Charge!: Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic Wars Book

In this dramatic and spirited history of cavalry in the Napoleonic period, Digby Smith examines how battles could be decided by the skillful use of cavalry. Charge! reveals how cavalry could be deployed in an offensive and defensive capacity or how an effective and well-timed cavalry charge could overcome almost any obstacle.

Library Journal

Noted Napoleonic Wars historian Smith (Napoleon's Regiments; 1813: Leipzig; The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book) has produced a very readable and useful book discussing the role of the cavalry in the campaigns fought across Europe and Russia, from Marengo in 1800 to Waterloo in 1815. Beginning with a chapter describing the different types of mounted troops used by all of the combatants, the author focuses on 13 specific battles to illustrate how cavalry could and did turn the tide. Key engagements such as Austerlitz, Eylau, Borodino, Albuera, Marengo, and Waterloo are addressed along with the more obscure clashes at Liebertwolkwitz and Mockern and the Allied raids of 1813. These discussions describe how cavalry were deployed both offensively and defensively and illustrate how training, leadership, terrain, etc., affected the results of a charge. Expressed in a very readable narrative, this book achieves its goal of enhancing our knowledge of an integral part of 19th-century warfare. Recommended for all military history collections.-David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.