Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

A quality publication, 30 Dec 2008
An excellent addition to my growing library on the American Revolutionary War. Good descriptive text and clear colour plates, ideal for the Wargamer/Figure painters out there.

Really pleased with the book so purchased the sister volume "Napoleonic Military Uniforms"

Worth the wait , 31 Jul 2008
I have been waiting for this book since November. I had pre-ordered it on the strength of its sister volume; Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and its been worth the wait.

Its packed full of details of the uniforms and equipment used by all the main participants of the war; the Americans, the British, the French, the Spanish, the Hessians and the Native American units who like the Americans themselves were on both sides of the conflict.

The illustrations are fantastic and anyone interested in this war/revolution or military history in general will love this.

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

A quality publication, 30 Dec 2008
An excellent addition to my growing library on the American Revolutionary War. Good descriptive text and clear colour plates, ideal for the Wargamer/Figure painters out there.

Really pleased with the book so purchased the sister volume "Napoleonic Military Uniforms"

Worth the wait , 31 Jul 2008
I have been waiting for this book since November. I had pre-ordered it on the strength of its sister volume; Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and its been worth the wait.

Its packed full of details of the uniforms and equipment used by all the main participants of the war; the Americans, the British, the French, the Spanish, the Hessians and the Native American units who like the Americans themselves were on both sides of the conflict.

The illustrations are fantastic and anyone interested in this war/revolution or military history in general will love this.

AT LAST PUBLISHED !... was about time..., 29 Jan 2008
Histoire&Collections produces a magnificent set of Napoleonic books which are, to put it mildly, delivered to the public somewhat erratically (why ESSLING -which I dutifully bought- has been released before those other books announced months ago is a mystery to me), or non-edited and pre-announced months before release... amazon.co.uk. ... and other booksellers must be really mad at them BECAUSE THEY DO NOT DELIVER WHEN PROMISED... ex: BEREZINA (just to mention another book supposedly to be released last year...).

All right, I got mine (I couldn't wait and got it from France), and IT IS GREAT... so my intuition was OK... even the horses are big and sturdy to pull the Emperor's daughters... excellent info about Larrey's uniform, ADC's and of course the Trains... it includes some info missing on the other four volumes about colonels-generals etc.
I wish I had them (the five of them) when painting my wargames figures... not that they are faulty... but getting the info would have been a lot easier.
It outshines OSPREY's books about The Imperial Guard by miles.

IT WAS REALLY SLOW BUT WORTH IT!

ADB

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

A quality publication, 30 Dec 2008
An excellent addition to my growing library on the American Revolutionary War. Good descriptive text and clear colour plates, ideal for the Wargamer/Figure painters out there.

Really pleased with the book so purchased the sister volume "Napoleonic Military Uniforms"

Worth the wait , 31 Jul 2008
I have been waiting for this book since November. I had pre-ordered it on the strength of its sister volume; Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and its been worth the wait.

Its packed full of details of the uniforms and equipment used by all the main participants of the war; the Americans, the British, the French, the Spanish, the Hessians and the Native American units who like the Americans themselves were on both sides of the conflict.

The illustrations are fantastic and anyone interested in this war/revolution or military history in general will love this.

AT LAST PUBLISHED !... was about time..., 29 Jan 2008
Histoire&Collections produces a magnificent set of Napoleonic books which are, to put it mildly, delivered to the public somewhat erratically (why ESSLING -which I dutifully bought- has been released before those other books announced months ago is a mystery to me), or non-edited and pre-announced months before release... amazon.co.uk. ... and other booksellers must be really mad at them BECAUSE THEY DO NOT DELIVER WHEN PROMISED... ex: BEREZINA (just to mention another book supposedly to be released last year...).

All right, I got mine (I couldn't wait and got it from France), and IT IS GREAT... so my intuition was OK... even the horses are big and sturdy to pull the Emperor's daughters... excellent info about Larrey's uniform, ADC's and of course the Trains... it includes some info missing on the other four volumes about colonels-generals etc.
I wish I had them (the five of them) when painting my wargames figures... not that they are faulty... but getting the info would have been a lot easier.
It outshines OSPREY's books about The Imperial Guard by miles.

IT WAS REALLY SLOW BUT WORTH IT!

