study is a thoroughly researched examination of the opening moves of the campaign from a new perspective based on evidence never before presented to an English-speaking audience. Hofschrer arrives at far-reaching conclusions about the controversial theory that the Duke of Wellington deceived his Prussian alliesand all subsequent historians of the campaign. By presenting events from the perspective of the Germans, the author undermines the traditional view of the campaign as one fought out by the French and the British and reveals the crucial role of troops from Prussia and the German states.
Following the disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon found himself facing a new coalition of his old enemies. With incredible speed he raised an army of 200,000 men and marched to join the remnants of the old Grande Armee in Germany. However, he no longer faced the brittle enemies of 1805 and 1806 and at Lützen on 2 May the inexperience of his new army began to show. Faulty reconnaissance by raw cavalry allowed Ney’s Corps to be surprised by Wittgenstein’s Russians. This book describes the last realistic chance Napoleon had to regain his empire by defeating the allies in Germany before Austria stirred and the tide turned even more against him.
From the back cover: "The extraordinary story of how one man's obsession to build a huge model of Waterloo - the greatest model of the greatest battle of all time - incurred the wrath of the Duke of Wellington."
The battle of Leipzig was, in terms of the number of combatants involved, the largest engagement of the entire Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). It was the only battle of the wars in which all Allied armies (including even the Swedes) fielded troops against Napoleon. Peter Hofschroer looks at the run-up to this crucial encounter as well as the battle itself. A wealth of background information is chronicled, including the strategies of both sides and detailed information on each of the combatant forces. The numerous battles leading up to Leipzig are also discussed, providing a fascinating and illuminating overview of the whole campaign.
When Frederick II (later known as Frederick the Great) came to the throne in 1740, he had three advantages for which he owed thanks to his father: a modern, well-organised state; full coffers; and a properly trained and equipped army. Under a leader as renowned as Seydlitz, the Prussian cavalry achieved the nearest to a state of perfection that it was ever going to. So great was its reputation in the Seven Years' War that Napoleon made a special point of warning his men at the beginning of the 1806 campaign to beware of the Prussian cavalry.
After Prussia's dismemberment a drastic re-organisation of the entire army was necessary, and the cavalry underwent this process with the rest. At the time of the mobilisation in 1813, the somewhat reduced mounted arm was supplemented by voluntary and militia formations; and once peace was established after the First Abdication, a further re-organisation was begun. The fateful campaign of 1815 was fought with the Prussian cavalry still in the throes of this re-organisation. Packed with diagrams, illustrations and eight full page colour plates by Bryan Fosten, this book by Peter Hofschröer details the history, organisation, equipment and uniforms of the Prussian cavalry which fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
