Böcker av Graeme Callister

Over the course of the Napoleonic wars, the French emperor mobilised over two million fighting men - most of them conscripts. Napoleon's Conscripts tells their story. Exploring the system of conscription and soldiers' experiences of service, it sheds light on the lives of ordinary men who marched beneath the emperor's eagles.From its introduction in 1798 until the fall of the empire in 1815, conscription provided Napoleon with the manpower for the almost incessant military campaigns that saw French troops fight across Europe from the Atlantic coast to the edge of the Russian steppes, the deserts of North Africa, and the islands of the West Indies. Conscription influenced not only who was in the French army and how they experienced military life but, ultimately, how the army operated both on and off the battlefield.Napoleon's Conscripts looks into this vital but often overlooked issue, peeling back the curtain to explain how conscription worked, how conscripts moved from farm to front line, and how conscription influenced the French army and its soldiers.Based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including offering unique insights from the original service records of tens of thousands of soldiers from across the French empire, Napoleon's Conscripts will appeal to anyone with an interest in Napoleon's campaigns, the French army, or French society of the early nineteenth century.

This book provides a detailed analysis of the attack of the Comte dâEUR(TM)ErlonâEUR(TM)s French I Corps, and the subsequent allied counterattack, at the Battle of Waterloo. This assault by 20,000 men and eighty guns in the early afternoon of 18 June 1815 came as close as any to winning the battle for Napoleon. It was eventually repulsed âEUR" just âEUR" by two stretched Allied infantry divisions and two brigades of cavalry and was, in the words of the Duke of Wellington himself, âEURœone of the most serious attacks made by the enemy.âEUR? Until now, there has been surprisingly little in-depth analysis of this crucial moment in the battle âEUR" something that this book seeks to remedy. Graeme Callister combines a detailed narrative with a thorough analysis of how the event unfolded. All aspects of the attack are covered; from the grand tactics to the human experience of being in the firing lines, considering the soldiersâEUR(TM) experience, morale, leadership, condition and cohesion. Using rarely before analysed material from the French regimental registers, it examines the service records of individuals involved in the action, alongside the first-hand accounts and reminiscences of those who left them. The book begins with an assessment of the background of each of the forces: their composition, command structures, and the condition of their men. It then discusses how they found themselves to be in their positions on the battlefield, exploring the grand tactics, terrain, and wider strategic situation. The main part of the analysis focuses on the attack itself, looking at the formations and direction of the attacking forces (the four divisions of Quiot, Donzelot, Marcognet, and Durutte, plus the grand battery and supporting cuirassier brigade) and the tactical approach of the men set to meet them. Based on a wide range of primary sources, including those in French, English, Dutch and German, this book offers fresh perspectives on a crucial part of the Waterloo story, and helps us to understand why men advanced or stood, fought or ran, and lived or died amidst the maelstrom of battle.

By exploring the wide range of interconnected factors that influence the results of battles, the authors broaden the study of this aspect of military history from a narrow focus on isolated episodes of conflict.

This book offers a detailed investigation of the influence of public opinion and national identity on the foreign policies of France, Britain and the Netherlands in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.