Broken Eagles Napoleon and his German Allies in the 1813 Campaign: Volume II [Hardcover]

[E]xceptional research, smooth prose, detailed orders of battle with numbers, and a cornucopia of tactical, operational, and strategic maps make this another brilliant examination of the Napoleonic era. Another excellent volume.  Historical Miniatures Gaming SocietyTraditional accounts of the campaigns of 1813 concentrate on the major powers: Napoleons France versus Russia, joined successively by Prussia, Sweden and Austria, and how, as in the French catastrophe of 1812, early successes were transformed into ruinous defeat. However, the smaller German states in Napoleons alliance system, the Confederation of the Rhine, or Rheinbund, also played an important part.Despite its significance, there are few books, especially in English, that explore the Rheinbunds creation, evolution and demise. This groundbreaking new work seeks to redress this. Based on years of research in archives across Germany and France, as well as battlefield visits, this unprecedented study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the confederations military campaigns of 1813  culminating in Napoleons defeat and the collapse of his German alliance.Presented in two parts, the first volume opens with an overview and brief history of the Rheinbund and an examination of the campaigns, battles and sieges of 1813. This second volume continues with an analysis of the forces of W?rttemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt, Westphalia and the multitude of smaller states that comprised the Rheinbund. Supplemented by more than 100 maps, charts and orders of battle, this is an essential reference work for any Napoleonic scholar and all those with an interest in the historical development of Germany.[E]xceptional research, smooth prose, detailed orders of battle with numbers, and a cornucopia of tactical, operational, and strategic maps make this another brilliant examination of the Napoleonic era. Another excellent volume.GB