ADB


Waffen-SS Uniforms in Colour , 18 Jun 2007
This is an excellent book giving real value for money, beautifully reproduced photographs detailing original uniforms and equipment in full colour. This is a "must" for students, collectors, re-enactors or anyone interested in this era.

Brilliant, 01 Jun 2002
This book offers a very affordable choice for anyone interested in Waffen SS uniforms and camoflague clothing. The book is completely full of colour photos of re-enactors dressed in original articles of clothing. The only problem with this is that the photos are posed and not original and as such do not show properly how the uniforms would have been worn, that is the only thing stopping me giving this book 5 stars. However, that said, it is a brilliant resource on different camoflague patterns and has good information about the field grey uniforms too. Also covered is the wearing of field equipment such as ammo pouches and bayonets, etc. Of particular interest is the photos of the Pioneer and his canvas equipment, which is often overlooked in other books of the same subject. All in all, a good afordable resource.

Excellent, 20 Oct 2000
For those intersted in the Waffen SS, this book is a must.

This book includes virtually every variant of Waffen SS camouflage uniform together with the normal Felgrau kit.

If that weren't enough, the price is inbeliveable too.

Well worth the money, 14 Dec 1998
This book is an excellent source of information on the uniforms of the Waffen SS. Each uniform is displayed in vivid form and the text I found very informative indeed.The equipment shown is also extremely intersting and in excellant condition. A touch of realism is given to the photographs with the inclusion of some AFV's including a T-34, Zundapp motorcycle, Hetzer tank destroyer and a Kubelwagen.

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

A quality publication, 30 Dec 2008
An excellent addition to my growing library on the American Revolutionary War. Good descriptive text and clear colour plates, ideal for the Wargamer/Figure painters out there.

Really pleased with the book so purchased the sister volume "Napoleonic Military Uniforms"

Worth the wait , 31 Jul 2008
I have been waiting for this book since November. I had pre-ordered it on the strength of its sister volume; Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and its been worth the wait.

Its packed full of details of the uniforms and equipment used by all the main participants of the war; the Americans, the British, the French, the Spanish, the Hessians and the Native American units who like the Americans themselves were on both sides of the conflict.

The illustrations are fantastic and anyone interested in this war/revolution or military history in general will love this.

AT LAST PUBLISHED !... was about time..., 29 Jan 2008
Histoire&Collections produces a magnificent set of Napoleonic books which are, to put it mildly, delivered to the public somewhat erratically (why ESSLING -which I dutifully bought- has been released before those other books announced months ago is a mystery to me), or non-edited and pre-announced months before release... amazon.co.uk. ... and other booksellers must be really mad at them BECAUSE THEY DO NOT DELIVER WHEN PROMISED... ex: BEREZINA (just to mention another book supposedly to be released last year...).

All right, I got mine (I couldn't wait and got it from France), and IT IS GREAT... so my intuition was OK... even the horses are big and sturdy to pull the Emperor's daughters... excellent info about Larrey's uniform, ADC's and of course the Trains... it includes some info missing on the other four volumes about colonels-generals etc.
I wish I had them (the five of them) when painting my wargames figures... not that they are faulty... but getting the info would have been a lot easier.
It outshines OSPREY's books about The Imperial Guard by miles.

IT WAS REALLY SLOW BUT WORTH IT!

ADB


Waffen-SS Uniforms in Colour , 18 Jun 2007
This is an excellent book giving real value for money, beautifully reproduced photographs detailing original uniforms and equipment in full colour. This is a "must" for students, collectors, re-enactors or anyone interested in this era.

Brilliant, 01 Jun 2002
This book offers a very affordable choice for anyone interested in Waffen SS uniforms and camoflague clothing. The book is completely full of colour photos of re-enactors dressed in original articles of clothing. The only problem with this is that the photos are posed and not original and as such do not show properly how the uniforms would have been worn, that is the only thing stopping me giving this book 5 stars. However, that said, it is a brilliant resource on different camoflague patterns and has good information about the field grey uniforms too. Also covered is the wearing of field equipment such as ammo pouches and bayonets, etc. Of particular interest is the photos of the Pioneer and his canvas equipment, which is often overlooked in other books of the same subject. All in all, a good afordable resource.

