|
Books > History > European history > 1750 to 1900
The purpose of this book is to produce what is essentially a 'home
front' study of Ireland during the Crimean War, or more
specifically Irish society's responses to that conflict. This will
principally complement the existing research on Irish servicemen's
experiences during and after the campaign, but will also
substantially develop the limited work already undertaken on Irish
society and the conflict. This book primarily encompasses the years
of the conflict, from its origins in the 1853 dispute between
Russia and the Ottoman Empire over the Holy Places, through the
French and British political and later military interventions in
1854-5, to the victory, peace and homecoming celebrations in 1856.
Additionally, it will extend into the preceding and succeeding
decades in order to contextualise the events and actors of the
wartime years and to present and analyse the commemoration and
memorialisation processes. The approach of the study is systematic,
with the content being correlated under six convenient and coherent
themes, which will be analysed through a chronological process. The
book covers all of the major aspects of society and life in Ireland
during the period, so as to give the most complete analysis of the
various impacts of and people's responses to the war. This study is
also conducted, within the broader contexts not only of the
responses of the United Kingdom and broader British Empire but also
Ireland's relationship with those political entities, and within
Ireland's post-famine or mid-Victorian and even wider
nineteenth-century history.
This volume follows Metternich's career up to the restoration of
the Bourbons in France. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton
Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again
make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
IN AUGUST 1805, Napoleon abandoned his plans for the invasion of
Britain and diverted his army to the Danube Valley to confront
Austrian and Russian forces in a bid for control of central Europe.
The campaign culminated with the Battle of Austerlitz, regarded by
many as Napoleon's greatest triumph, whose far-reaching effects
paved the way for French hegemony on the Continent for the next
decade. In this concise volume, acclaimed military historian
Gregory Fremont-Barnes uses detailed profiles to explore the
leaders, tactics and weaponry of the clashing French, Austrian and
Russian forces. Packed with fact boxes, maps and more, Napoleon's
Greatest Triumph is the perfect way to explore this important
battle and the rise of Napoleon's reputation as a supreme military
leader.
With this third volume John Gill brings to a close his magisterial
study of the war between Napoleonic France and Habsburg Austria.
The account begins with both armies recuperating on the banks of
the Danube. As they rest, important action was taking place
elsewhere: Eugene won a crucial victory over Johann on the
anniversary of Marengo, Prince Poniatowski's Poles outflanked
another Austrian archduke along the Vistula, and Marmont drove an
Austrian force out of Dalmatia to join Napoleon at Vienna. These
campaigns set the stage for the titanic Battle of Wagram. Second
only in scale to the slaughter at Leipzig in 1813, Wagram saw more
than 320,000 men and 900 guns locked in two days of fury that ended
with an Austrian retreat. The defeat, however, was not complete:
Napoleon had to force another engagement before Charles would
accept a ceasefire. The battle at Znaim, its true importance often
not acknowledged, brought an extended armistice that ended with a
peace treaty signed in Vienna. Gill uses an impressive array of
sources in an engaging narrative covering both the politics of
emperors and the privations and hardship common soldiers suffered
in battle. Enriched with unique illustrations, forty maps, and
extraordinary order-of-battle detail, this work concludes an
unrivalled English-language study of Napoleon's last victory.
Written in 1857, this is the autobiography of a Jamaican woman
whose fame rivalled Florence Nightingale's during the Crimean War.
Seacole's offer to volunteer as a nurse in the war met with racism
and refusal. Undaunted, Seacole set out independently to the Crimea
where she acted as doctor and 'mother' to wounded soldiers while
running her business, the 'British Hotel'. A witness to key
battles, she gives vivid accounts of how she coped with disease,
bombardment and other hardships at the Crimean battlefront. "In her
introduction to the very welcome Penguin edition, Sara Salih
expertly analyses the rhetorical complexities of Seacole's book to
explore the richness of her story. Traveller, entrepreneur, healer
and woman of colour, Mary Seacole is a singular and fascinating
figure, overstepping all conventional boundaries." Jan Marsh,
Independent "It's hard to believe that this amazing adventure story
is the true-life experience of a Jamaican woman - it would make a
great film." Andrea Levy, Sunday Times
Osprey's examination of the battles of Jena and Auerstadt of the
Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Forewarned of Prussia's intention to
declare war on France, Napoleon decided to strike first with a bold
advance from Wurzburg into Saxony. On 14 October the double battle
was fought: Napoleon with 96,000 men and 120 guns engaged and
heavily defeated Prince Hohenlohe and General Ruchel. The decisive
engagement was fought further north where Marshal Davout with
27,000 men and 40 guns routed the main Prussian army under
Frederick William IV and the Duke of Brunswick. This title examines
these two battles, Jena and Auerstadt in detail, showing clearly
the swiftness with which Napoleon dealt Prussia's military machine
a severe blow.
