Talk:André Joseph Boussart

Peer review for B-Class

Another fine article, Djmaschek, I enjoyed reading it. Here's my take on how you could improve it:

• You could mention that some authors incorrectly spell his name Boussard.
• When using foreign names for military ranks (e.g. leutnant, chef de brigade) put them in italics.
• For chef de brigade and other ranks, whose modern equivalent cannot be easily guessed, you could put the modern equivalent between brackets the first time you mention them.
• "At the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August, he captured a group of Austrian hussars". He and his men, presumably, not just by himself.
• "In the War of the Third Coalition against Austria, Boussart led a brigade in Frédéric Henri Walther's 2nd Dragoon Division. He fought at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805." You could mention that he led 13th and 22nd dragoons, which he would go on to lead during the 1806 campaign, which you do mention.
• "On 15 July 1811, Boussart commanded 1,876 cavalrymen in three regiments.[24] In September, his command numbered 2,405 in 14 squadrons." Sounds a bit unclear: three regiments, but how many squadrons on 15 July 1811 and then 14 squadrons, but how many regiments in September? If you have a source for it, you could also say which regiments he commanded.
• Again "At the Battle of Castalla on 13 April 1813, he led 1,424 troopers in eight squadrons." Which regiments ? I usually say something like (I'm making up the names of the units): he led the 12th Dragoons (4 squadrons), 3rd Cuirassiers (4 squadrons) and 13th Hussars (2 squadrons).--Alexandru Demian (talk) 12:25, 3 April 2011 (UTC)
  • Thanks for your note. I clarified the Battle of Castiglione sentence and added English equivalent ranks in parentheses. At one time I italicized foreign ranks, but I don't like to do it when there is a wikipedia link. Boussart probably led the same 2 regiments in 1805 as he did in 1806. But Duffy does not specify which regiments the brigadiers commanded and I can only cite what my sources tell me. Gates gives varying strengths, regiments, and squadrons at different times. I only report what he lists. Obviously there were losses, replacements, and reinforcements going on all the time but this must be inferred by the reader. I don't have the OOB for Castalla at the moment, but I should have listed it. Djmaschek (talk) 05:44, 28 April 2011 (UTC)