S. Henry Dwan
Published: 2020-09-22
Total Pages: 118
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Fighting on many fronts and taken somewhat by surprise, Napoleon was quick to go on the offensive and won a succession of victories at Landshut, Eckmühl and Ratisbon before suffering his first defeat in a field battle at Aspern-Essling. Retiring to Vienna, the French re-equipped and reinforced before launching a decisive attack across the Danube from the Isle of Lobau. The resulting battle of Wagram was the bloodiest confrontation in the Napoleonic Wars up to that time with a massive casualty list of probably 80,000 men. Decisive as the French victory was, it was the 'apogee' of his empire and settled little more than strengthening the resolve of the major powers to resist Napoleonic domination. Two more allied coalitions would follow - there would be more French victories over the following six years - but the 1809 campaign was the last successful campaign Napoleon would conduct.The campaign of 1809 is naturally dominated by the major decisive encounter of the campaign - the Battle of Wagram. This book is not a major study of the battle, but rather a guide for the component units of the armies present at the battle. This fourth volume in the series 'Orders of Battle' is the latest in a trilogy of Napoleonic battle reference studies tailored for the enthusiast or war gamer, who wishes to possess a handy and detailed manual covering the forces present. Like previous volumes in the series, it is intended to be as concise and realistic (as possible) a representation of the regiments, squadrons and artillery batteries present at Wagram on 5/6th July 1809. Supply, logistics and medical sections of each army have been researched and included as well - essential as they were to keep each force in the field. For Commanders. Staff officers, Colonels and units present, extensive use has been made of available orders of battle to ensure accuracy representing the individual units involved. Exhaustive research has also been made of the uniforms worn and the flag standards carried by the individual regiments to give an accurate visual interpretation of the way each unit would have appeared in the battle. A scale of 1:10 has been used to help visualise an accurate image of the actual size of each unit, be it battalion, squadron or battery. The text describing the unit is usually in the national language of that unit unless this deters significantly from what is basically an English language work. A brief synopsis of the armies and the battle itself completes this work.