Based on original soldiers training manuals and regulations, this book includes incredible details on every aspect of the infantryman's daily life, from weapons drill and unit organization to hygiene and cooking regulations.

If not a field marshals baton, what did Napoleons soldiers really carry in their backpacks?

Napoleons Infantry Handbook is an essential reference guide, filled with fascinating detail on the training, tactics, equipment, service and administration of Napoleons infantry regiments. Based on contemporary training manuals, regulations and orders, Napoleons Infantry Handbook details the everyday routines and practices which governed the imperial army up to the Battle of Waterloo and made it one of history's most formidable military machines.

Through years of research, Terry Crowdy has amassed a huge wealth of information on every aspect of the infantryman's existence, from weapons drill and maintenance, uniform regulations, pay, diet, cooking regulations, hygiene and latrine digging, medical care, burial of the dead, how to apply for leave and so on. This remarkable book fills in the gaps left by campaign histories and even eyewitness memoirs, which often omit such details. This book doesn't merely recount what Napoleons armies did, it explains how they did it. The result is a unique guide to the everyday life of Napoleons infantry soldiers.