Waterloo, in June 1815, was one of the key battles in European history in its long-term effects, but it didn’t take place in isolation. Plenty to read and enjoy- even a very nice actual battlefield guide at the end and a chronology to help to get the big ideas. For the Gamer/modeller/military Enthusiast- a good score!. Any reader down to about 10 should be able to glean the basics. The reader will need a source on the Dutch-Belgian Allied soldiers- and French Line Fusiliers and Voltiguers, the Line and Light units that made up the army- otherwise this book alone will let you build a good force.įor the junior reader- this is a great little introduction to the period. The only drawback is the Prussian and Allied LINE units are featured- the regular troops that made up the bulk of their armies- but the French plates feature ONLY GUARD units, the elite troops of the empire who made up less than 10% of the army. Throughout- there are great battle diagrams, maps, b/w pictures and really lovely colour plates - taken from their other regimental and army books on the units present. It's all here- the secape from Elba- the 100 Days - the Advance to try and defeat one army or the other really quickly- the Allied stand and Quatre Bras- the Prussians at Wavre and Ligny - and then the 'Close Run Thing' on the ridge at Waterloo. But for the novice who wants to comprehend the campaign in an easy format- to the Napoleonic die hard military Enthusiast- who wants a great little guide to visiting the battlefields in Belgium - to the Warhammer player- dragged into playing a Napoleonic game down at the club- this single book can address those needs. This one might come as close as any- with one glaring issue. It covers, rather ably, the Waterloo Campaign, and may be one of those 'Holy Grail' Books I Love- the 'Only Book You Need to Wargame/Model a Campaign'.

One of the earliest of the 'Campaign' Series from Osprey Publishing, #15, in fact, was this classic, first published in 1992.

Waterloo 1815 by Tomasz Malarski