New book:

Thomas Hemmann, Martin Klöffler - Der vergessene Befreiungskrieg : Belagerte Festungen zwischen Memel und Rhein in den Jahren 1813-1814.

Format A4 (8,4 x 11,9“), hard cover.

632 pp., ca. 300 illustrations (in color and b/w)

At Amazon a „Look into the book” (“Blick ins Buch”):
www.amazon.de/vergessene-Befreiungskrieg-Belagerte-Festungen-1813-1814/dp/3752882115
and here a look into the Kindle edition (the excerpts are different):
www.amazon.de/vergessene-Befreiungskrieg-Belagerte-Festungen-1813-1814-ebook/dp/B07D3Z655V

(Special thanks to Jack Gill for assisting me with the following translation of the abstract.)

About this book:

This book closes a gap in the literature of the German “Wars of Liberation” (the “Befreiungskriege" from 1813 to 1814). The introduction addresses the essential aspects and principals of fortress warfare during this period: engineer and pioneer troops, siege corps, fortress construction, artillery, small arms, military bridging, and siege procedures as well as the conditions inside fortresses under siege. The heart of the book then provides a detailed depiction of the bitter struggles for all of the many fortresses defended by the French and their allies between the Neiman and the Rhine. In addition, the narrative covers some of the particularly contested regions such as the coasts, the Elbe River line and the mountain passes between Saxony and Bohemia (the “Elbsandsteingebirge” or Elbe Sandstone Mountains). The unparalleled sufferings experienced by the respective civilian populations as well as the participating soldiers are also recounted. Overview sections illuminate the relationship of the sieges and blockades to the major operations in the various theaters of war in the Duchy of Warsaw, Germany, Denmark and along French border at the Rhine. Finally, the book will address the centuries–old controversy concerning whether the retention of numerous fortresses was beneficial or detrimental for Napoleon. The comprehensive illustrations, many published here for the first time, will show all the essential features of the blockades and sieges under discussion as well as underlying siege techniques common to the era.