The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign

Rating:
Summary: Napoleon's Finest Campaign?
Review: FINALLY! A modern author has provided the English-speaking audience with well-researched coverage of Napoleon Bonaparte's first major campaign in an excellent introduction to the Napoleonic wars. Boycott-Brown's hefty volume replaces those older, hard to find, shorter works such as Jackson's ATTACK in the WEST, Adlow's NAPOLEON in ITALY and Ferrero's THE GAMBLE. Brown's work is far more comprehensive and incorporates a most impressive body of research complimented with a lovely bibliography and fairly decent maps. Personally, I enjoyed the author's clear, readable style with a pleasant undercurrent of cultured wit and humor. Along with astute, thoughtful commentary and some fairly sharp analysis, the reader will discover some enlightening asides such as descriptions of Massena's adroit HUMINT network, Austrian secret courier methods, or examples of French drafting of orders. As an old staff officer I particularly enjoy an author who can appreciate the necessity of less glamorous pursuits such as planning, intelligence, and logistics to ensure 'glorious' victories on the battlefield. I am once again amazed at Bonaparte's capacity for work and his grasp of military history and geography -that in-depth research and planning which supplied the vital underpinnings of his spectacular successes. As the indefatigable Berthier commented on his commander, "...he works a lot." The author has done Napoleonic scholars a great service with this nice book - enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Another 'scholarly' work
Review: I was disappointed in this book. Yet again we are subjected to an exhausting study of one of Napoleon's campaigns, and we are left to imagine most of it. The few maps included are simple and at a very large scale, with no troop movements to be found. There is no accounting of armies or orders of battle, and any casualty or other statistics are only mingled with the text and need to be collected and/or analyzed to verify their accuracy. The chapter endnotes are mostly bilbliographical. I was interested to see quotes from personal correspondence, which is almost unheard of, and it gives great insight into Napoleon the man as a result. Sadly, this book did not accomplish what many are longing for,,,a more detailed analysis of the Italian campaign. You'll need a few more books with more information to get a clear picture.

Rating:
Summary: Great reading but could have been better
Review: One of the more interesting books on Napoleonic campaigns, especially one that there haven't been too many books written about it. I found the book to be quite an enjoyable read but like most of the other people who wrote reveiws on it, what bring down the book was lousy maps. Considering the details that the author offered in the book in tracing movements, battles and all that, good maps should have been alloted all over the book. Instead there were basically generic maps in the middle of the book. It sad when I have to go to other books like West Point Atlas of Napoleonic Wars to get a clearer pictures of what the author was trying to say. Considering how familiar the author is to the entire area of operation, maybe he fell into a mind trap of thinking that everyone knows the terrains as much as he. Other then that, I don't have much more to add then what was written before.

Rating:
Summary: A Superb Account of Napoleon's First Campaign
Review: Road to Rivoli is a superb account of Napoleon's first campaign in Italy in 1796-1797. Martin Boycott-Brown, a British scholar, spent seven years in Italy and has used his knowledge of the terrain, as well as Austrian and Italian sources, to present a very thorough account of this campaign. Although not as well known as Napoleon's later campaigns during the empire, the first Italian campaign was probably his most brilliant. Road to Rivoli sheds much new light on this pivotal campaign that began Napoleon on his brilliant military career. The author concludes that, "the campaign could be called a triumph of building and maintaining morale in the face of appalling difficulties of administration and supply."

The book begins with two short chapters on the origins of the war and the weapons and tactics of the late Eighteenth Century. The introductory framework built by these chapters is followed by two more that move to the more specific, focusing on the Austrian army and the French army. These two chapters on the Austrian and French armies are short but valuable in outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing forces. Most accounts tend to portray the Austrian army as a professional - if stuffy and unimaginative - army that was well trained and equipped. Similarly, the French Arm?e d'Italie is usually portrayed as a ill-equipped, demoralized mob prior to the arrival of Napoleon. To his credit, Martin Boycott-Brown strives to dispel these accepted generalizations. As he points out, Italy was a quiet, secondary theater for the Austrians and the units there were under strength and not fully equipped. Disease was costing the Austrians over 900 soldiers per month just prior to the start of the campaign. While the French army was short on supplies and discipline, this same force had beaten the Austrians at the Battle of Lonato five months prior to the arrival of Napoleon. When he did arrive, Napoleon found an army that was in poor condition, but it did know how to fight. Napoleon also benefited by gaining three very able subordinate commanders in Augereau, Massena and Serrurier.

