Too Little, Too Late: The Campaign in West and South Germany, June-July 1866 Hardcover – November 20, 2015

The war of 1866, fought between Austria and Prussia, along with their respective allies, has sadly been a struggle under-represented in English language literature. Clearly overshadowed by the longer and more dramatic Franco-Prussian War, it is nonetheless just as important, if not more, in the development of Germany as the unified nation it became. Much of what is currently available in print and in English, focuses on the primary theater of operations in Bohemia, with scant reference to the war as it played out in Italy and western Germany.That's is changing due to the efforts of historians such as Mr. Embree. He has previously written about the risorgimento in Italy with his wonderful "Radetzky's March" as well as the 1864 war between Austria and Prussia against the Danes in his "Bismarck's First War", a war which set the stage for the events of 1866, particularly in western Germany. While "Too Little, Too Late" is not as massive of an undertaking as either of those previous works, neither is the subject matter. However, Mr. Embree does give the struggles between the Prussians and allies against the Federal German forces a very thorough examination, detailing decisions and battles in a manner that is both enlightening and enjoyable to read. Which is a very nice contrast to other books on the topic such as the Official Bavarian Army history. The stage is set, both politically and militarily and the reader is given a clear picture of how events unfolded.As an adjunct to his writing, the book is amply supplied with charts to make statistical analysis simple, along with many nice illustrations to help bring things to life.2016 is the 150th anniversary of this war that made Germany. While I realistically expect that it will get none of the attention that the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War garnered, it is great to see work being done in the field. The fact that this work is accessible and not written in dry academic prose makes it all the more enjoyable. You can read Mr. Embree's writing both as an intellectual exercise, as well as for the sheer enjoyment of reading a book by the fireplace while sipping your schnapps. If you have already read Wawro, Hozier, Barry or for that matter any of the official histories, do yourself a favor and grab this volume to give your knowledge more depth.

“Too little, too late” is Mike Embree's account of the German portion of the 1866 Austro-Prussian war which marked the eclipse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the pre-eminent power in German affairs and began the transition to Prussian dominance. Physically the book is a handsome hardback, weighing in at a slim 200 or so pages and illustrated with period etchings and maps.In it, Embree chronicles the brief campaign against Austria and the smaller German powers, the fruitless victory of the Hanoverian army at Langensalza* and the defeat of the Hessians and the Bavarians. The book begins with a potted history of the period, outlining the strategic situation in broad strokes, but swiftly changes to the author's strong suit, drilling down into the detail with copious reference to primary sources.The situation in brief is as follows, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, the German states banded together along with Prussia and Austria to form a loose union to prevent any recurrence of French aggression. This union was dominated by Austria and the conflict arose when Prussia seeking to wrest control of the union from that state, provoked a war in order to unseat Austria.The composition of the opposing armies, including those of a bewildering array of minor German states (some of which barely rise to the strength of a brigade) are described in detail. The rest of the book is devoted to an operational history of this brief conflict, which lasted barely six weeks. The prose is a model of clarity and leaves the reader in no doubt as to what is occurring, though one complaint I would have would be the maps. Maps are a persistent thorn in the side of those who write (and read) operational histories – how many? Where to put them? And in how much detail?The maps are fine and are clear, but they are all located (along with some uniform plates) in the centre of the book, rather than situated with the text which refers to them. They are also not appropriately referenced in the text, so that the reader has to puzzle out what map refers to which action based on the name of the action rather than a page number. A small point, but one that stands out in a publication as slick as this one.What strikes me about “Too little, too late” is how contemporary it seems. Austria and her allies are constantly undone by Prussian hybrid warfare, with the canny Prussians using a mixture of diplomacy, threats, misinformation and lightning manuevre to unhinge and ultimately destroy the allied forces. The author neatly describes that mixture of traditional warfighting and diplomatic cunning in a way that makes the overall picture clear to the reader, illustrating the complexities without getting lost in the weeds.But for all the Austrian disasters, the Prussians do not escape some criticism and the difficulties of controlling independently minded commanders whose tactical decisions are imperiling the strategic vision - a problem any leader can relate to.Ultimately, this book is the best English language treatment of the campaign currently available and will be of interest to the historian and the wargamer, who will appreciate the wealth of detail on orders of battle.*ground which the author has covered before in a pamphlet available from the Continental Wars Society.Note: In the interests of full disclosure, Mike is a friend of mine. I asked him if there was a general history that might be a good companion to this more specialised volume. He recommended "The Campaign of 1866 in Germany", the official Prussian staff history as probably the easiest and least controversial.

Michael Embree continues his works on nineteenth century campaigns with a lively and remarkably well-researched account of the campaign that pitted Prussia and her few satellite states against the massed forces of the German Confederation. The style is engaging and accessible yet does not stint on the detail sought by military history enthusiasts. Particularly welcome are the nineteen colour maps that clearly illustrate the flow of events. These appear to have been drafted specifically for the book, and therefore focus on the relevant points. There are also a number of informative appendices that provide tables of organisation, combat strengths and associated data, as well as an extensive bibliography. In contrast to many recent military histories, the author has not sought to 'sex up' the work with spurious assertions or fanciful theories that are based on little evidence and a poor understanding of the subject matter, but to provide a straightforward narrative and informed analysis.

As this is a new area of German history for me I found the book to be excellently written, and a good place to start. It does help if you already know some of the central characters, but to obtain a basic grounding, and as a starter to more in depth reading, I would recommend it.

El texto no refiere la historia para que se comprenda con facilidad. Los datos sobre fechas son escasos, de modo que no es fácil situar los acontecimientos en el tiempo, y a veces tampoco en el espacio. Al autor, me parece, la precisión no le preocupaba mucho.

This is a beautifully produced book, quite the best I've seen from Helion some of whose earlier productions were a bit 'bargain basement' (unsurprisingly given the very small circulation and the tiny budgets they had to work with). This new book by Mike Embree is really top notch, lovely clear print, excellent plates and crisply reproduced maps and illustrations. As usual Mike's scholarship is evident on every page, he covers the campaigns in minute detail and adds just enough background information to keep someone not familiar with the period fully engaged. This is a formidable contribution to the small but growing number of new works on the war of 1866, it is to be hoped that Mr Embree hasn't put his pen down just yet.

Exactly as expected