Excellent, 20 Oct 2000
For those intersted in the Waffen SS, this book is a must.

This book includes virtually every variant of Waffen SS camouflage uniform together with the normal Felgrau kit.

If that weren't enough, the price is inbeliveable too.

Well worth the money, 14 Dec 1998
This book is an excellent source of information on the uniforms of the Waffen SS. Each uniform is displayed in vivid form and the text I found very informative indeed.The equipment shown is also extremely intersting and in excellant condition. A touch of realism is given to the photographs with the inclusion of some AFV's including a T-34, Zundapp motorcycle, Hetzer tank destroyer and a Kubelwagen.

Social history or fashion review?, 21 Jan 2005
An odd mixture of social history and study of fashion. She seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of the book comparing the stockings of the WAAF with those of the AAC, but overall a fascinating look at women on and near the battlefield. The style is oddly disjointed - three consecutive chapters all cover the same period and any could be substituted for the other, they don't really make a coherent whole. I found the most interesting part was the final chapter which looks as the author's own experiences in the first Gulf War and around the world as a war correspondent. Food for much thought - covering both the problems suffered by women in a male-dominated environment and the glory they have gained. No solutions but an interesting history.

Women and War - a review, 21 Aug 2004
This is an entertaining and well written book about the role of women in a war situation from Victorian times to the present day. Miss Adie does not bore the reader with to many statistics but tells the reader entertaining and (occasionally) enlightening stories about the women who made and make it to the battlefield.

She does not glamourize these women but neither does she patronize them. The details she provides are brief but telling and will undoubtedly leave many readers wanting to know more about some if not all of these doughty females.

This book is not a hagiography, it is a straight-forward retaling of the exploits of some very remarkable women and is also an entertaining read. It does not talk down to its readership and assumes that if you are interested enough to wish to read about this subject then you are grown up enough not to be spoon fed with politically correct language and euphemisms, which is a refreshing change.

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle companies and battalions this gives you just enough information to paint most of the British units you might want. This pattern is repeated for all the major combatants.

If you want a cheap introduction to the uniforms of the Napoleonic wars that is jam packed with illustrations then this is the book to get. Although, if you want to start modeling you would probably need more.

The Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J. Haythornthwaite lacks the color plates but has a much better collection of information on uniforms and uniform changes. If you can get a copy, grab it. Plus, he also gives a good idea of the varying sizes of units throughout the era and a whole lot more.

Napoleon's War in Spain: The French Peninsular Campaigns, 1807-1814 by Henry Lachouque et al and Military dress of the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 by Martin Windrow are good examples of campaign centered books that really give you a great understanding of the uniforms of the period without having to resort to Osprey (although, if you wanted to spend that much money, Osprey are great, most being very good but some still vary in quality). Both of these books have less color plates than Digby's book but give a much better view of the uniforms.

And if you want a book on battle tactics of the Napoleonic era then a great place to start is Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir.

One of my favorite books for uniforms, as lopsided as it is, is Hourtoulle's Soldiers and Uniforms of teh Napoleonic Wars. This book uses tableaux instead of Digby's individual soldiers and is therefore able to show many more examples of soldiers within a regiment (plus the backs usually) but not as many individual units overall. Still a fantastic book.

Napoleonic Uniforms of that world, 27 Jan 2007
For those who do not have the Napoleonic Source Book by Philip J Haythornthwaite, this would be an ideal book to have instead. Although the plates of uniforms are more like good drawings rather than one or two pictures on a page, they are designed with the writing around them. The information is very good and it has great paintings, tables, equipment and accurate uniforms from the time period. The only downside to this, is the poor quality of maps-they are good but no real information. They are static and only give an impression at one part of the battle-like the start of war.
Other than that the information is quite good which gives an introduction with an excellent map and has some information.
The next section then goes into the background history into what lead to the Napoleonic wars giving you the history of Pre-Revolutionary France, the Causes of the Revolution, the Terror, the Directory and finally the Napoleonic rise and fall. There is also a part on the Trafalgar battle with the map at the start of the sea battle and ship positions and the reason for the battle with very good tables of navy strengths of various nations. There is also an interesting section of Life of a Soldier, Uniforms and Badges of Rank and Major Campaigns and Battles (these maps are rather disappointing).
Next you have the history of various countries starting with France which tells of the uniform changes and development and includes each part of the army: infantry, cavalry and the artillery. The gradual information changes of the uniforms are very interesting and are a good reference source.
The French, Austrian and Russian sections are excellent as well as the British role during this period. The rise of the German countries and Prussian sections are also well written. The Section on the USA, Denmark and Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Warsaw along with Spain and Portugal, Italy and Naples make it very alive. The Glossary to finish is an average deal that some will read with interest.
All in all it is a very good, well written piece but if you are only interested in the Napoleonic wars, this will not be so good. It does concentrate too much on the revolution uniforms and plates which, if it had been called Uniforms of the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would have made it a better accurately described book. None the less with it's background information leading into the Napoleonic period, this is a very good book to read.
Well worth the wait.

