Osprey Men-at-Arms 106 : Napoleon's German Allies (4) : Bavaria

Napoleon, once he had dignified his military dictatorship over France by assuming the title of Emperor, saw that the greatest safety for his country lay in transforming the jumble of small German states east of the Rhine into a 'cordon sanitaire' against his most immediately threatening continental enemies, Austria and Prussia. Austria presented him with an ideal opportunity when she attacked Bavaria in 1805. Napoleon destroyed both the Austrian and Prussian armies in a brilliant campaign in the envelopment of of the incompetent Austrian General Mack and his subsequent capitulation at Ulm on 20 October 1805, and the immensely destructive battle of Austerlitz on 2 December. Along with Baden and Württemberg, Bavaria allied itself with France, and remained from that moment on, allies of Napoleon, serving in the 1809 campaign against Austria, and supplying troops for the Russian campaign in 1812, before eventually abandoning the Emperor's cause in 1813 prior to the battle of Leipzig, and engaging Napoleon's troops in combat at the battle of Hanua in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off their retreat to France. Otto von Pivka provides an in depth examination of the organisation, equipment, weaponry and uniforms of Napoleon's Bavarian allies, with the text accompanied by numerous illustrations and eight full page colour plates by Richard Hook.

Contents

• Introduction
• Uniforms and Organisation 1792-99
• Uniforms and Organisation 1799-1815
• Bavarian Combat Involvement and Orders of Battle 1800-15
• Bavarian Colours and Standards
• The Plates