Principes de la stratégie, développés par la relation de la campagne de 1796 en Allemagne is a landmark work on military strategy by Archduke Charles of Austria (Erzherzog Karl), one of Europe's foremost military theorists and the commander widely credited with reforming the Austrian Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. This 1840 Brussels edition was translated from the original German by the celebrated military historian and strategist General Antoine-Henri Jomini, making the Archduke's influential ideas accessible to a wider European audience.
Rather than presenting strategy as abstract theory, Archduke Charles develops his principles through a detailed examination of the 1796 campaign in Germany, illustrating how operational planning, maneuver, logistics, command, and the effective concentration of forces determine success on the battlefield. Drawing upon his firsthand experience commanding Austrian armies against Revolutionary France, he analyzes the decisions of both Austrian and French commanders while demonstrating the practical application of enduring military principles.
This revised edition includes numerous maps and battle plans and is further enhanced by the addition of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's Memoirs on the Campaign of 1796, providing readers with both Austrian and French perspectives on one of the Revolutionary Wars' most significant campaigns. Together, these complementary works offer a rare opportunity to study the campaign through the writings of two of its principal commanders.
A cornerstone of nineteenth-century military literature, Principes de la stratégie influenced generations of professional officers and remains an indispensable resource for historians, military scholars, reenactors, genealogists, and students of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Combining timeless strategic theory with detailed campaign analysis, it continues to rank among the classic works of military thought.
