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This book consists of ten chapters looking at the main participating armies of the Napoleonic Wars, from 1803 until 1815. Nine authors have provided articles, with only Fremont-Barnes providing two chapters, on the French and British armies. Each author is thus a specialist in his topic (a perhaps inevitable side effect is that most authors spend some time defending 'their' armies against various charges of inefficiency or incompetence).
The chapters differ in style, mainly depending on the size of the army being covered. The chapter on the French army is thus the driest, focusing almost entirely on the structure of the army. In contrast the chapters on the smaller armies (Poland or Italy for example) have the space to examine their performance in battle as well as their organization.
Most of the chapters are around 20-25 pages in length, although Austria and the complex Confederation of the Rhine get around 40 pages. The level of detail provides feels about right to me - enough is provided to give us a clear idea of the structure of each army, without getting bogged down in minutia.
This is a useful reference work for anyone with in interest in the armies of the Napoleonic Wars.
Chapters
1 - The French Army, Gregory Fremont-Barnes
2 - The Russian Army, Alexander Mikaberidze
3 - The Austrian Army, David Hollins
4 - The Prussian Army, Oliver Schmidt
5 - The British Army, Gregory Fremont-Barnes
6 - Armies of the Confederation of the Rhine, John H. Gill
7 - The Spanish Army, Charles Esdaile
8 - The Portuguese Army, Malyn Newitt
9 - The Army of the Duchy of Warsaw, Jaroslaw Czubaty
10 - The Army of the Kingdom of Italy, Frederick C. Schneid
Editor: Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 271
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Year: 2011