Napoleon Bonaparte-his life as a soldier While a pupil at military school Napoleon wrote to his mother that to carve his way in the world all he required was a copy of Homer and a sword. The die was cast-a ten year old boy was determined to follow the life of a soldier. Over the next thirty five years the boy would rise to army officer; general; consul and emperor of France. He would become; arguably; the most renowned soldier the world has ever known. This unique man personally commanded in 600 skirmishes and 85 full scale battles before his final defeat at Waterloo. To put Napoleon's military career in clear perspective it should be noted that he spent just 6 weeks less on campaign or under fire than he did in at the seat of power or involved in his personal life. There have been many books written about Napoleon Bonaparte but this one deals exclusively with his military career and takes the reader to from the Italian Campaign to Egypt; through pivotal battles such as Jena and Eylau; to the Iberian peninsula; the disastrous invasion of Russia; the times of retreat and defeat and the final battles 1815. Interestingly; this is a book full of anecdotes for it is the authors assertion that it is through the reports; recollections and memoirs of those who knew Napoleon and served with him that the great man's character is most clearly revealed. Certainly these many perspectives on the campaigns of the Napoleonic epoch; full of dialogue and incident; make entertaining reading. An interesting book for all those fascinated by the 'Little Corporal;' the military genius who; as the author of this book writes; 'held Europe prisoner in the folds of the French flag.' This book was originally published under the title; 'Military Career of Napoleon the Great.' Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.
#980196 in Books Osprey Wargames Osprey 2013-10-22 2013-10-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .39 x .18 x 7.26l; .45 #File Name: 178096849364 pages
Review
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Dueling Gods!By John S HoveyOverviewOf Gods and Mortals (OGAM) is a set of skirmish rules for Mythology-themed miniature battles. Models represent individual mortals; legends; or gods. Gods and legends move and fight independently; while mortals fight in close or open order groups of 4-8 figures. A typical force will consist of one god; 2-4 legends; and 8-16 mortals. OGAM combines a simple combat system with a great activation/initiative system.The starter sets from NorthStar are just under 1000 points and consist of 15-20 figures. Mortals are 28-30mm; legends tend to be a little larger; and the gods tower over them at 45-75mm! The recommended table size for a standard game is 3′ x 3′ and should not take more than an 30-45 minutes.FormatThe rules are available in both pdf and softback. Production values are great for the price – the softback is $13 on . The cover shows an epic battle between Greek and Norse forces; and the interior art is exceptional. The layout bothers me as it did with Ronin. New rules sections; even chapters; do not necessarily start at the top of a page. Even holding to 64 pages; it seems like they could rearrange some of the artwork to align things better.Force ListsArmy lists are only provided for four mythologies: Norse; Egyptian; Celtic; and Greek. Each of these can be used to create a huge variety of different forces. A Greek army of Zeus might have nothing in common with an army of Hades or Apollo. There are 7-12 different gods; legends; and mortal unit types for each faction other than the Greeks who are given a dozen gods and over 20 legends and mortal units.Normally I'd consider only 4 factions a limitation; but rules are given for creating your own units; legends; and gods. They are pretty simple; but with the large selection of examples it would be very easy to recreate armies from other mythologies or add to the existing ones.There are 70 traits that represent the special abilities of the characters. For example; Medusa can turn enemies to stone; while Thor can call down lightning; control the weather; and hurl Mjolnir. You can even "Let Loose the Kraken!"GameplayThe most unique aspect of OGAM is the unit activation system. On a player's turn he attempts to activate his units one at a time by rolling 1; 2; or 3d6. For each die that scores equal to or higher than the unit's quality rating the unit is allowed to take one action. The reason to not always roll 3 dice is that there are consequences for failed attempts. Each die lower than the unit's quality gives your opponent a reaction attempt; and if two or more dice fail on the same roll your turn ends.When each unit is activated it can move; shoot; melee; or perform other special abilities. Reaction rolls allow your enemy act on your turn. Each unit can only attempt to activate or react once during each players turn.All combat is competitive die rolls. There's a short list of modifiers that are pretty intuitive. When a legend is defeated by mortals; or a god by any non-god; the defeated figure is allowed a 'save' based on its quality.Other StuffIn addition to the rules and army lists; the book contains five scenarios; basic campaign mechanics; and recommendations for multiplayer games.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Gods and Mortals Combat Fun!By William RegerA really interesting game invoking the old gods; the worshipers who bring them to life; and the demi-gods who fill the areas in between. Like most of Andrea Sfiligoi's works this is an immensely interactive and fun system for battling between the myths. A point system helps keep the weird aspects competitive between the gods while highlighting the differences between mortal believers; the chosen heroes; and the gods that represent them. It calls out for a Dark Age Greek game of city states battling Persian and Egyptian armies and gods.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An hidden shocker in quality; perfection and enjoyment in miniature gaming.By Erik W CentnerThis relatively undiscovered skirmish level miniature game; was extremely well designed. The rule book is a joy to read and the game was so well designed; you can be up and running in no time.Basically; for this game; you play a mythological god; and its popular minions and legends; e.g. Zeus; Hercules and Greek soldiers; and fight again other mythos; legends and soldiers. In a hobby consisting of expensive armies to build; complicated set of rules; and lengthy playing time; this is on the opposite end of the spectrum; and because of that; the fun factor is evident.I seriously recommend any and all miniatures players to look into this and Osprey Wargames related games.
