Few French historians of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period have the stature of Arthur Chuquet, his copious writings on the era are most penetrating and accurate. He was also a master of infusing them with a character of the men that shaped the age; this was possible only by his encyclopaedic knowledge of the memoirs and letters of the combatants, diplomats, generals of the European powers.

In this translation of one of his volumes, he focusses on the experiences of the men of the Grande Armée as they march into Russia, a march that would cost so many of their lives. The vivid pictures drawn from the memoiralists are elucidated by Chuquet’s notes and his tight incisive editing. Not a campaign history, but snapshots of the experiences of the high and low of the French and Allied forces; from Napoleon’s aide-de-camp de Narbonne to lowly paymaster Guillaume Peyrusse.

An excellent collection of memoirs.

Author — Arthur Chuquet (1853-1925)