Imperial Bayonets

Tactics of the Napoleonic Battery, Battalion and Brigade as Found in Contemporary Regulations (New Edition)

Nafziger George

"Imperial Bayonets" examines the maneuvering systems of the French, Prussians, Russians, Austrians and British from 1792 to 1815. It studies infantry maneuvers and firepower, cavalry maneuvers, and artillery. It is THE definitive work on Napoleonic tactics and a must read for anyone wanting to understand the fundamentals of period tactics. It provides not only a discussion of every major maneuver of the five major powers, i.e. from line to square, or column, but does time and motion studies of how long it would take to execute those maneuvers and compares them to the other nations. It covers infantry and cavalry maneuvers on this level. It performs an analysis of both musketry effectiveness and artillery effectiveness, providing curves that demonstrate the effectiveness of both. It also covers brigade maneuvers and army marches.

About the Author

George F. Nafziger, PhD, Captain USNR-Ret. earned his BA and MBA at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and his PhD From the Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. His first book, "Napoleon's Invasion of Russia", was published in 1988 and was the first of a series of works on the Napoleonic Era. He has served as a Director of the Napoleonic Society of America and the Napoleonic Alliance. He is a fellow of the Le Souvenir Napoléonienne Internationale, and runs the Nafziger Collection, Inc., a publishing house specializing in military history. He served in the US Navy for 4 years and a further 20 in the US Navy Reserves. He did two tours to Vietnam and experienced combat firsthand.

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