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The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802. By Paddy Griffith. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-335-8. Maps. Illustrations. Tables. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 304. $39.95.
Paddy Griffith's books on the tactics of the U.S. Civil War and the British Army in the Great War were written with verve and packed with polemics. His newest contribution, an overview of The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802, based on secondary sources, remains true to form. In it, Griffith asks what was revolutionary about the practice of warfare in revolutionary France. Readers of his previous works will not be surprised by his answer: precious little.
Griffith argues that the transition from Old Regime to Revolution to Empire did not unleash a revolution in military organization or the art of war. In his view,...