Napoleonic Wars

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In Upper Asia, beyond the Euphrates, the direct and material influence of Greek ascendancy was more short-lived. Yet, during the existence of the Hellenic kingdoms in these regions, especially of the Greek kingdom of Bactria, the modern Bokhara, very important effects were produced on the intellectual tendencies and tastes of the inhabitants of those countries and of the adjacent ones, by the animating contact of the Grecian spirit.

*Includes pictures of the two men and important people, places, and events in their lives.
*Discusses and answers common myths and misconceptions about Caesar and Napoleon.
*Includes a bibliography on Napoleon's life for further study.
*Includes a Table of Contents.

Over the last 2,500 years, many would-be kings and conquerors have marched armies across Europe in the hopes of establishing a dominant empire on the continent. But though many have tried, almost all of them have failed. The two greatest exceptions to that rule were Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte, and their accomplishments ensured that they will forever be enshrined among the ranks of history's greatest generals.

Possibly the most important man of antiquity, and even all of history, was Julius Caesar. Alexander Hamilton, the famous American patriot, once remarked that “the greatest man who ever lived was Julius Caesar”. Such a tribute, coming from one of the Founding Fathers of the quintessential modern democracy in reference to a man who destroyed the Roman Republic, is testament to the enduring mark that Caesar left upon the world. The ultimate conqueror, statesman, dictator, visionary, and opportunist, during his time in power Caesar expanded the borders of Rome to almost twice their previous size, revolutionized the infrastructure of the Roman state, and destroyed the Roman Republic for good, leaving a line of emperors in its place. His legacy is so strong that his name has become, in many languages, synonymous with power: the Emperors of Austria and Germany bore the title Kaiser, and the Czars of Russia also owe the etymology of their title to Caesar. His name also crept further eastward out of Europe, even cropping up in Hindi and Urdu, where the term for “Emperor” is Kaisar.

When historians are asked to list the most influential people of the last 200 years, a handful of names might vary, but there is no question that the list will include Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the most successful French leader since Charlemagne and widely acknowledged as one of the greatest generals ever. Indeed, in his quest to emulate Caesar, Napoleon was likely the most influential man of the 19th century, leaving an indelible mark on everything from the strategy and tactics of warfare to the Napoleonic Code that drafted laws across the continent. To defeat Napoleon, the Europeans had to form large coalitions multiple times, which helped bring about the entangling alliances that sparked World War I after Europe was rebuilt following Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon’s influence on the United States was also palpable. To finance his endeavors, he struck a deal with President Thomas Jefferson that became the Louisiana Purchase, and it was Napoleonic warfare that was used throughout the Civil War, leading to massive casualties because the weaponry of the 1860s was now more advanced than the tactics of 1815.

When Napoleon died at St. Helena, he still engendered fear and distaste among the Europeans, but the man and his legacy continued to be held in awe across the world. In Napoleon’s time, emperors and leaders still hoped to become the next Julius Caesar. After the Napoleonic Era, emperors and generals hoped to become the next Napoleon. For the next century, military leaders and even civilians struck Napoleonic poses when having their pictures taken, and phrases like “Napoleonic complex” and “meeting one’s Waterloo” are now common phrases in the English lexicon. It would be truly impossible to envision or understand geopolitics in the West over the last two centuries without Napoleon.

Whether Napoleon eclipsed Caesar remains a subject of endless debate, but the two men will be forever linked. Along with pictures of the two men and important people, places and events in their lives, you will learn about Caesar and Napoleon like you never have before, in no time at all.

Large Format for easy reading. Historical biography of the French Civil War General and First Consul of the French Republic from the 19th Century writer and historian.

*Includes pictures of Forrest and important people, places, and events in his life.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a Table of Contents

“I got there first with the most men.” – Nathan Bedford Forrest

Despite the fact that the Civil War was fought nearly 150 years ago, it remains a polarizing topic for the country to this day. And nowhere is this more evident than in the life and legacy of Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the war’s most controversial soldier.

When the war broke out, Forrest enlisted in the army and was instructed to raise a battalion of cavalry. A self-made man with no formal military training, Forrest spent the entire war fighting in the Western theater, becoming the only individual in the war to rise from the rank of Private to Lieutenant General. By the end of the war, Forrest was known throughout the South as the “Wizard of the Saddle,” and anecdotes of his prowess in battle were legendary. In addition to being injured multiple times in battle, Forrest has been credited with having killed 30 Union soldiers in combat and having 29 horses shot out from under him.

