Imperial Bayonets: Tactics of the Napoleonic Battery, Battalion and Brigade As Found in Contemporary Regulations

by George F. Nafziger

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.

Genres: History, Military History

312 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

George F. Nafziger is an American writer and editor. He runs the Nafziger Collection, a publishing house specializing in military history.

Nafziger earned his BA and MBA at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and his PhD From the Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. He has served as Director of the Napoleonic Society of America and the Napoleonic Alliance. Nafziger is a fellow of Le Souvenir Napoléonienne Internationale.

He served in the US Navy for four years and another two decades in the US Navy Reserves. Nafziger did two tours to Vietnam and experienced combat firsthand. In addition, he worked in the State Department's African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program, where he trained African officers in peacekeeping operations from 2002 to 2012.

Reviews

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't get much more boring than this - simply recounting the drill regulations of many armies in the Napoleonic wars. However this is essential aspect of understanding warfare in the era. The strength is clearly in the infantry and leaves one with an uncertainty about how Cavalry maneuvered. There is no real analysis or appreciation given of how this worked out in practice, nevertheless a vital work for every Napoleonic historian or hobbyist.

[Charlie Ye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a history book; it’s a military manual. After finishing it, I feel like I ought to fire up a campaign in the video game Napoleon: Total War just to see if my tactical prowess has actually improved and whether I’ve truly mastered the material.