The largest force continually engaged against Napoleon was the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army. It was this army which, throughout Europe, carried the burden of the war on land. Although Napoleon repeatedly defeated it, its record against French armies was generally good. In 1809 the Austrian army inflicted the first defeat on Napoleon and in 1813 contributed the largest contingent to the Allied effort in Germany.

In 1982, Gunther E. Rothenburg, working mainly from the Austrian reference sources, but avoiding the bias following the Empire’s 1866 defeat in Germany, produced the first balanced and complete survey.

This book gives a throughgoing survey of the Austrian army from its initial organisation through its subsequent reforms. As well as detailing all of the major battles and campaigns, it explains clearly the political, economic and social climate of Austria in the period in order to place the Austrian Army in its context. The standard reference work on the subject, Napoleon’s Great Adversary provides the foundation for further study for both historian and military enthusiast alike.