Aside from the Peninsula and Napoleon's 1807 campaign, Austrian troops played some part in every major campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. Unable to mobilize its population fully for both political and economic reasons, Austria recruited from territories as diverse as modern Belgium, the Czech Republic, central Romania and northern Italy. These soldiers fought on terrains as diverse as the Po valley and the Swiss mountains. This book traces the life and experiences of both the ordinary infantry and the veteran elite of the Grenadier battalions, covering everything from basic training and equipment, to the tactics and horror of the battlefield.