Intelligence is often the critical factor in a successful military
campaign. This was certainly the case for Arthur Wellesley, the
Duke of Wellington, in the Peninsular War. In this book, author Huw
J. Davies offers the first full account of the scope, complexity,
and importance of Wellington's intelligence department, describing
a highly organized, multifaceted series of networks of agents and
spies throughout Spain and Portugal - an organization that was at
once a microcosm of British intelligence at the time and a
sophisticated forebear to intelligence developments in the
twentieth century. Spying for Wellington shows us an organization
that was, in effect, two parallel networks: one made up of Foreign
Office agents 'run' by British ambassadors in Spain and Portugal,
the other comprising military spies controlled by Wellington
himself. The network of agents supplied strategic intelligence,
giving the British army advance warning of the arrival,
destinations, and likely intentions of French reinforcements. The
military network supplied operational intelligence, which confirmed
the accuracy of the strategic intelligence and provided greater
detail on the strengths, arms, and morale of the French forces.
Davies reveals how, by integrating these two forms of intelligence,
Wellington was able to develop an extremely accurate and reliable
estimate of French movements and intentions not only in his own
theater of operations but also in other theaters across the Iberian
Peninsula. The reliability and accuracy of this intelligence, as
Davies demonstrates, was central to Wellington's decision-making
and, ultimately, to his overall success against the French.
Correcting past, incomplete accounts, this is the definitive book
on Wellington's use of intelligence. As such, it contributes to a
clearer, more comprehensive understanding of Wellington at war and
of his place in the history of British military intelligence.
This book was written to provide an in-depth study of the Danish
and Norwegian armies of the Napoleonic Wars. The goal was to
provide a working document which is as accurate as possible,
covering the uniforms of these armies, their weapons and their
evolution as well as their colours and a look at their basic
tactics. Although this is principally a uniform book, historical
background is also provided to place the details in their context.
This first volume covers the uniforms of the High Command, Guard,
and Line and Light Infantry, their arms, equipment, and colours.
The product of five years of research, this study grew out of the
author's desire to provide a reference for friends who were
painting Danish wargames figures. It soon became apparent that very
little was written on the subject in English and this led to
extensive research and consultation with experts including Alan
Perry of Perry Miniatures and Jorgen Koefoed Larsen. Every effort
has been made to reconcile conflicting sources, rather than risk
perpetuating myths and errors, and the result is a comprehensive
and lavishly-illustrated reference work on this significant but
often-overlooked Napoleonic army.
The Victorians are often credited with ushering in our current era,
yet the seeds of change were planted during the earlier Regency
period (1811-1820) when the profligate Prince of Wales-the future
king George IV-succeeded his father. Around the Prince Regent
surged a society of contrasts: evangelicalism and hedonism,
elegance and brutality, exuberance and despair. Capturing the
Napoleonic Wars, the rise of artists-the Shelleys, Austen, Keats,
Byron, Turner-scientists and inventors-Stevenson, Davy, Faraday-and
a cast of dissident journalists, military leaders, and
fashionistas, Robert Morrison captivatingly illuminates the ways
this period shaped the modern world.
The Battle of Villamuriel was the largest engagement of
Wellington's retreat from Burgos in 1812. Twice as many men were
involved as in the better-known actions at Villadrigo/Venta del
Pozo two days earlier. This is the first full length account of the
action and improves significantly on previous accounts in the
campaign histories by Napier, Fortescue, Oman, and Divall. Archival
sources from Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal have been
used to build a coherent and balanced account. The orders of battle
are detailed and the military experience of both the commanders and
their units is provided. Detailed maps of the deployment of both
forces throughout the action are provided. A detailed breakdown of
the casualties on both sides is also given. Also highlighted are
the previously unreported role of 9th Foot as an aspiring light
infantry regiment, and the 1835 controversy around Napier's account
using the archives of the Sir John Oswald and a potential source
for Napier's account is identified. This has resulted in a detailed
study of one day's action in the 1812 campaign, with a view to
extracting improved understanding of how the armies fought. The
wargamer is provided with detailed scenarios to enable them to
recreate the action on the table top. The action is effectively a
re-match between the Anglo-Portuguese 5th Division and the 5e
Division of the Armee de Portugal, only a few months after the
former successfully dispersed the latter at Salamanca in July.
Wellington at Bay includes a Foreword by Carole Divall.
Jon Mee explores the popular democratic movement that emerged in
the London of the 1790s in response to the French Revolution.
Central to the movement's achievement was the creation of an idea
of 'the people' brought into being through print and publicity.
