Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War (Modern War Studies)

"An impressive contribution to Napoleonic scholarship and to the study of modern military history as well. Highly recommended". -- Choice. "A clear and convincing argument that modern war began with the Franco-Austrian War. This book is a delight to read and puts forth an interesting perspective of warfare". -- Army. Presenting A Significant New Interpretation Of Napoleonic Warfare, Robert M. Epstein Argues Persuasively That The True Origins Of Modern War Can Be Found In The Franco-austrian War Of 1809. Epstein Contends That The 1809 War -- With Its Massive And Evenly Matched Armies, Multiple Theaters Of Operation, New Command-and-control Schemes, Increased Firepower, Frequent Stalemates, And Large-scale Slaughter -- Had More In Common With The American Civil War And Subsequent Conflicts That With The Decisive Napoleonic Campaigns That Preceded It. - Jacket Flap. Introduction -- The Transformation Of Warfare -- Armies For Germany -- Armies For Italy -- War Along The Danube -- Crisis In Italy -- Victory In Italy -- The March On Vienna And The Battle Of Aspern-essling -- Junction -- The Wagram Campaign : The First Phase -- The Wagram Campaign : The Second Phase -- The Emergence Of Modern War. Robert M. Epstein ; Foreword By Russell F. Weigley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 203-206) And Index. Contents List of Maps Key to Symbols Foreword Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 The Transformation of Warfare 3 Armies for Germany 4 Armies for Italy 5 War along the Danube 6 Crisis in Italy 7 Victory in Italy 8 The March on Vienna and the Battle of Aspern-Essling 9 Junction 10 The Wagram Campaign: The First Phase 11 The Wagram Campaign: The Second Phase 12 The Emergence of Modern War Appendix A: Terms Used in the Text Appendix B: French Order of Battle Appendix C: Austrian Order of Battle Appendix D: Note on Ranks of General Officers Notes Bibliography Index Presenting his own interpretation of Napoleonic warfare, Epstein argues that the origins of modern war can be found in the Franco-Austrian War of 1809. He cites the characteristics, which include massive and evenly-matched armies, multiple theatres of operation and new command-and-control schemes.