History has properly accorded Forrest his place as one of the most courageous soldiers of the Civil War, and Forrest attained a number of command successes in the Western theater of the war. But Forrest was also at the head of Confederate troops accused of massacring a Union garrison comprised mostly of black soldiers at Fort Pillow, and he was also a prominent slave trader, an overt racist, and likely a leader of the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. When he died in 1877, in part due to various war wounds, he was the nation’s most notorious unreconstructed rebel. John E. Stanchack, an editor of the Civil War Times Illustrated, aptly noted in 1993, “Everything…about [Forrest] is bent to fit some political or intellectual agenda.” Ashdown and Caudill, authors of The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest, write that the story of Forrest “embraces violence, race, realism, sectionalism, politics, reconciliation, and repentance.”

With these characteristics, it has proven almost impossible for any American to have a neutral view of Forrest, and it has been even harder to ignore him. Subsequently, Forrest’s image has vacillated from celebrated to reviled, sometimes both at the same time, over the last 150 years, as the numerous and notable aspects of Forrest’s life and legacy were considered by different people at different times.

The World’s Greatest Generals: The Life and Career of Nathan Bedford Forrest addresses the controversies and battles within Forrest’s war record, but it also humanizes the man, explaining what drove him before and after the war. Along with pictures of Forrest and other important people, places and events in his life, you will learn about the Wizard of the Saddle like you never have before, in no time at all.

The second book in the new Sir Sidney Smith Nautical Adventure Series

Sidney Smith, now “Sir Sidney,” is reunited with his friends, Lucas Walker and Susan Whitney.

After surviving the horrors of the destruction of Toulon, Sir Sidney is given a critical assignment. British gold shipments are going missing. Even worse, the ships are literally disappearing in plain sight of their escorts and the vessels around them. The mystery must be solved if Britain is going to maintain its lines of credit and continue to finance the war. But to do that Sir Sidney must unravel a web of intrigue that leads all the way to the Board of Admiralty.

This Fireship Press series is based on the life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith (1764-1840)

It’s 1798 and Sir Sidney Smith is languishing in “The Temple,” France’s maximum security prison. For the past two years he had been running the Agence de Paris—Britain’s primary spy ring in France—from his cell. But the authorities are starting to close in. It’s time for Sir Sidney to leave; but, to do so, he must stage one of the most spectacular prison breaks in history.

Arriving back in England, Sir Sidney is welcomed as a national hero; but he is far from comfortable in that role. It is with relief, therefore, that he receives a set of orders sending him to Portsmouth for further duty. What he didn’t know was that his new duty would involve working with a ner-do-well itinerant musician, by the name of William Parish—who happens to be a genius at breaking codes.

Napoleon is massing ships, troops, and supplies at Toulon and a number of other ports. He is clearly planning an invasion; but an invasion of who, where and when, no one knows. The key is a captured message that Parish and Smith must break, but it’s encoded in a way that has never been seen before.

From a dreary prison in Paris, to the opulent palaces of Constantinople, to the horror of the Battle of the Nile—The Temple will take you on a wild ride through 18th Century nautical history.

The Sir Sidney Smith Series is based on the life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith (1764-1840)

*Illustrated with pictures of Clausewitz and history's most famous generals

With the exception of Napoleon Bonaparte, no man was more influential on the military tactics and strategy of 19th century warfare than Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz (June 1, 1780 – November 16, 1831). Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war, but he is remembered today for his military treatise On War, which remains one of the most important military treatises ever written. It was mandatory for all military students and officers to read during the 19th century, and it was common practice for generals during the Civil War to carry Clausewitz’s treatise and read it to assist them in strategy and tactics.

On War covered every conceivable facet of warfare, using historical battles as examples of what to do and what not to do. The treatise discusses how opposite forces interact, and how unexpected new developments unfolding under the "fog of war" called for rapid decisions by alert commanders. In opposition to Antoine-Henri Jomini he argued war could not be quantified or graphed or reduced to mapwork and graphs.

Perhaps most importantly, Clausewitz realized the correlation between politics and war. Clausewitz had many aphorisms, of which the most famous is, "War is not merely a political act, but also a political instrument, a continuation of political relations, a carrying out of the same by other means.” This view of warfare is still the standard viewpoint of war today..

This edition of On War is specially formatted with a Table of Contents covering each volume and all chapters, and an original introduction.

This vividly illustrated history of the Napoleonic Wars documents the wars' origins in the French Revolution, narrates Napoleon's victories at Austerlitz and Jena, and concludes with his defeats in the Iberian peninsula, Russia, and finally at Waterloo. Author Gunther E. Rothenberg describes how Napoleon transformed interstate warfare into a system of relentless conquest, creating a military superpower on a scale not seen since the Roman Empire. Though eventually defeated, Napoleon's model of conquest set a pattern that was to be revived by modern totalitarian states, and their opponents.

• A sweeping examination of the rise, triumph, and eventual downfall of Napoleon, a man whose military genius forever changed the face of war.
• Analysis of Napoleon's system of waging war, and the strategies that allowed him to create a singularly powerful army.
• A look at the profound influence of Napoleonic conquest on warfare of the modern era.