Radical clubs rose and fell in the face of the hostile attentions
of government. They were sustained by a faith in the press as a
form of 'print magic', but confidence in the liberating potential
of the printing press was interwoven with hard-headed deliberations
over how best to animate and represent the people. Ideas of
disinterested rational debate were thrown into the mix with
coruscating satire, rousing songs, and republican toasts. Print
personality became a vital interface between readers and print
exploited by the cast of radicals returned to history in vivid
detail by Print, Publicity, and Popular Radicalism in the 1790s.
This title is also available as Open Access.
This book presents fresh analyses of unpublished, published and
significant primary source material relevant to the medical aspects
on the Eastern campaign of 1854-1856 - commonly called the Crimean
War. The aim has been to produce an account based on robust
evidence. The project began with no preconceptions but came to
seriously question the contributions made by the talented and
well-connected Florence Nightingale and the suitably-qualified
Sanitary Commissioners. The latter had been sent by the government
to investigate matters on the spot. This may prove an unexpected
and possibly unsympathetic conclusion for some of Nightingale's
many admirers. Rigorously weighing the evidence, it is
unmistakeably clear that there is very little proof that
Nightingale and the Sanitary Commissioners significantly influenced
the improvement in the health of the main Army in the Crimea. The
principal problems were at the front, not in Turkey, and it was
there that matters were gradually rectified, with the health of the
troops beginning to improve during the early weeks of 1855. The
historiography of the campaign has tended to concentrate on the
catastrophic deterioration in the health of the Army during the
first winter and the perceived incompetence of the heads of
department. The contributions made by Nightingale and the Sanitary
Commissioners have been greatly over-emphasised. As a consequence,
the medical aspects of the war have been inaccurately portrayed in
both academic works and popular culture. The author's analyses
should alter existing preconceptions or prejudices about what
happened in Crimea and Turkey during those fateful war years. The
'Victory over Disease' took place in the Crimea, and not at Scutari
- and this was not due to the contributions of any one person, or
even a group of individuals. Rather it represented the involvement
of many people in many walks of life who worked, possibly
unwittingly, for a common purpose, and with such a gratifying
result.
In a world of conflicting nationalist claims, mass displacements
and asylum-seeking, a great many people are looking for 'home' or
struggling to establish the 'nation'. These were also important
preoccupations between the English and the French revolutions: a
period when Britain was first at war within itself, then achieved a
confident if precarious equilibrium, and finally seemed to have
come once more to the edge of overthrow. In the century and a half
between revolution experienced and revolution observed, the impulse
to identify or implicitly appropriate home and nation was elemental
to British literature. This wide-ranging study by international
scholars provides an innovative and thorough account of writings
that vigorously contested notions and images of the nation and of
private domestic space within it, tracing the larger patterns of
debate, while at the same time exploring how particular writers
situated themselves within it and gave it shape.
When Denmark introduced compulsory education in 1814, the city of
Copenhagen responsed by regulating the already existing private
school system. Roughly half of the school age population went to
some kind of school and of those the overwelming majority attended
private schools, most of which were run by women. The book tells
the story of these women, their schools and pupils on the 150
private schools from 1790-1820. Carol Gold's contention is that
these private schools and their teachers were much better than is
presently assumed in Danish historiography. The teachers were all
literate; they could read and most of them could write. The
education provided for girls ranged from the basics of reading,
writing and arithmetic plus needlework in the beginner schools, to
the "scientific" subjects of history, geography, natural sciences
and foreign languages in the more advanced academies. Furthermore,
the schools formed the basis of the Copenhagen school system which
was established at the b
'Glorious... Scurr is one of the most gifted non-fiction writers
alive' Simon Schama, Financial Times A revelatory portrait of
Napoleon written for our own time, exploring his love of nature and
the gardens that gave his revolutionary life its light and shade.
Napoleon's gardens range from his childhood olive groves in
Corsica, to Josephine's menageries in Paris, to the walled garden
of Hougoumont at the battle of Waterloo, and ultimately to St
Helena, where he could sit and scan the sea in his final months. In
this innovative biography, Ruth Scurr follows the dramatic
trajectory of Napoleon's life through the land he cultivated and
that offered him retreat from the manifold frustrations of war and
politics. Seen through the eyes of those who knew him in the shade
of his gardens, Napoleon emerges a giant figure made human - both
as the Emperor hunting for glory and the man in an old straw hat,
leaning on his spade. 'Immensely satisfying and captivating...
Charming and intelligent' Andrew Roberts, TLS 'Grippingly original'
The Times 'A delight to read' Daily Telegraph * A Book of the Year
in The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times,
Sunday Telegraph and History Today * Winner of a Society for
Military History Distinguished Book Award 2022
Austria was one of the five major players of the Napoleonic Wars.
