Why read The Anatomy of Glory?

Book cover of The Anatomy of Glory: Napoleon and His Guard

Book description

With a New Introduction By Col. John R. Elting (USA, ret.) The glory of the Imperial Guard resounds above all others in the annals of war. Created, built and nurtured as a bodyguard for Napoleon, it grew from a brigade of fewer than two thousand men into a virtual army,…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Anatomy of Glory as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

William Nester

Author

The Anatomy of Glory tells the epic story of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard with keen prose that reads like a novel. It raises the key question of whether by creating an elite force of his best soldiers, he weakened his line infantry regiments, cavalry squadrons, and artillery batteries that he drew them from. He refused to commit his Old Guard at Borodino; had he done so he likely would have transformed a marginal victory into a decisive victory. He did send in his Old Guard at Waterloo only to see British regular regiments rout them.

From William's list on Napoleon and his era.