The British Military: Its System and Organization 1803-1815 by S. J. Park and G. F. Nafziger

The British Military: Its System and Organization 1803-1815 by S. J. Park and G. F. Nafziger tries to combine in one volume a history of the British Army as an entity for the Napoleonic wars. If you're interested in battles and campaigns this is not the book for you however if you want to know just how many officers were in a particular unit or wait of British weapons this is a must. Extensive descriptions of the different units as well as tactics and strategy makes the book extremely important. It is often quite difficult to understand the way that ranks and administration was done. There is an admirable attempt to describe the convoluted process. Occasional diagrams and drawings complement the text. These are most useful when analyzing the various tactics of infantry and cavalry. Appendices contain discussions of each unit as well as notes on commanders. A massive amount of information crammed into a relatively small package coming in at only about 70,000 words. The book contains notes and a further reading section often with commentary on the reliability or lack thereof of some of the sources.

Perhaps most importantly the authors freely admit where evidence is unavailable and primary and secondary sources are lacking. This sort of intellectual honesty is something that other military historians would be well advised to take note of.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.