A great book! , 27 Dec 2006
This is a great general book that I have been waiting months for and it was well worth the wait. I have been fascinated by the this period since I was hooked by the Sharpe novels as a teenager.

This book is packed solid with clear, colourful, detailed illustrations on all the main participants and many of the minor ones: the French, the British (with sections on the KGL, the Brunswickers and the African Corps), the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, the USA, Spain, Portugal, the Polish, Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc so you can see pretty comprehensive.

I collected the Del Prado Napoleonic cavalry figures a few years ago and a lot of the same illustrations have been included here. So, if you are interested in military history in general and or the Napoleonic period in particular and or military modelling then this is a book for you! It needs 10 stars really! The title says it all - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars. I cant fault it as a general guide.

A quality publication, 30 Dec 2008
An excellent addition to my growing library on the American Revolutionary War. Good descriptive text and clear colour plates, ideal for the Wargamer/Figure painters out there.

Really pleased with the book so purchased the sister volume "Napoleonic Military Uniforms"

Worth the wait , 31 Jul 2008
I have been waiting for this book since November. I had pre-ordered it on the strength of its sister volume; Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars and its been worth the wait.

Its packed full of details of the uniforms and equipment used by all the main participants of the war; the Americans, the British, the French, the Spanish, the Hessians and the Native American units who like the Americans themselves were on both sides of the conflict.

The illustrations are fantastic and anyone interested in this war/revolution or military history in general will love this.

AT LAST PUBLISHED !... was about time..., 29 Jan 2008
Histoire&Collections produces a magnificent set of Napoleonic books which are, to put it mildly, delivered to the public somewhat erratically (why ESSLING -which I dutifully bought- has been released before those other books announced months ago is a mystery to me), or non-edited and pre-announced months before release... amazon.co.uk. ... and other booksellers must be really mad at them BECAUSE THEY DO NOT DELIVER WHEN PROMISED... ex: BEREZINA (just to mention another book supposedly to be released last year...).

All right, I got mine (I couldn't wait and got it from France), and IT IS GREAT... so my intuition was OK... even the horses are big and sturdy to pull the Emperor's daughters... excellent info about Larrey's uniform, ADC's and of course the Trains... it includes some info missing on the other four volumes about colonels-generals etc.
I wish I had them (the five of them) when painting my wargames figures... not that they are faulty... but getting the info would have been a lot easier.
It outshines OSPREY's books about The Imperial Guard by miles.

IT WAS REALLY SLOW BUT WORTH IT!

ADB


Waffen-SS Uniforms in Colour , 18 Jun 2007
This is an excellent book giving real value for money, beautifully reproduced photographs detailing original uniforms and equipment in full colour. This is a "must" for students, collectors, re-enactors or anyone interested in this era.

Brilliant, 01 Jun 2002
This book offers a very affordable choice for anyone interested in Waffen SS uniforms and camoflague clothing. The book is completely full of colour photos of re-enactors dressed in original articles of clothing. The only problem with this is that the photos are posed and not original and as such do not show properly how the uniforms would have been worn, that is the only thing stopping me giving this book 5 stars. However, that said, it is a brilliant resource on different camoflague patterns and has good information about the field grey uniforms too. Also covered is the wearing of field equipment such as ammo pouches and bayonets, etc. Of particular interest is the photos of the Pioneer and his canvas equipment, which is often overlooked in other books of the same subject. All in all, a good afordable resource.

