Fighting the Russians: French Soldiers' Letters, 1799-1815
Jan 2025 · Casemate Publishers
Ebook
216
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About this ebook
Before the French Revolution, the Russian Empire played a minor role in the history of Western Europe, yet its involvement in the wars of the Republic and against Napoleon would change its influence on the fate of the continent forever. Fighting the Russians examines the crucial role played by the men of the Czar's Empire through hundreds of original letters, notebooks and accounts written by French soldiers at the time of the events or shortly after the fall of Napoleon. These rare unpublished sources, or those never before translated into English, recount key moments such as the battles of Zurich, Austerlitz, Eylau, Borodino and Leipzig, the burning of Moscow, the passage of the Berezina and the capture of Paris by the Cossacks. The terrible retreat from Russia and the torture inflicted on French soldiers by irregulars are also examined, as well as the times Napoleon was almost captured by Russian horsemen. Together, these writings plunge the reader into a world of unprecedented violence, but they also reveal the French fascination with the Russians, who were perceived as strange individuals from faraway lands whose courage bordered on madness.
Before the French Revolution, the Russian Empire played a minor role in the history of Western Europe, yet its involvement in the wars of the Republic and against Napoleon would change its influence on the fate of the continent forever. Fighting the Russians examines the crucial role played by th...
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About the author
Dr Bernard Wilkin is a Belgian historian who works at the State Archives of Belgium, where he specializes in the history of the French army and the French people at war, from Napoleon to the end of the Third Republic. He was previously lecturer at the University of Exeter and has published on various subjects such as propaganda in France during the world wars and morale in the French army and on the home front during the Great War. René Wilkin, the father of Bernard, studied and taught history in the city of Liège where he was born. He is now retired but continues to work on Napoleonic history from a French perspective.
Dr Bernard Wilkin is a Belgian historian who works at the State Archives of Belgium, where he specializes in the history of the French army and the French people at war, from Napoleon to the end of the Third Republic. He was previously lecturer at the University of Exeter and has published on var...
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