Imperial Bayonets: Tactics of the Napoleonic Battery, Battalion, and Brigade as Found in Contemporary Regulations
by George F. Nafziger
Category: Political Science

Imperial Bayonets examines the methods for infantry, cavalry and artillery fighting on a battery, battalion, regiment, brigade and army level during the Napoleonic period. The drill systems of the French, British, Russian, Prussian and Austrian armies, as laid down in the official regulations of the time, are fully explained. Having researched more than sixty contemporary drill regulations, and as many other documents of the period, the author is able to provide a full record of the tactics of manoeuvre in the Napoleonic era. Whereas the original sources are difficult to understand (including those written in English) and poorly illustrated, Imperial Bayonets is a model of clarity and contains more than ninety illustrations of manoeuvres. The system of warfare between 1792 and 1815 was unique in many respects, and formed the basis for the evolution of warfare in the years to come. But owing to the lack of accurate technical data in print many people today are left with misconceptions about how the system worked. This invaluable book fills the gap in information and will be indispensable for historians, wargamers and those who want to know how the armies of the Napoleonic period manoeuvred.