The author goes to great lengths to show the extensive intellectual preparation that Napoleon made for his first campaign. Unlike the Austrian officers, who eschewed book learning, Napoleon read extensively about previous campaigns in Italy, the topography, economy and politics. In modern terms, this would be called intelligence preparation of the battlefield, and it contributed in no small measure to his victory. Once the campaign begins, Martin Boycott-Brown covers the rapid defeat of Piedmont and the spectacular crossing of the Po River in great detail. Although these operations may seem minor in nature due to their rapid conclusion, they were anything but easy. On the receiving end, the Austrians were stunned by Napoleon's first month of campaigning and their morale never fully recovered.

The longest part of the campaign, from June 1796 to January 1797, is covered in the last 165 pages. Napoleon was on the tactical defensive in this period, attempting to hold onto his gains in Italy while fending off Austrian counterattacks. The Austrians made four great attempts to relieve their besieged fortress of Mantua - and Napoleon beat them all four times. However the margin of victory was often narrow, and the French army suffered great losses. The Road to Rivoli climaxes on the battlefield of that name, when Napoleon smashes the final Austrian attempt to break through to Mantua. Following this victory, Mantua surrendered and Napoleon invaded the Tyrol and pushed toward Vienna. The desperate Austrian government sued for an armistice, effectively ending the War of the First Coalition. If there is any disappointment in this book, it is the coverage given to the period following the Battle of Rivoli, which is covered in only a couple of pages. Nor is there any analytical summary of the campaign; losses on both sides, political changes in Italy, etc. Napoleon had not only demonstrated immense military talent in his first campaign, but he had in fact decisively ended the war.

The maps in the book are superb, but unfortunately they lack annotations about French and Austrian movements. The author also provides excellent and very detailed order of battle information on the Austrian army, but quite a bit less on the French. The bibliography and endnotes are thorough. For his first major effort in historical writing, Martin Boycott-Brown has made a very impressive start.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, and the only major source on the subject
Review: Studies of Napoleon's Italian campaign are hard to come by, so this book fills a very important space in Napoleonic historiography. The author does a fine job, with a large amount of detail being presented in a readable style. One comes away feeling they have gained a solid understanding of the campaign.

The book could have made better it the author had carefully examined the mindset of Napoleon himself, and how he felt about everything he was doing. The book also ended rather abruptly, without a discussion of the long-term effects of Napoleon's campaign.

Despite those flaws, this book was very good and should be read by anyone attempting to understand the Napoleonic period.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't get past the first few chapters
Review: This exciting new book on Napoleon's Italian campaign of 1796 by Martin Boycott-Brown is a great story of Napoleon Bonaparte's first military campaign. In over 500 pages of text the author presents a fluid and easy to follow account of the actions and maneuvers of this military genius. He starts the book with a number of chapters outlining the French and Austrian armies, their weapons and tactics, and a brief account of Napoleon's rise to the command of the French armies in Italy.

From there the author takes us on a journey with Napoleon and his army as they march and battle against the combined forces of the Allied armies in Italy. The narrative is easy to follow, is well written and researched and has numerous first-hand accounts throughout.

The only major problem that I have with this book is the maps. I think that there could have been a few more and they should have been placed in the relevant areas of the narrative. I also think that the standard of those supplied could have been of a higher quality. Further, considering that the author lived in the area of these battles, I would have liked to have seen a few photographs of the region and personalities involved.

Those criticisms aside, overall this is an excellent book covering a period of Napoleon's career that is usually glossed over in most current studies. I am sure that the majority of readers who enjoy this period of history or who like good solid accounts of military history will thoroughly enjoy this book.

"The most detailed and coherent account of the campaign that I have ever read.... A truly first-rate study." - Philip Haythornthwaite

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't get past the first few chapters
Review: This is a massive book and doubtless would repay those who can finish it. I didn't like the text. I found the first few chapters rather dreary as the author was trying to set the stage for Napoleon's foray into Italy. I didn't like feel of the book -the paper used was bad and the pictures were bad. And as for the maps? Well, the maps were cursory.
I'll stick to my copy of Attack in the West and Napoleon in Italy for a clear account of this campaign.