Books on battle tactics of this time period?

**mikec1088** · 06-11-2008, 19:50

I was wondering if anyone here knew of any really good books that gave detailed information on battle tactics of European armies during the Empire: Total War time period, specifically the second half of the eighteenth century and early part of the nineteenth. Along with ancient Rome, this time period has always struck me as fascinating, particularly British imperial and military expansion, so any books specifically about that would be good to know about too. I've been looking around the internet and have found a few interesting ones, but was wondering if anyone here had some recommendations.

**Mailman653** · 06-11-2008, 20:17

Osprey prints some good books on military subjects and tactics, not sure if they have any exclusively on tactics during this time period though.

**anders** · 06-11-2008, 20:22

I dont know of any dedicated tactics books, but a napoleon biography might be a place to start, and you might find some of what youre looking for in the credits.

**CBR** · 06-11-2008, 20:46

I know of 3 all very good books on the subject:

The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon by Gunther Rothenberg

Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir

Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies by Brent Nosworthy

CBR

**Jedi Bruno** · 06-11-2008, 21:56

Any good book about Hannibal's life is good. In portuguese I would recommend "Anibal, o Pai da Estratégia" or in english "Hannibal, the Father of Strategy".
Even though they don't speak directly about battles, Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and Machiavelli's "The Prince" are very interesting, theory is all there.
A good thing is to look for ancient proverbs about war like the roman "March Divided, Fight Concentrated" or "Divide and Conquer" or any other that has not being in TW games.

**CBR** · 06-11-2008, 23:53

Oh for the later half of the 18th century...Most is focused on the first half up the to Seven Years War but one good and very detailed book is "The army of Frederick the Great" by Christopher Duffy. He has also written "The military experience in the Age of Reason" which does have some info on tactics.

CBR