Thunder on the Danube

Given I'm painting nearly a 100 Australians and it will be a few days before they are finished I thought I'd comment on my recent reading.

"Thunder on the Danube 1809" by John H Gill is an excellent account of the various actions leading up to and including the battle of Aspern-Essling

I found the book newly purchased on my local library shelves and despite having a reading backlog I borrowed it. I'm glad I did, as I have read a lot on the 1809 campaign, starting many years back with an expensive (for a student) purchase of Petre's book on the campaign, but this book is the best so far , and I'm only half way through!

What makes it so good is the authors attention to detail and the copious use of maps that make all the difference in understanding what the armies are doing. Already the battles of Ebelsberg and Linz are calling out for gaming, together with a lot of ideas for smaller actions.

The trouble is, off course, that I've started with volume 2 , so I'll have to get the other two volumes via the library and I think I'll have to re-read my copy of Petre before perhaps selling it!?