Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Biography!, 19 Oct 2000
This book is the long awaited reprint of John Gallaher's 1976 classic account of one of Napoleon's greatest Marshals, Louis Davout, 'The Iron Marshal'. According to David Chandler, Davout was "one of the least liked as a man, the ablest as a commander, and the most feared - and respected - as an adversary. He was also, from 1798, one of the loyalist of Napoleon's key subordinates."This is an excellent biography of a Napoleonic commander. The book covers Davout's military career from when he entered the Ecole royale militaire in 1779, through the Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and finally his death in 1823. The narrative flowed along faultlessly although I would have liked more detail in regards to Davout's battles. However the author has covered these battles well enough and provided eight maps to assist the reader in following the action. Davout fought in numerous campaigns from Egypt to Russia and was successful always, his most famous battle being at Auerstadt. Mr Gallaher has also supplied the reader with some insight into Davout the man with details of his relationship with his devoted wife and the tragedies of his children. You leave this book with a feeling that Davout was a man who did his all for duty (France and the Emperor) but never forgot his family. I loved reading this book and I felt it was not long enough (420 pages). I fretted about finishing, I wanted more, I did not want to put the book down nor finish it! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about the napoleonic period or anybody who enjoys a decent military biography. This is a great book about a great commander.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent French Marshal's bio !, 9 Jun 2007
A detailed study of one of the most successful & undefeated of Napoleon's Marshal's. This definitive biography - the only available study of the Iron Marshal in English - charts Davout's career from his enlistment as a Volunteer in the Republican army to his appointment as Minister of War in 1815. A veteran
of campaigns in Germany and along the Rhine under the flags of the
Republic, Davout first came to Napoleon's attention in Egypt and he was
created a marshal in 1804. He quickly won a reputation as a fierce
disciplinarian, an energetic and resolute leader, a capable subordinate and
a succesful and trusted independent commander - as demonstrated in Egypt, and at Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstadt, Eckmuhl, Eylau, Wagram, the 1812 Russian campaign Hamburg and more
Based on extensive research in the Davout family papers and a deep understanding of the Napoleonic military machine, this superb biography stands as a unique source on Napoleon and the men who forged triumph from success. He joined the Royal Army just prior to the French Revolution and soon became one of Napoleon's strongest supporters.
Carbondale 1976, Southern Illinois Univ, hard bound in dust jacket, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2, xi, 420 pp, 9 maps, 9 illus, notes, bibliog, index.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for a great commander, 25 Feb 2004
By A Customer
By far the best Napoleonic biography I have ever read, through it you can realize why the I Corps was the best military machine ever appeared in a Napoleonic battlefield and why Davout was the most feared marshal.What could had happen if he hadn't stayed in Hamburg during 1813-1814 or hadn't been ordered War Minister in 1815? For sure you will make yorself this question once you finish the book. The only thing I think could be improved in the book is the description of the battles were Davout had a most important role.
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by A.G. Macdonell
by Baron de Marbot
by Baron de Marbot
by Baron de Marbot
