9 x 6 in.  368 pages.  24 illustrations.

This superb and comprehensive book details the foreign units which formed such an important part of Napoleon's forces. Napoleon's Mercenaries examines each non-French unit in turn, giving an overview of the unit's origin, its organizational and combat history, its uniforms and standards, and details of the unit's eventual fate. Colorful accounts, taken from contemporary reports and memoirs, emphasize the qualities of the unit and throw light on what life was like for many of the foreign soldiers recruited into the Grande Armée. Guy Dempsey, in his Introduction, charts Napoleon's attitude toward his mercenaries, outlines the value of foreign troops to the French emperor and highlights the diverse nature of the volunteers fighting for France. The publisher states that Napoleon's Mercenaries is the best single-volume study of this aspect of Napoleon's army and a vital reference for every Napoleonic enthusiast.

Greenhill Books  ISBN 1-85367-488-5

Click here to order Napoleon's Mercenaries!