Digby Smith

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Digby George Smith (born January 15, 1935 in Aldershot ) is a retired British major who was best known as a non-fiction author under the pseudonym Otto von Pivka .

Life

He spent a few years abroad with his parents until 1948, including in India and Pakistan . In 1951 he began an apprenticeship as a businessman with the British Army, but then embarked on a military career. In 1961 he received his officer license from the Royal Corps of Signals (telecommunications corps ) and then went to Germany for over ten years with the Rhine Army .

From 1970 to 1972 he studied at the command academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg-Blankenese . In Germany his interest in the country's military history developed and he began to write military history books in 1972 under the pseudonym Otto von Pivka . After a position in the British Ministry of Defense, he left active service in 1979 to work for international corporations in the IT industry in Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia until 1995.

After that, he switched entirely to his activity as a non-fiction author and now published under his real name. The focus of his books is the Napoleonic era and the Middle East conflict .

Smith now lives in Thetford, Norfolk .

Fonts

under the pseudonym "Otto von Pivka"
  • Napoleon's German Allies . Osprey, London 1982ff
  1. Westfalia and Cleve Berg . 1998, ISBN 0-85045-211-2 (reprinted from Reading edition 1965).
  2. Nassau and Oldenburg . 1986, ISBN 0-85045-255-4 (reprinted from Reading 1975 edition).
  3. Saxony . 1996, ISBN 0-85045-309-7 (reprinted from Reading 1975 edition).
  4. Bavaria . 1998, ISBN 0-85045-373-9 (reprint of Reading edition 1980).
  5. Hessen Darmstadt and Hessen-Kassel . 1982, ISBN 0-85045-431-X (reprinted from Reading 1975 edition).
  • Napoleon's allies in Germany . Wehr und Wissen publishing house, Bonn 1979
  1. Westphalia and Kleve-Berg . 1979, ISBN 3-8033-0284-6 .
  2. Nassau and Oldenburg . 1979, ISBN 3-8033-0285-4 .
  • Napoleon's Italian and Neapolitan Troops . Osprey, London 1992.
  • Spanish Armies of the Napoleonic Wars . Osprey, London 1975, ISBN 0-85045-243-0 .
  • Napoleon's Polish Troops . Osprey, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-299-58161-6 (reprint of the London 1974 edition).
  • The Black Brunswickers . Osprey, London 1973, ISBN 0-85045-146-9 .
  • The King's German Legion . Osprey London 1974, ISBN 0-85045-192-2 .
  • The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars . Osprey, London 1977, ISBN 0-85045-251-1 .
  • Dutch-Belgian Troops of the Napoleonic Wars . Osprey, London 1996, ISBN 0-85045-347-X (reprint of the London 1992 edition).
  • Brunswick Troops 1809-15 . osprey, London 1985, ISBN 0-85045-613-4 .
  • Armies of 1812 . Stephens, Cambridge 1977
  1. The French Army including foreign regiments in French service and the confederation of the Rhine . 1977, ISBN 0-85059-274-7 .
  2. no more appeared
under the name "Digby Smith"
  • An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Uniforms of the 19th Century. An expert guide to the Crimean War, American Civil War, Boer War, wars of German and Italian unification and colonial wars . Lorenz Books, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-7548-1901-1 (reprint of the London 2009 edition).
  • An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms from 1775-1783, the American Revolutionary War. An expert guide to the uniforms of the American militias and Continental Army, the armies and navies of Great Britain and France, German and Spanish units, and American Indian allies . Lorenz Books, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7548-1761-1 (with Kevin F. Kiley and Jeremy).
  • An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars . Lorenz Books, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-7548-1571-6
  • Napoleon Against Russia. A New History of 1812 . Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2006, ISBN 978-1-84415-089-2 .
  • Napoleon's regiment. Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army, 1792-1815 . Greenhill, London 2000, ISBN 1-85367-413-3 .
  • 1813, Leipzig. Napoleon and the Battle of the Nations . Greenhill, London 2001, ISBN 1-85367-435-4 .
  • Batch! Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic Wars . Greenhill, London 2003, ISBN 1-85367-541-5 .
  • Army Uniforms Since 1945 . Blandford Press, Poole 1982, ISBN 0-7137-1083-7 (illustrated by Mike Chappell).
  • Borodino . Windrush Press, Moreton-in-Marsh 1998, ISBN 1-900624-17-6 .
  • NATO Uniforms Today (Uniforms Illustrated; Vol. 6). Arms & Armor Press, London 1984, ISBN 0-85368-665-3 .
  • World Army Uniforms Since 1939 . Blandford Press, Poole 1983, ISBN 0-7137-1189-2 (with Andrew Mollo).
  • The Decline and Fall of Napoleon's Empire. How the Emperor Self-Destructed . Greenhill, London 2005, ISBN 1-85367-609-8 .
  • The Prussian Army to 1815 . Schiffer Publ., Atglen, Pa. 2007.
  • The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colors, Standards and Artillery 1792-1815 . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .

media

In 2001 Digby Smith worked on the six-part British television documentary series Campaigns of Napoleon (Napoleon: the Man, the Myth, the Legend) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Description of the author by Osprey Publishing  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed January 30, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ospreypublishing.com  
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Author's description from the publisher Lorenz Books ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed January 30, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.annesspublishing.com
  3. ↑ illustrated by Richard Scollins.
  4. ↑ illustrated by Gerry Embleton.
  5. ↑ a b illustrated by Brian Fosten.
  6. ↑ a b c illustrated by Michael Roffe.
  7. ↑ Attached is Army Uniforms of World War II .
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Digby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Digby George (full name); Pivka, Otto von (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British officer and military historian
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Aldershot