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Osprey Men At Arms 410
Napoleons Balkan Troops
Vladimir Brnardic: Illustrated by Darko Pavlovic
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On occasions, when thumbing through a order of battle or some noble military record, I have noted reference to Balkan troops in Napoleons armies. Not unusual I suppose as Croat light horse were reknowned for their ferocity from the C17th in western European armies. Still I have to admit to being remarkably ignorant of the details of these units of the Grande Armee.
So it was with a measure of interest that I opened this latest addition to the vast Osprey library. The history of the areas bordering the Ionian and Adriatic seas during the Napoleonic period is complex, and as usual for the Balkans rather violent. The Ionian islands were originally part of the Venetian Empire ceded to the French in 1797. Two years later the Russians recaptured the islands and used them as a principle base for their Mediterranean naval units. Things turned around again with the Treaty of Tilsit, and the Russian possessions in the region passed back to France who combined them with their other territories in the region to dominate the Balkan coastline including what is now Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Albania and Greece.
However they did not have things all their own way as the Tsar still had his supporters, especially amongst the Montenegrins; the Ottomans also continued to pursue their interests in the region; and of course the British navy was continually active in the region.
The ongoing state or war and feud throughout the region meant that the men of the region made excellent troops with a reputation for hard fighting. So Napoleon was quick to transfer the Dalmation Regiments of the Austro-Hungarian army into his own forces. However when the Emeror tried to enforce conscription in Dalmation all he managed to do was forment revolt.
Vladimir Brnardic gives us considerable information regarding the troops raised in Dalmatia and Ilyria, certainly enough to stir the imagination of the average wargamers looking for something just that bit different on their battlefields. As I am attacted to the unusual it is the Albania and Greek tribal troops that I really like the look of, and it would be great to see them taken up by a figure designer ( excellent for Napoleonic skirmish games as well as tribal war scenarios and the Greek war for independence!).
As usual with Osprey the illustrations are superb! Darko Pavlovic has excelled himself in producing the plates for this volume. I really enjoyed reading this volume, and the illustrations both contemporary and modern are full of fascinating detail. Highly recommended.
Format softback: 48 pages: Price £8.99
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