The Second Empire, under Napoleon III, was a reaction against the bourgeois age of the previous ruler King Louis Philippe in spirit as well as in deed. The army, elevated from tactful obscurity, was re-modelled on Napoleonic lines, and its neglected iconography revived in the form of the eagle, the crowned 'N' and the Imperial bee. What was needed to complete the resurrection was victory in the field. It is hardly surprising that Napoleon and the army were mindful of the great Napoleonic traditions and were anxious to emulate them. Their first real opportunity came with the Crimean War, in which, despite a muddled campaign, the army acquitted itself well. In 1859 it was again successful, against the Austrians this time, with costly victories at Magenta and Solferino. Their next adventure, unfortunately, ended in a humiliating withdrawal, after a protracted anti-guerrilla struggle in Mexico. Meanwhile, back in Europe, Prussia was fast emerging as a challenge to France's military pre-eminence. In concert with Austria, Bismarck first crushed Denmark before turning on Austria herself. The victory at Sadowa in 1866 stunned Europe, and in Paris Napoleon and his advisers set to thinking of a way to counter this new threat. In this first of two volumes looking at the French Army of the Franco-Prussian War, Stephen Shann and Louis Delperier examine the history, organisation and weapons of the French Imperial troops No. of illustrations 50 b/w; 8 Col

• Introduction
• Chronology
• The Imperial guard
• L'armée d'Afrique
• Troops of the line
• Artillery
• Command, staff and logistics
• Weapons
• Order of battle
• The plates

Auteur
Steven Shann's speciality is the Franco-Prussian War, about which he has written two titles for the Osprey Men-at-Arms series.
Illustrateur
Richard Hook is one of the world's greatest military illustrators and has contributed to more than 30 Osprey titles. He is also an authority on the native peoples of North America, a subject for which he has had a life-long passion. Christa Hook is one of Osprey's most popular illustrators, a reputation justly deserved given the perfect blend of attention to detail and narrative realisation that penetrates her work. Her work for Osprey to date includes Warrior 1 Norman Knight, Warrior 10 Saracen Faris, and Campaign 56 Eggmuhl 1809.