Author: Dempsey, Guy C.
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Year: 2002
ISBN: 1853674885
Binding: Hard Cover
Book Condition: As New
Jacket Condition: Very Good
Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Description:
New book, 351 pages. This book examines each non-French unit in turn, giving an overview of the unit's origins, its organisation and combat history, its uniforms and standards, and detail of the unit's eventual fate. Colourful accounts, taken from contemporary reports and memoirs, emphasise the qualities of the unit and throw light on what life was like for many of the foreign soldiers recruited into the Grande Armee. Napoleon's foreign troops varied tremendously in quality, from the excellent Vistula Legion, Polish Lancers of the Imperial Guard and Swiss regiments to the more dubious battalions of foreign deserters and Spanish prisoners of war. Some units fought and flourished throughout the Consulate and Empire, whilst others laster for just a few months. The author charts Napoleon's attitude to his mercenaries, outlines the value of foreign troops to the French emperor and highlights the diverse nature of the volunteers fighting for France. This book is the best single-volume study of this aspect of Napoleon's army and a vital reference for every Napoleonic enthusiast.