Synopses & Reviews
Following the disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon found himself facing a new coalition of his old enemies. With incredible speed he raised an army of 200,000 men and marched to join the remnants of the old Grande Armee in Germany, where he planned to defeat the combined Franco-Prussian army in detail as he had so many times before. However, he no longer faced the brittle enemies of 1805 and 1806; nor were the men he led the veterans that had brought him victory at Austerlitz and Jena. At Lutzen on 2 May the inexperience of his new army began to show. Faulty reconnaissance by raw cavalry allowed Ney's Corps to be surprised by Wittgenstein's Russians. Napoleon galloped to the scene and with his old brilliance turned defeat into victory, personally leading the counter-attack. Crossing the Elbe he brought the allies to battle at Bautzen, but Ney's hesitancy allowed them to escape and victory slipped from his grasp. As Austria stirred, the tide began to run ever more strongly against Napoleon. In the spring of 1813 a turning point had been reached - Napoleon's last chance to regain his Empire had slipped from his grasp.
Synopsis
Following the disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, Napoleon found himself facing a new coalition of his old enemies. With incredible speed he raised an army of 200,000 men and marched to join the remnants of the old Grande Armee in Germany. However, he no longer faced the brittle enemies of 1805 and 1806 and at Lutzen on May 2, the inexperience of his new army began to show. Faulty reconnaissance by raw cavalry allowed Ney's Corps to be surprised by Wittgenstein's Russians. This book describes the last realistic chance Napoleon had to regain his empire by defeating the allies in Germany before Austria stirred and the tide turned irreversibly against him.
About the Author
PETER HOFSCHROER is a qualified historian and linguist specialising in the Napoleonic Wars. His two volume work 1815: The Waterloo Campaign received the 1999 Napoleonic Society of America Literary Award.