Dressed in outrageously romantic uniforms, led by a flamboyant clique of aristocrats and extroopers, Napoleons cavalry had a picturesque quality that belied its ruthless methods and tremendous service record. Drawing heavily on material largely unknown to English speaking readers, the campaigns in Austria, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal are all brought alive and put into their historical context.

One of the leading voices on national-security issues in the US Congress demonstrates how words have been sharp and powerful weapons of victory in this compilation of great military speeches that helped turn the tide of history. Congressman Israel has included speeches that have motivated and mobilized, challenged and comforted. Some were blurted in the heat of combat, others carefully written in places far removed from the brutality of the battlefield, but all will inspire readers with the courage that moved people forward against all odds. This dramatic sweep of military history in the words of history's military leaders serves to reinforce the concept that the pen is mightier than the sword. Congressman Steve Israel represents New York's second district and is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and former member of the Armed Services Committee.

Napoleon's gorgeous centaur-the life of Murat Joachim Murat has come to epitomise the beau ideal cavalryman. Indeed, in the decades following the Napoleonic era, as a horse soldier excelled to extraordinary prominence, the name of Murat was often considered as analogous. In reality nobody could come close in stature and performance. Murat was one of many young men who saw the French Revolution as an opportunity to prosper in influence, power, status and wealth. An unabashed self publicist, his gorgeous uniforms were singular and exceptional even in an age when the dandy in military uniform was the norm. His ambition was insatiable and in this was the root of his downfall, for he lacked the intelligence and moderation to consolidate his advantages. Yet, Murat rose to be a soldier of the highest rank, through marriage a member of Napoleon's own family, he was elevated to the aristocracy as Duke of Berg and in time crowned King of Naples. Though, like many of his calling, he was no military mastermind Murat was a reliable lieutenant to Napoleon often achieving-through deeds of daring-far more than other senior officers could for their emperor. Above all there could be no doubt about the quality of Murat's personal courage. He led from the front and latterly rode into the fiercest melees armed only with a riding crop. Though he came from a different and lesser mould than his master Napoleon, Murat fatally shared his weakness for conceits and hubris and, as with Napoleon himself, poor judgment ended his career ignominiously before a firing squad of his former subjects. Atteridge's biography is a well regarded classic and is highly recommended. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Dressed in outrageously romantic uniforms and led by a flamboyant clique of aristocrats and ex-troopers, Napoleon's cavalry fought in Austria, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Poland, Belgium, and Spain. This account of the most remarkable and successful cavalry in history is the culmination of 30 years of research.

In 1519, the Conquistador Hernán Cortés landed on the mainland of the Americas. His quest to serve God, win gold, and achieve glory drove him into the heartland of what is now Mexico, where no European had ever set foot before. He marched towards to the majestic city of Tenochtitlan, floating like a jewel in the midst of Lake Texcoco. This encounter brought together cultures that had hitherto evolved in complete isolation from each other – Catholic Spain and the Aztec Empire. What ensued was the swift escalation from a clash of civilizations to a war of the worlds. At the conclusion of the Conquistador campaign of 1519–21, Tenochtitlan lay in ruins, the last Aztec Emperor was in chains, and Spanish authority over the native peoples had been definitively asserted. With the colourful personalities – Cortés, Malinche, Pedro Alvarez, Cuitláhuac, Cuauhtémoc – driving the narrative, and the vivid differences in uniforms, weapons, and fighting styles between the rival armies (displayed using stunning specially commissioned artwork), this is the fascinating story of the collapse of the Aztec Empire.

During the Napoleonic Wars all the major combatants fielded large numbers of light cavalry. These nimble, fast-moving regiments performed a variety of vital roles, from reconnaissance and keeping contact with the enemy during the movement of armies, to raiding, skirmishing, and the pursuit to destruction of beaten enemies. In practice, light cavalry were often also employed for battlefield charges alongside the heavy cavalry. Featuring period illustrations and specially commissioned colour artwork, this is the second volume of a two-part study of the cavalry tactics of the armies of Napoleon and those of his allies and opponents. Written by a leading authority on the period, it draws upon drill manuals and later writings to offer a vivid assessment of how light cavalry actually fought on the Napoleonic battlefield.

This is the book on war that Napoleon never had the time or the will to complete. In exile on the island of Saint-Helena, the deposed Emperor of the French mused about a great treatise on the art of war, but in the end changed his mind and ordered the destruction of the materials he had collected for the volume. Thus was lost what would have been one of the most interesting and important books on the art of war ever written, by one of the most famous and successful military leaders of all time. In the two centuries since, several attempts have been made to gather together some of Napoleon's 'military maxims', with varying degrees of success. But not until now has there been a systematic attempt to put Napoleon's thinking on war and strategy into a single authoritative volume, reflecting both the full spectrum of his thinking on these matters as well as the almost unparalleled range of his military experience, from heavy cavalry charges in the plains of Russia or Saxony to counter-insurgency operations in Egypt or Spain. To gather the material for this book, military historian Bruno Colson spent years researching Napoleon's correspondence and other writings, including a painstaking examination of perhaps the single most interesting source for his thinking about war: the copy-book of General Bertrand, the Emperor's most trusted companion on Saint-Helena, in which he unearthed a Napoleonic definition of strategy which is published here for the first time. The huge amount of material brought together for this ground-breaking volume has been carefully organized to follow the framework of Carl von Clausewitz's classic On War, allowing a fascinating comparison between Napoleon's ideas and those of his great Prussian interpreter and adversary, and highlighting the intriguing similarities between these two founders of modern strategic thinking.

With a brief chronological account of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to act as a quick reference, the remaining volume provides in sharp detail a survey of the basic capabilities and use of the weaponry of the era, a review of each state's participation in those ongoing conflicts, brief biographical notices of some of the leading military leaders, an update on the development of Napoleonic literature, a glossary of military terms, and a section devoted to miscellaneous facts and figures.

This historical study of Napoleonic battles and tactics examines firsthand accounts from soldiers’ memoirs, diaries, and letters: “A major work” (David Seymour, Military Illustrated). In this illuminating volume, historian Rory Muir explores what actually happened in battle during the Napoleonic Wars, putting special focus on how the participants’ feelings and reactions influenced the outcome. Looking at the immediate dynamics of combat, Muir sheds new light on how Napoleon’s tactics worked. This analysis is enhanced with vivid accounts of those who were there—the frightened foot soldier, the general in command, the young cavalry officer whose boils made it impossible to ride, and the smartly dressed aide-de-camp, tripped up by his voluminous pantaloons. Muir considers the interaction of artillery, infantry, and cavalry; the role of the general, subordinate commanders, staff officers, and aides; morale, esprit de corps, soldiers’ attitudes toward death and feelings about the enemy; the plight of the wounded; the difficulty of surrendering; and the way victories were finally decided. He discusses the mechanics of musketry, artillery, and cavalry charges and shows how they influenced the morale, discipline, and resolution of the opposing armies. "Muir has filled an important gap in the study of the Napoleonic era."—Library Journal