Excellent, 20 Oct 2000
For those intersted in the Waffen SS, this book is a must.

This book includes virtually every variant of Waffen SS camouflage uniform together with the normal Felgrau kit.

If that weren't enough, the price is inbeliveable too.

Well worth the money, 14 Dec 1998
This book is an excellent source of information on the uniforms of the Waffen SS. Each uniform is displayed in vivid form and the text I found very informative indeed.The equipment shown is also extremely intersting and in excellant condition. A touch of realism is given to the photographs with the inclusion of some AFV's including a T-34, Zundapp motorcycle, Hetzer tank destroyer and a Kubelwagen.

Social history or fashion review?, 21 Jan 2005
An odd mixture of social history and study of fashion. She seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of the book comparing the stockings of the WAAF with those of the AAC, but overall a fascinating look at women on and near the battlefield. The style is oddly disjointed - three consecutive chapters all cover the same period and any could be substituted for the other, they don't really make a coherent whole. I found the most interesting part was the final chapter which looks as the author's own experiences in the first Gulf War and around the world as a war correspondent. Food for much thought - covering both the problems suffered by women in a male-dominated environment and the glory they have gained. No solutions but an interesting history.

Women and War - a review, 21 Aug 2004
This is an entertaining and well written book about the role of women in a war situation from Victorian times to the present day. Miss Adie does not bore the reader with to many statistics but tells the reader entertaining and (occasionally) enlightening stories about the women who made and make it to the battlefield.

She does not glamourize these women but neither does she patronize them. The details she provides are brief but telling and will undoubtedly leave many readers wanting to know more about some if not all of these doughty females.

This book is not a hagiography, it is a straight-forward retaling of the exploits of some very remarkable women and is also an entertaining read. It does not talk down to its readership and assumes that if you are interested enough to wish to read about this subject then you are grown up enough not to be spoon fed with politically correct language and euphemisms, which is a refreshing change.

Excellent book - a "must have"!, 04 Oct 2007
This book is an absolute "must have" for anybody with even the remotest interest in the RN, fashion, history and social changes of the 18th/19th century. The fantastic pictures aside, "Dressed To Kill" provides a lot of interesting background information on the way fashion influenced society, how rank and status were expressed by means of clothing etc., and how wearing the right coat at the right time could make a career (and the wrong one break it).

Historic photographs and caricatures document how fashion's madness began to influence the uniforms (I got the impression that Midshipmen were especially prone to become fashion-victims...).

"Dressed to Kill" is a fascinating, well-written book; the pictures prove that clothing can be art; art created with needle and thread rather than with brush or quill. The author has done a wonderful job here and yes, I admit it, seeing all those dress coats and waistcoats and breeches and buttons I simply ignore the fact that the uniforms and those wearing them very likely smelled like "wet, rancid sheep", as a good friend of mine so eloquently put it.

Deutsche Soldaten, but only soldaten..., 17 Dec 2008
Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).

The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.

I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.

The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.

All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!

Lets get personal... , 09 Dec 2008
A new book out on the subject but surprise surprise still a couple of junior errors about kit. The book it's self is fine, good photos and lots of cuttings etc from manuals and cartoons of the day. But glaring mistakes on a book that goes all out to show detail (in depth) is a bit poor. 4/5 for the photos and depth of detail on some equiptment but if the basics are wrong you got to wonder about the rest?

An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith, 17 Sep 2007
An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith is a very good introductory book on the uniforms and armies of the Napoleonic wars. Although this book is jam-packed with illustrations it tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing not much well, but those few things are very good. But still I came away wanting just that little bit more. A good example is the lack of unit size numbers for nearly all of the countries covered. Actually, I wish Digby had scrapped all the historical, tactical, technological sections and just stuck to uniforms.

Although there are about 250 plates devoted to showing a uniform of an individual unit this actually just scratches the surface. Consider, there are about 30 plates of the units of Great Britain plus another four plates of Kings German Legion and Brunswickers combined, another four to the East and West India companies and seven of other foreign troops who fought under the British. 16 of those plates are used to show British line infantry. Considering the changes in uniform, Scots units, varying Rifle compan