Redcoats is an engrossing book that moves along at a steady clip. It felt like I was sitting there listening to Mr. Haythornthwaite telling the story, rather than reading the words. It is reminiscence of John Elting’s Swords around a Throne. Both are full of information that leaves the reader wanting more. I highly recommend this to everyone interested in the Napoleonic Wars, even those who specialize in the British Army.

Now I can only hope that someone will step up and tell the story of the French soldier!

The Napoleon Series - August 2014 - reviewed by Robert Burnham

This is not just another book on the Napoleonic British army and their tactics. Using first-hand accounts, Haythornthwaite tells the story of the social, political and militaristic hardships that faced the average British soldier during warfare with Napoleonic France.

Straight from the mouths of those who were there, Philip Haythornthwaite has collated together a time capsule that covers all the aspects of the everyday struggles a soldier of the period was expected to put up with from under hand recruiting practices, barrack room life and incessant drill to facing down a far superior enemy based on the mettle that had been drilled into the soldier that the Duke of Wellington once infamously referred to as ‘that article over there.’

The soldier who fought for Britain against Napoleonic France was like no other before and no other after. This book tells their story and sheds light onto the factors that led to army reform in the following decades.

Michael Kirkby

A very informative and readable account of the British soldier during the 1790s and early nineteenth century. The subject is covered in great detail, beginning with the military establishment, with the emphasis on the regimental system and how the regiments were organised. Each stage of the soldier's life is illustrated with graphic contempory accounts and stories pertinent to the subject which in themselves makes for a fascinating read.

Waterloo Journal