Get Your Copy The Campaigns Of Napoleon Originated By David G. Chandler Available In Print

libro es un compendio de más depáginas de las campañas militares de Napoleón a lo largo de su vida como estratega militar, Es cierto que hay muchos detalles que no están presentes, incluso a mi parecer algunos muy importantes pero es sin duda uno de los mejores y más completos libros sobre las batallas que libró como general, cónsul y más tarde emperador.

Todas las campañas están explicadas en orden cronológico estricto y al detalle sobre las causas políticas, movimientos previos, preparación y el desarrollo de las mismas batallas, para lo cual Chandler hace uso de cartas personales, memorias, muchos documentos testimoniales de la época tanto de cabos, oficiales, mariscales o del propio Napoleón, lo que hace que la lectura sea muy amena, entretenida y realista.
Obviamente la selección que hace de los testimonios es muy rigurosa, por lo que para mí este libro ha sido a pesar de su temática muy entretenido y ágil.

Después por supuesto de cada acción bélica repasa los movimientos estratégicos y hace una crítica de ambos bandos franceses vs aliados tanto de las órdenes que se dieron como muchos otros factores, lo que lo hace muy analítico y te permite saber qué errores o aciertos a criterio del autor tomaron los grandes personajes.

Leyendo el libro parece como si pudieras conocer la vida de Napoleón pues fue una vida dedicada al ejército en todos sus matices, Todo un clásico de la historia militar del pequeño Corso, Un estudio pormenorizado y riguroso de todas las batallas y campañas en las que Napoleón participo no esperéis encontrar nada que el no dirigiera, como la campaña en la península Ibérica.
Un gran nivel de análisis de las tropas, las ordenes, los generales y los distintos incidentes de todas las batallas, Más un pequeño esbozo de apoyo de la situación geopolítica del momento, Y mas de mil páginas para disfrutar, Un problema de estos libros tan gordos son los mapas a doble página, te pierdes la mitad si no deslomas el libro,
Las Campañas de Napoleón: Un clásico obligado si te gusta la historia militar,
Nota:Chandler's massive tome on every campaign Napoleon conducted makes a great onestop shop for a basic military history of any action you may want to look up, This is aided by lucid accounts all the way through, good maps which are present in the Kindle version tooif a trifle small on my screen, and thoughtful brief analysis of each one.


All of this means it's still the primary reference for the period nearly sixty years after it was first published a feat very few other books can claim.
It is highly likely no other book will ever combine the relatively introductory nature and comprehensiveness of this one and do it better, This does come at a pricethe individual campaigns are covered at something approaching the level of an Osprey Campaign book, and this weighs in atpages, with a smaller proportion than normal given over to appendixes, references, bibliography, etc.


There are some limits, As this is the Campaigns of Napoleon, as opposed to 'the Napoleonic period', there's extremely little discussion of the Peninsular War, naval actions, or any campaign not directly involving the star of the show I would like to see something on the French Revolutionary campaigns in Germany, that Napoleon's campaigns in Italy were supposed to be a sideshow to.
And it's stillpages, so not losing focus in this volume is for the best,

And it's not just the campaigns either, He goes into Napoleon's background and early training at École Militaire, and spends a nice little bit of time on where his ideas on warfare came and were developed from that is certainly a nicely informative chapter.


I'll note the Kindle version has certainly been gone over, and there's a minimum of errors, though a lot slipped through in the confusion of if a number should be a Roman numeral 'I' or an Arabic '' there is one rendering of "IIth", and Blücher gets rendered as "Blöcher" twice.
Outside of that, the text is in very good shape, Great book which offers a glimpse into the mind of the military genius who shocked the world at Austerlitz and Jena, A more indepth analysis of his campaigns would be extremely difficult to produce, which is also the only flaw I found in this book: at times it is so technical and academic that it is hard to follow.


Nevertheless, through the analysis of all of Napoleon's major battles and campaigns, Chandler explores the driving principles behind Napoleon's war machine, but also how it evolved over time, and how it was finally defeated.
Well, this one really is an essential classic, And I'm lucky enough to own the very handsome Folio Editions trilogy, in hardback, in a nice slipcase, Lovely!

