More Books of the Week
(Continued from page 192.) It is a pleasure to record the appearance of a second volume of the late Colonel Ramsay Weston Phipps' remarkable work on The Armies of the First French Republic, edited by his son, Colonel C. F. Phipps (Oxford University Press, 218.). The first volume dealt with the Armee du Nord, 1791-5; the new volume does equal justice to the armies of the Moselle, the Rhine, the Sambre et Meuse, and the Rhine and Moselle. Nowhere else in English is there so good an account of the campaigns on the Rhine up to 1797. And, throughout, the author takes special care to show how Napoleon's future Marshals distinguished themselves. Ney, for example, showed great skill and daring in a hundred reconnaissances and retreats. Jourdan learned patience in handling weak armies while jealous politicians at Paris continually interfered, or ordered him to give no quarter. Pichegrue's treasonable dealings with the enemy in 1795 are discussed ; the author regarded him as guilty. Moreau also appears in an unfavour- able light. The book is an invaluable contribution to military history. * * * • *
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