The Epic Struggle

The War of Wars: The Epic Struggle Between Britain and France: 1789-1815 (Paperback)

I recently read this rather titanic tome. I saw it and picked it up in Heathrow Airport, while trapped there a couple of months ago. It tells the tale of the war between France and her allies, and Britain and her allies...starting with the Frence Revolution and ending with the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, and his subsequent exile.

I have to say, I learned an enormous amount by reading this book. Let me give some examples...

1. English, and European, society was more sexual than I would have expected, with various scandalous relationships widely known by the public. For instance, Admiral Lord Nelson had a long public relationship with a beautiful young lady who was not his wife. Princesses and queens seemed to offer themselves up in order to try to save their nations from Napoleon and his cronies.
2. France mounted serious efforts under Napoleon to invade the British Isles.
3. Napoleon's escapades in Egypt, against the Ottoman Empire, left him stranded, as his huge fleet was pretty much at anchor at the Battle of the Nile.
4. The French Revolution was started by French minor noblemen and aristocrats because the French King attempted to balance his budget and tax, not the poor so much, but the aristocrats.
5. The Duke of Wellington was a brilliant general who won his battles by taking defensive positions and then drawing in his opponents.
6. The scope of death in this long struggle amounts to 10% of the population of Europe at the time.

The picture painted of Napoleon as a character is striking. Some aspects of his character reminded me a little of myself. I don't speak of the megalomania, or the mastery of propoganda, or the many mistresses, or the skill on the battlefield under adverse circumstances. Rather's it's the early Napoleon: good at math, family-oriented, facing much career adversity, somewhat shy with the ladies, and somewhat suspicious of religion.

The evolution of warfare styles is clearly obvious, from the innovations that Carnot and Napoleon brought to the table at the beginning of the war, to how those innovations evolved and stopped serving Napoleon well by the end. Sea warfare tactics are aptly illustrated as well.

The book does an excellent job of tying all elements of the story together, and truly painting a picture of characters, tactics, and life for all involved during this epic struggle. It's definitely worth a read, if you can handle a book of this size (832 pages), and if you are interested in Napoleonic history.

Next stop for me in this genre: Winston Churchill.