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This carefully researched book provides an operational level analysis of European warfare from 1792 to 1815 that includes the tactics, operations, and strategy of major conflicts of the time.
2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the famous Waterloo campaign, sparking a renewed interest in Napoleon's prowess as a military leader and acumen as a strategist. This in-depth analysis scrutinizes the complex campaigns and strategies of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, looking at how military genius-referred to in the book as "operational art"-shaded the panorama of 18th-century warfare.
Drawing upon familiar battles as well as lesser-known campaigns, this sweeping reference uses 20th-century military theory to explain 19th-century events. Author John T. Kuehn discusses joint warfare and strategy found in the military movements of Marshal Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland in 1799; the early and later campaigns of Napoleon and Nelson; and the Duke of Wellington's campaigns in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium. The work also includes an entire chapter on theory and history of operational art spanning a variety of perspectives-from theorist Carl von Clausewitz to American air force pilot John Boyd. This book is a must-have for any military history collection.
List of contents
Maps and FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter One: Operational Art
Chapter Two: The War of the First Coalition and the Birth of Modern Operational Art
Chapter Three: Coalition Operational Art in 1799: Suvorov and Masséna in Italy and Switzerland
Chapter Four: Artists of the Waves: The Royal Navy, Nelson, and Operational Art at Sea
Chapter Five: Napoleon Ascendant: Jomini and Clausewitz in Harmony
Chapter Six: The Empires Strike Back: Symmetry Returns to the Operational Level of War
Chapter Seven: Napoleonic Total War in Spain and Russia: 1810-1812
Chapter Eight: Operational Art and the Campaign of 1813
Epilogue: The Twilight of Napoleonic Operational Art: France 1814 and WaterlooAppendix: The Trachenberg ConventionNotesIndex
About the author
John T. Kuehn
