Review by Martin Koenigsberg
I am pretty sure that Osprey publishing have a newer version of this book out- but I fell in love at the thrift store when I saw this little book, as it is the edition I lusted after when I was just getting into wargaming. In 1975, when this book was printed in this edition (it may date back even older to 1964) this was new- and I was a teenager just getting into Napoleonics, the font of most wargame content in those days. All the best Colour resources seemed to be in French, or German, like Knoetel (sp?) and so this was a beacon of light to all of us in the anglophone wargaming world. These days everyone takes luxurious colour for granted- and you can get paint sets for every army- but in those days of mixing your own oils, and then acrylics, we sought good guidance- and this book provided it. Robert Wilkinson-Latham, a prolific author on Napoleonic and British Imperial subjects covers the European Dictator’s key weapon in good detail , and Michael Roffe provides classic colour plates . The rest of the book is filled with good b/w photos of guns and gear – although I bet today’s version has even more colour. The Subject is the arm that Napoleon loved most and had been most educated about. Taking advantage of the reforms of the great administrator Gribeauval at the end of the Bourbon era, Napoleon came up in a world where Gunnery Officers were undervalued. Napoleon’s strong use of artillery , his invention of the massed battery concept, and his use of horse artillery were all ahead of his military peers. This book delivers all the key points, if in a truncated form, so they can fit in all those lovely colour plates. It’s a strong package, even today. There are few adult themes save politics and no graphic injury passages, so this is a good book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 Years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast the intended audience, this is a good resource- though not quite the godsend it was in the 1970s. The gamer gets all the units’ uniforms, regular, horse artillery, and the guys who drove all the horses for everyone else. For the Modeler, the uniforms, and lots of good pics of gear. The Military Enthusiast gets a quick but thorough look at Artillery in the Grande Armee. A wonderful trip down memory lane for me.
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