Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War / Edition 1

Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War / Edition 1

by Robert M. Epstein
ISBN-10:
070060751X
ISBN-13:
9780700607518
Pub. Date:
06/30/1994
Publisher:
University Press of Kansas
ISBN-10:
070060751X
ISBN-13:
9780700607518
Pub. Date:
06/30/1994
Publisher:
University Press of Kansas
Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War / Edition 1

Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War / Edition 1

by Robert M. Epstein

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Overview

Presenting a significant new interpretation of Napoleonic warfare, Robert M. Epstein argues persuasively that the true origins of modern war can be found in the Franco-Austrian War of 1809.

Epstein contends that the 1809 war—with its massive and evenly matched armies, multiple theaters of operation, new command-and-control schemes, increased firepower, frequent stalemates, and large-scale slaughter—had more in common with the American Civil War and subsequent conflicts than with the decisive Napoleonic campaigns that preceded it.

Epstein examines 1809 in terms of the evolving new systems of recruitment, organization, and command used by both sides. As he shows, this was the first time that two states confronted each other on the battlefield with armies created by large-scale conscription, organized in corps, and coordinated along two major theaters of operation (Danubian and Italian). As a result, the opponents were forced into "distributed maneuvers" that produced broad operational fronts in which battles became both sequential and simultaneous, but ultimately indecisive.

Ironically, as Epstein points out, neither Napoleon nor the opposing commander Archduke Charles ever fully understood that a paradigm shift had occurred in the conduct of war. Regardless, after 1809, warfare would never be the same.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780700607518
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Publication date: 06/30/1994
Series: Modern War Studies
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 232
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

Table of Contents

List of Maps

Key to Symbols

Foreword

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

2. The Transformation of Warfare

3. Armies for Germany

4. Armies for Italy

5. War along the Danube

6. Crisis in Italy

7. Victory in Italy

8. The March on Vienna and the Battle of Aspern-Essling

9. Junction

10. The Wagram Campaign: The First Phase

11. The Wagram Campaign: The Second Phase

12. The Emergence of Modern War

Appendix A: Terms Used in the Text

Appendix B: French Order of Battle

Appendix C: Austrian Order of Battle

Appendix D: Note on Ranks of General Officers

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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