Battle of Maida 1806 ebook

by Richard Hopton

Battle of Maida 1806 book.

Battle of Maida 1806 book. Richard Hopton, the up-and-coming historian, has uncovered the long overlooked defeat of Napoleon's forces by General Sir John Stuart at Maida, Southern Italy in 1806. For many years the only hint that there had been a triumph A nation's history is littered with conveniently forgotten defeats and military disasters but it is unusual for significant victories to be ignored.

John Stuart led 5,200 British troops to victory over about 5,400 French soldiers under Jean Reynier, inflicting significant losses while incurring relatively few casualties. Maida is located in the toe of Italy, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Catanzaro.

He demonstrates that both sides employed flexible tactics, clearly refuting the older view, rejected even by its most famous advocate, Charles Oman, that the famous French assault columns shattered against the steady British line. Hopton concludes with a chapter on the results and implications of the battle within the Big Picture of the War of the Third Coalition, and for the future of British tactics

The Author brilliantly describes the cast of colorful yet highly improbably characters who fate and circumstances brought together.

The Author brilliantly describes the cast of colorful yet highly improbably characters who fate and circumstances brought together. Arguably pride of place must go to Ferdinand II, Ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose eccentricity was only exceeded by his abject incompetence. Categories: History\Military History.

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The Battle of Maida of 1806 was the first significant British victory over the forces of Napoleonic France, coming two years before Arthur Wellesley's first victories in Portugal at the start of the Peninsula War. The battle is rarely mentioned, but is sometimes quoted as the first victory o. . The battle is rarely mentioned, but is sometimes quoted as the first victory of British line over French column. Sadly as Hopton proves this wasn't actually the case - the French deployed into lines of their own before being defeated

The Battle of Maida 1806. A nation's history is littered with conveniently forgotten defeats and military disasters but it is unusual for significant victories to be ignored.

The Battle of Maida 1806.

The battle of Maida, 1806. Campaigns, Foreign relations, Maida, Battle of, Italy, 1806, Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815.

A nation's history is littered with conveniently forgotten defeats and military disasters but it is unusual for significant victories to be ignored. Richard Hopton, the up-and-coming historian, has uncovered the long overlooked defeat of Napoleon's forces by General Sir John Stuart at Maida, Southern Italy in 1806. For many years the only hint that there had been a triumph there has been the residential area of North West London that derives its name from the battle. Following UIm and Austerlitz, Napoleon's reputation for military genius was fast becoming a morale problem for his opponents, in the same way that Rommel's prowess did some 240 years later. No small part of the significance of the Allied victory at Maida in 1806 was the proof it offered that the French under Napoleon were not invincible. The author brilliantly describes the cast of colorful yet highly improbable characters whom fate and circumstances brought together. Arguably pride of place must go to Ferdinand II, Ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose eccentricity was only exceeded by his abject incompetence.

Golden Lama

Although concise, this book provides a well researched analysis of an often overlooked battle that bolstered the moral of the allies and helped the British secure a strategic position in the Mediterranean. The writer is more interested in clearly communicating the cause and impact of the particular event than self promotion which is much appreciated. I recommend it to any person who focuses on this period in history as it is only one piece of the larger puzzle but if read in isolation, looses significance.

Iesha

A summary of the Review on StrategyPage.Com

'On July 4, 1806, a small army of some 2,500 British troops defeated a French force of about twice its size in a brief battle on the western coast of Calabria, the ‘toe’ of Italy. While seemingly a minor affair, this action was nevertheless of enormous importance, for it marked the first time British troops had defeated the French in the long wars that had begun more than a decade earlier. British historian Hopton opens by fitting the battle into the larger picture of the French Wars, then passes from grand strategy to the movements of the small forces involved in the campaign in Naples in 1805-1806, Neapolitan and Russian as well as British and French. He then discusses the battle in some detail, demonstrating that both sides employed flexible tactics, clearly refuting the older view (rejected even by its most famous advocate, Oman) that the famous French assault columns shattered against the steady British line. Hopton concludes with a discussion of the implications of the battle. An important revisionist look at an iconic action.'

For the full review, see StrategyPage.Com

MarF

Nice, needed history of the little-known Maida campaign in Calabria (the "toe" of the Italian boot) in 1806 (post-Austerlitz and Trafalgar, pre-Jena-Auerstadt). Fills a gap in Napoleonic Wars campaign studies. The book starts with a lengthy, albeit necessary overview chapter of how the 3rd Coalition was formed, and how the British and Russians became involved with supporting the Kingdom of Two Sicilies against French invasion.

The British strategic goal was to hold Sicily and retain its useful ports for the Royal Navy. The French strategic goal was to take Sicily to prevent such use. For French General Regnier, the Straits of Messina were a barrier - for General Stuart and the Royal Navy, a highway.

When the French forces became divided and dispersed by the siege of Gaeta and a hellacious home-grown insurgency in Calabria, General John Stuart saw an opportunity to strike a blow, a sort of "preemptive defense" of Sicily, so the British landed a small but well-drilled army on the north Calabrian coast.

Mr. Hopton's description of Maida's course and his analysis of decisions made are both excellent, while weaving in the few surviving eyewitness accounts. An overconfident Regnier was certain of victory, and did Stuart a favor by leaving a good defensive position and attacking him in the open field.

The author also makes a convincing case that the French attacked in line (with inadequate artillery or skirmisher support), not in column, as has often been supposed. The disciplined British infantry proved quite lethal - a fact not widely known in 1806, prior to Wellington's campaigns in the Peninsula.

Nice Pen & Sword edition, black cloth with gold lettering, nice hefty pages, a few illustrations. Several good maps at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.