OSG Blog

Does This Look Familiar?

This box was used by Napoleon to maintain the orbat information on the Austrian armies in Germany and Italy in 1805. It blew me away when I saw it ...

RULES OF RESEARCH

In November 1967 I was in 10th grade. My world was small, just the neighborhood where I lived, the shopping center nearby, and my school across th...

Perspectives on Japanese Naval Intelligence

The Japanese Navy had initiated a crash course in attempting to create a world-class fleet, starting from scratch in the late 19th c., even copyi...

Napoleonic Tour - Waterloo

Napoleonic Tour, 2012 - Waterloo Itinerary THE TRAIL OF THE EAGLE Napoleon departed Paris to join the army at 3:30 AM on June 12, 1815. After the b...

Haslach: Dupont’s Baggage

Tim Carne, Vince Hughes, and Kevin Zucker It is rarely intended that any troops should have to enter the fight without supply. If so, it is usually...

A Spanish perspective on Espinosa de los Monteros November 10th-11th, 1808

Written by: Gabriel Gonzalez Pavón A beautiful land of mountains and high rocky cliffs, cold rivers, forbidding forests and snowy winters. No...

Napoleonic Uniforms: Which armies had the snazziest uniforms?

Everyone talks about the elaborate Hussar uniforms, the dashing heart breakers, with long mustaches and braids, etc. I'd guess Austria and Russia w...

214 Years Ago Today

Image: Reconstruction of the battle of Ostroleka 1807. Eylau Campaign, 214 Years Ago TodayNapoleon Pulls Back 16 February, Monday—OstrolenkaIn...

Japanese Plans and Operations 

Written by Kevin Zucker (1971) Tactical and Strategic Doctrine and TrainingThe Japanese plan for the war in the Pacific called for the assumption ...

Napoleon Invades Spain: Notes from Gabriel

I have played boardgames (mostly wargames) since 1978. Some games stand the passage of time better than others, as taste and life evolve. What h...

Why the Line of Communication was so Important in Napoleonic Warfare

"Communications" means more than sending a message; it includes by extension the routes over which messages, supplies, and reinforcements can trave...

1806 The Autumn of No Return

Four marches out of Warsaw, Napoleon and the Guard spent Christmas night at Lopaczin, a wretched collection of wooden hovels. The Emperor had fai...