Voices From The Past Waterloo 1815

For more than twenty years Europe had been torn apart by war. Dynasties had crumbled, new states had been created and a generation had lost its young men. When it seemed that peace might at last settle across Europe, terrible news was received _ Napoleon had escaped from exile and was marching upon Paris. Europe braced itself once again for war. The allied nations agreed to combine against Napoleon and in May 1815 they began to mass on France's frontiers. The scene was set for the greatest battle the world had yet seen.??Composed of more than 300 eyewitness accounts, official documents, parliamentary debates and newspaper reports, Voices from the Past tells the story of Napoleon's last battles as they were experienced and reported by the men and women involved. ??Heroic cavalry charges, devastating artillery bombardments, terrible injuries, heart-breaking encounters, and amusing anecdotes, written by aristocratic officers and humble privates alike, fill the pages of this ambitious publication. Many of these reports have not been reproduced for almost 200 years.

For more than twenty years Europe had been torn apart by war. Dynasties had crumbled, new states had been created and a generation had lost its young men. When it seemed that peace might at last settle across Europe, terrible news was received Napoleon had escaped from exile and was marching upon Paris. Europe braced itself once again for war. The allied nations agreed to combine against Napoleon and in May 1815 they began to mass on Frances frontiers. The scene was set for the greatest battle the world had yet seen. Composed of more than 300 eyewitness accounts, official documents, parliamentary debates and newspaper reports, Voices From the Past tells the story of Napoleons last battles as they were experienced and reported by the men and women involved. Heroic cavalry charges, devastating artillery bombardments, terrible injuries, heart-breaking encounters, and amusing anecdotes, written by aristocratic officers and humble privates alike, fill the pages of this ambitious publication. Many of these reports have not been reproduced for almost 200 years.

A compelling day-by-day glimpse of highlights from 2,500 years of human history through 366 quotations. History Day by Day presents an original perspective on over two millennia of human history through 366 quotations, one for each day of the year, including leap years. Each quotation, tied to the anniversary of a significant historical event, captures that moment with the immediacy of an eyewitness or the narrative flair of a chronicler. Every day becomes a window to the past: on March 15, 44 BCE, Julius Caesar falls victim to Brutus and his coconspirators; on May 1, 1851, novelist Charlotte Bront visits London’s Great Exhibition; on June 28, 1919, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, broken-spirited German delegates sign the treaty that brings World War I to its fateful conclusion; and on September 11, 2001, people across the globe watch in horror as the Twin Towers topple and change the world forever. History Day by Day embraces a wide range of voices, moods, and mediums, from the powerful to the impoverished, the revolutionary to the reactionary, the joyful to the grief-stricken, and the eyewitness to the diarist. Both engrossing anthology and informative overview of world history, History Day by Day offers readers entertainment and information in equal measure.

The events of Sunday, 18 June, stand as the defining moment of the year 1815, if not of an entire era. The allied victory over Napoleon’s French army at the Battle of Waterloo reshaped governments and boundaries, made or broke fortunes and touched thousands of lives in ways both large and small, and it has been analysed, dissected and refought on paper a hundred times. Perhaps, though, the very best words ever written about that momentous campaign are the first-person accounts recorded as events unfolded. It is these vivid accounts that Kristine Hughes has collected together in order to convey the hopes, fears and aspirations of their authors. They inject the story of the battle with a level of humanity that reclaims it from the realm of legend and restores it to the people who witnessed it. In chronological order her work pieces together a novel view of the battle and events surrounding it as they were experienced by both military men and civilians. The result is a fascinating and varied picture of the individuals involved and the society of the period. Their words make compelling reading.

This compelling alternate history, brilliantly written by fourteen leading international authors, presents the great maybes of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars The Napoleon Options focuses on some of the pivotal episodes of these catastrophic wars, giving them a resounding twist, and explores in detail an alternative sequence of historical events. Rooted firmly in reality, and projected from entirely factual events, these dramatic and plausible possibilities are played out as though they actually happened in vivid and dramatic narratives.The Napoleonic Options presents ten scenarios spanning the years between 1796 and 1815. These include a full-blown French invasion of Ireland, a very real danger in the 1790s; Napoleons successful conquest of Egypt and the Middle East; Junots victory at Vimerio; the Austrian invasion of Bavaria in 1809; the Russian success at Borodino, and what might have happened at Waterloo. Amongst the addition contributions in this new extended edition are alternative outcomes to the battles of Essling, Austerlitz, Fuentes d Ooro, and New Orleans.These captivating scenarios colourfully illustrate how alternate results might have radically re-shaped events and demonstrate the far-reaching consequences minor changes could have had upon the future course of history.

A military historian assesses the leadership style of the man who defeated Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington’s victory at the Battle of Waterloo cemented his reputation as a great general, and much subsequent writing on his career has taken an uncritical, sometimes chauvinistic view of his talents. Little has been published that fully pins down the reality of Wellington’s leadership, clearly identifying his weaknesses as well as his strengths. George E. Jaycock, in this perceptive and thought-provoking reassessment, does not aim to undermine Wellington’s achievements, but to provide a more nuanced perspective. He clarifies some simple but fundamental truths regarding his leadership and his performance as a commander. Through an in-depth study of his actions over the war years of 1808 to 1815, the author reassesses Wellington’s effectiveness as a commander, the competence of his subordinates, and the qualities of the troops he led. His study gives a fascinating insight into Wellington’s career and abilities. Wellington’s Command is absorbing reading for both military historians and those with an interest in the Napoleonic period.