In early 19th century, the Austrian army
(Kaiserliche-KoeniglicheHeer) was the third largest and one of the
best-trained armies in the world.The individual regimentsperformed
well and were considered solid. However, hampered by the inherent
conservatism of the hierarchy, the Austrians had to face the most
modern army in Europe. Despite the many defeats suffered, the
Austrian soldiers performed with discipline and played a central
role in the coalitions against France, from the campaigns in 1790s,
to the Austerlitz campaign of 1805, the closely-balanced battles of
1809, and the final victorious campaigns of 1813-1814. Austrian
cavalry, in particular, was considered one of the best in Europe by
allies as well as enemies. For the first time, this topic is
introduced starting from the first campaign against France. The
book includesthe regimental histories of each unit after the
original sources, unpublished iconography, and is completed by
detailed illustrations depicting uniforms and equipment of the
mounted 'kaiserlich' white coats.
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.
This volume follows Metternich's career up to the restoration of
the Bourbons in France. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton
Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again
make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
This, the fourth volume in Andrew Field's highly praised study of
the Waterloo campaign from the French perspective, depicts in vivid
detail the often neglected final phase the rout and retreat of
Napoleon's army. The text is based exclusively on French eyewitness
accounts which give an inside view of the immediate aftermath of
the battle and carry the story through to the army's disbandment in
late 1815\. Many French officers and soldiers wrote more about the
retreat than they did about the catastrophe of Waterloo itself.
Their recollections give a fascinating insight to the psyche of the
French soldier. They also provide a first-hand record of their
experiences and the range of their reactions, from those who
deserted the colours and made their way home, to those who
continued to serve faithfully when all was lost. Napoleon s own
flight from Waterloo is an essential part of the narrative, but the
main emphasis is on the fate of the beaten French army as it was
experienced by eyewitnesses who lived through the last days of the
campaign.
In October 1813, the soldiers of one of Napoleon's staunchest
Allies, Saxony, defected en masse in the midst of battle at
Leipzig. Almost immediately III German Army Corps was formed with
these same soldiers as its nucleus and augmented with returning
former prisoners of war, volunteers and militia. Commanded by the
Duke of Saxe-Weimar the Corps was sent to the Southern Netherlands
to take part in the final defeat of Napoleon amidst of a constant
changing command of control structure, in which the Swedish Crown
Prince Bernadotte played a major and dubious role. Although for the
greater part inexperienced and badly armed, fighting against the
much superior French I Corps which even contained Imperial Guard
units, III Corps struggled to prove that it could be trusted,
paying a major role to protect the Netherlands against the French
as these regions tried to regain their own identity after decades
of French rule.
The Scum of the Earth follows the men Wellington called just that
from victory at Waterloo to a Regency Britain at war with itself,
and explodes some of the myths on the way; such as that the defeat
of Napoleon ended the threat of revolution spreading from France.
Did the victorious soldiers return to a land fit for heroes? They
did not. There was the first of the Corn Laws in the same year as
the battle, there was famine and chronic unemployment. In 1819, the
Peterloo massacre saw 15 killed and at least 500 injured when
cavalry sabred a crowd demanding parliamentary reform. Peace in
Europe perhaps for 50 years - but at home, repression and
revolution in the air. And at the same time, the sheer exuberance
of the Regency period, with new buildings, new art, even 17 new
colonies more or less accidentally acquired. By 1848 the whole of
Europe was once more set for complete upheaval. There is no one
better to take a cold, hard look at the battle itself and its
aftermath, in order to save us from an anniversary of misty-eyed
backslapping, than political editor Colin Brown.
'If it had not been for you English, I should have been Emperor of
the East; but wherever there is water to float a ship, we are sure
to find you in our way.' Emperor Napoleon But just thirty-five
years earlier, Britain lacked any major continental allies, and was
wracked by crises and corruption. Many thought that she would
follow France into revolution. The British elite had no such
troubling illusions: defeat was not a possibility. Since not all
shared that certainty, the resumption of the conflict and its
pursuit through years of Napoleonic dominance is a remarkable story
of aristocratic confidence and assertion of national superiority.
Winning these wars meant ruthless imperialist expansion, spiteful
political combat, working under a mad king and forging the most
united national effort since the days of the Armada. And it meant
setting the foundations for the greatest empire the world has ever
known.
The Napoleonic Wars have an important place in the history of
Europe, leaving their mark on European and world societies in a
variety of ways. In many European countries they provided the
stimulus for radical social and political change - particularly in
Spain, Germany, and Italy - and are frequently viewed in these
places as the starting point of their modern histories. In this
Very Short Introduction, Mike Rapport provides a brief outline of
the wars, introducing the tactics, strategies, and weaponry of the
time. Presented in three parts, he considers the origins and course
of the wars, the ways and means in which it was fought, and the
social and political legacy it has left to the world today. ABOUT
THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford
University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every
subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get
ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts,
analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make
interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
|
|