Vol I

In the first volume one of this superb trilogy, Chandler sets the scene, telling us about Napoleon's rise, from the petit noblesse of Corsica, thought the turbulent waters of the French Revolution, to military fame in Italy.
We see Bonaparte adventuring in the near 'Orient' of Egypt and Syria, before returning and assuming power in the coup of Brumaire,  

Chandler's narrative conveys his enthusiasm for his exciting and colourful subject admirably, balancing a clear passion with lucid objectivity and judicious critical insights,  A good deal of space is given over to an analysis of Napoleon's early ideas, and how they evolved where they came from, and how he put them into practice and developed them.
 

And this all happens surprisingly early, both before, during and following on from his Italian campaigns, showing, as Chandler notes, a precociousness and audacity that would see Napoleon's star rapidly ascend.
 This first part of the story/trilogy is tremendously exciting, charting the improbable but seemingly inexorable rise of the young Napoleon, It has the colour and grandeur of GrecoRoman myth, which Napoleon would've liked and appreciated,

Vol II

In broad brushstroke terms this second volume starts with Ulm/Asterlitz, and ends at Borodino, thus running from lateto late, Here Chandler covers thecampaign against Austria and Russia, culminating in Austerlitz, thewar with Prussia JenaAuerstadt, on into thecampaign in Poland against Russia Eylau and Friedland,  

He then takes a Peninsular diversion, focussing mostly, in keeping with his title, on Napoleon's part in this theatre from his 'ill considered decision to intervene in Spanish affairs', deputising to oftincompetent subordinates, to his brief but effective personal intervention in the war itself, before returning to more centralEuropean affairs, with the campaign against Austria in.


One thing that struck me in all this was, well, . . no, two things really, were: firstly how minor the Spanish business seems in the larger picture, even though it would ultimately prove, as the suppurating 'Spanish Ulcer', a decisive contributory factor in Napoleon's downfall a fact not so easily appreciated from the British perspective, with our tendency to obsess over our part in these wars.
 And secondly, that for all the talk of continual or 'total' war, there are large periods of relative peace within the bulk of the territories under the Imperial jurisdiction,  

For example, between the end of volume one, and the start of volume two, or roughly, And, excepting the ongoing rumblings of the Peninsular, betweenand, when the narrative jumps from Wagram and the treaty Pressburg to the invasion of Russia,  The latter debacle ends part two, and marks a foreboding and decisive end to the period of Napoleon's almost unassailable ascendency, and, in consequence, makes for a narrative that continues to be both gripping and dramatic.


Vol III

Napoleon's regrouping and rebuilding of the French and Allied armies, and his waging of the defensive campaigns of, clearly excite Chandler, And he communicates his enthusiasm for this period both ably and contagiously,  And then of course there's the audacious return from exile and the Hundred Days,  

This is factual history with excitement levels to eclipse all but the very best fiction, Indeed, history like this is better than practically all fiction, in my opinion, If someone made up a story like this, who would believe it Napoleon returns from Elba with barely,men, And within days he's back in Paris this whole story is the subject of the excellent , The Return of Napoleon, by Paul Britten Austin  a whirlwind of activity, as he seeks peace whilst preparing for war.
Encroyable!

As you'd expect, Chandler's coverage of this whole exiting episode, set within the equally

exciting larger epoch, strikes a perfect balance between the big picture and the smaller interesting details.
Who needs or wants to read fiction, with history as exciting as this And in how many stories  especially 'real life' stories is the final act a rather disappointing damp squib Not so here.
Commensurate with Napoleons own rather grandiose estimate of himself, this is a story that remains hugely exciting right to the end, And what a tragic yet epic ending it is!

Conclusion

Although Chandler is hardly a rank radical of the Jacobin variety, being in sober fact  as a professional military academic far more likely to be on the conservative side of the spectrum, nevertheless, like Andrew Roberts in his turn a more blatantly politically Conservative historian, one clearly senses the admiration, perhaps even the affection, Chandler has for his subject.
And yet, again like Roberts, his excitement and awe don't cloud his judgement, We still get a balanced and critical view that gives both credit and finds fault where they are due,

All told, as I previously said in a post on my military history blog, about a few of my favourite trilogies of which this is most certainly one this an epic account in every way.
Being both hugely informative and great fun to read, For my money, this has to be amongst the very best and most essential writing on Napoleon's military career, a career which defined the story of Europe in the days that bear his name.
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