Featured battle : Saafeld

Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Date : 10 October 1806

Prince Louis positioned his Prussian-Saxons with the unfordable Salle river at their backs. Lanne's [V Corps] rapidly assessed the situation and decided he could handle Louis without support. While he pinned the Prussian-Saxon front with energetic skirmishing he brought his lead division to turn their right flank and drive them into the Saale. Prince Louis was killed leading a desperate cavalry charge to retake the Saale river bridge. No more than half the French force had been in the action which destroyed the Prussian-Saxon force and gained the valuable river bridge.

Hitler's Ardennes Offensive

Danny S Parker Ed.
This second book from the same stable [see 'Battle of the Bulge, a German view' reviewed earlier] follows on to deal with the period of attack and its ultimate failure. I felt a privileged and fascinating insight into the Battle of the Bulge. I particularly valued the detail about the attempts to take Bastogne. I have come to realise that the seemingly exaggerated American accounts of the 'glorious defence' are neither exaggerations nor understatements. The book suffers from the same fault as its predecessor in being short on maps, the reader needs a fairly large scale map to fully understand the detail of the manoeuvres. Reading with a map really rewards the effort.
Our view is that this a very good piece of work by the editor and is thoroughly recommended to all who who wish to gain greater insights into the Second World War in Europe.

Frontline Books. Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2016