Napoleon's Air Force - Hardcover

Dyk, Garritt C Van

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1436360706 ISBN 13: 9781436360708

Publisher: Xlibris, 2009

Synopsis

For a dozen years the great Napoleon Bonaparte pondered the potential of military aviation In 1795 he requested a balloon from the Committee of Public Safety to assist him in the siege of Mantua in 1799 he took a balloon company with him on his career building showcase Egyptian campaign and in 1808 he anxiously queried his scientific advisor Gaspard Monge regarding the possibility of invading England using balloon transport vehicles Yet during this same period France s observation balloon corps les arostiers the brilliant conception of a nation in peril was allowed to wither and die Napoleon s Air Force documents the story of this organization the world s first military air arm Its conception implementation and battlefield successes followed by its sudden decline and abandonment are treated in a full length work for the first time ever In this case who what when and where are less significant than why Why was such a successful effort a technical triumph and a military asset of proven value allowed to fade away Why was it that Napoleon s air force never emerged into fame and glory Carefully researched in France England and America this work examines not only les arostiers but the character and personality of Napoleon his attitude toward technical innovation and those of his contemporaries as well Finally it relates the fate of this project to the timeless problem of the introduction and acceptance of change Napoleon s Air Force is unique complete and available now Although written without footnotes for the general reader it is accompanied by a bibliography of thirty five formal citations It will be of interest to readers of military history aviation history Napoleonic studies alternative history was Waterloo unavoidable and finally to all interested in the dynamics of change

About this edition

• Publisher: Xlibris
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1436360706
• ISBN 13: 9781436360708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200