The Austro-Prussian War : Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866

Rating:
Summary: This is a well written and researched book
Review: This really is a great book. The author gices only the breifest description of the political events that preceded the war, but does go into a detailed description of the difference between the Prussian staff system and the Austrian old style system. The book concludes by showing how the Prussian staff system influenced the Germans in makeing their decisions through WW II. The only problem is that the maps were not clearly prepared. I found that this made the book somewhat hard to follow. In the paperback version that I have, the type size was somewhat small and hard to read. As the author was only able to use the Austrian achives, the Prussian archives were destroyed in WW II, he was able to go into more depth on the Austrian side of the war than the Prussian side.

Rating:
Summary: 1866
Review: Vivid descriptions of the battles in this war enliven this historical work and make it very enjoyable reading. In addition, the author provides insightful information on the weapons and tactics of the period. This is especially true for the Austrian army and Wawro fully explains why the Austrians were so successful against the Italians while failing so miserably against the Prussians. The battle scenes are detailed and quite lively and unlike many other military works provide detail without confusion. So often when writing about the maneuvers of divisions, authors frequently become so mired in detail that the reader is easily lost and has considerable difficulty determing what was going on where without undue effort. Here the maps ably assist understanding. Although the maps do not provide a scale, an unfortunate reality for most current historical works, this problem can be overcome by referring to more detailed auto maps. As for referencing the written material to the maps I found no difficulty. However, for the military simulation enthusiast you will not find beautifully outlined and detailed orders of battle for each side. What you will find is adequate infomation in the text to simulate each battle as long as you know what the composition of say a Prussian division or an Austrian brigade. More detailed information is available from other sources. I only hope that this is not the last work by Wawro for after reading this book I would glady purchase any of his works.

Rating:
Summary: The War of 1866: Prussian and Italy vs. Austria
Review: Vivid descriptions of the battles in this war enliven this historical work and make it very enjoyable reading. In addition, the author provides insightful information on the weapons and tactics of the period. This is especially true for the Austrian army and Wawro fully explains why the Austrians were so successful against the Italians while failing so miserably against the Prussians. The battle scenes are detailed and quite lively and unlike many other military works provide detail without confusion. So often when writing about the maneuvers of divisions, authors frequently become so mired in detail that the reader is easily lost and has considerable difficulty determing what was going on where without undue effort. Here the maps ably assist understanding. Although the maps do not provide a scale, an unfortunate reality for most current historical works, this problem can be overcome by referring to more detailed auto maps. As for referencing the written material to the maps I found no difficulty. However, for the military simulation enthusiast you will not find beautifully outlined and detailed orders of battle for each side. What you will find is adequate infomation in the text to simulate each battle as long as you know what the composition of say a Prussian division or an Austrian brigade. More detailed information is available from other sources. I only hope that this is not the last work by Wawro for after reading this book I would glady purchase any of his works.