Borodino 1812: Napoleon’s great gamble (Campaign, 246)

This is one of the Osprey series, "Campaigns." The feature case study here is Napoleon's invasion of Russia, with the bloody battle of Borodino as the focal point of this slender volume. The volume is 93 pages long--and covers a great deal of territory. That, of course, means that there is only so much that can be covered. Within that limitation, though, the work does a solid job.The volume follows a standard template for the "Campaign" series. A bit of context opens the work, then a chronology. Following that, an analysis of key commanders. Here, that would include, on the French side, Murat, Davout, Ney, and others. Given the scale of Napoleon's forces, he had to delegate considerable authority to his subordinates. Some performed better than others. Just so, the Russian side. With time, the crust General Katuzov became the field commander. While he had his flaws, he was pretty steady during the campaign while he was involved. Among the subordinate officers, the redoubtable Bagration (who was mortally wounded), Barclay de Tolly (up and down), and Platov.Next the plans of both sides are outlined. Napoleon understood the challenges facing him--the immensity of Russia, the need to move quickly, and so on. The book then traces the movements that preceded the battle. Maps are modestly helpful--but they are not always so very clear. Then, the rendering of Borodino. There is enough detail to get a sense of the struggle here. There is also a sense that Napoleon was not at his peak as a commander of an army at battle.The book also discusses what happened after the battle--the French barren occupation of Moscow, the disastrous retreat from Moscow, with the vast bulk of Napoleon's army disappearing.All in all, a useful volume. . . .

"Borodino 1812" is an Osprey Campaign series entry, authored by veteran historian Philip Haythornwaite. It offers a concise account of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812, including the Battle of Borodino, with important effects on the destiny of Imperial France.Haythornwaite quickly sets the stage for the campaign. Napoleon entered Russia with his Grande Armee in June 1812, hoping for a quick and decisive victory over the forces of Tsar Alexander, to bring him back into compliance with the French Continental system. However, Tsar Alexander's Army proved elusive in the vast spaces of Russia, and were finally brought to battle at Borodino, 70 miles west of Moscow. The French Emperor, at the limits of his own supply lines, gambled that he might finally conjure his decisive victory.This book uses the standard Osprey Campaign format, with introduction, a chronology, brief descriptions of the opposing commanders and armies, a narrative of the battle of Borodino, and the aftermath. There is a nice selection of maps, diagrams and illustrations. The maps are a bit of a disappointment, but the book is a good enough introduction to campaign and the battle, and recommended to the general reader interested in the Napoleonic Wars.

A good detailed account of the battle. Easy to read. I enjoyed it. Should be complemented by watching Epic TV documentary on the battle and Russia campaign

Well written and researched book. Detailed and comprehensive study of the decisive battle of the 1812 Campaign in Russia. A must for specialists in the Napoleonic Wars be they reenactors, uniformologists or wargamers. Of interest to other historians, and antiquarians

All the Osprey series are well done. Art work in them is terrific. Not to expensive, 100's more to go

A good book about the battle.

Awesome

nice book

Great series

This was a much anticipated title from Osprey but it is much too brief. For such a grand scale campaign this could have been done in 2 books - 1.Borodino, 2.The Retreat. You just don't get an appreciation of the slaughter and the immense struggle of both armies throughout the battle. One of my main complaints with this book as with other recent Ospreys is that the maps are spread over 2 pages with a lot of the detail being lost in the middle, so unless you want to break the spine you can't see this area. The illustrations by Peter Dennis are superb and the army lists are clear and simple to follow within the context of the campaign. As long as you don't pay full price for this book it is still good to have if you are interested in the Napoleonic Wars or the campaign of 1812.With better maps and a bit more detail of the battle it could have been 5 stars.For further reading I would recommend: Borodino and the War of 1812 (by Dr Christopher Duffy), Great Battles: Borodino (by Digby Smith), 'The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Against Kutuzov (by Alexander Mikaberidze)

One more book to add to my Napoleonic campaigns collection but as an overall view of 1812 is very short I would prefer it concentrated only in Borodno Battle.As for Borodino battle is very brief and maps are very simple.

What you would expect from Osprey, it covers much more than the battle, the whole campaign in fact.Unfortunatly like another title I have recently purchased ( Gettysberg ) it lacks a detailed map of the battle.A good sampler for further research.

anyway it is a pity with no reference to Borodino panorama painted in famous Moscow museum with great details on the battle