SHORTLY after the tragic death of the duc d'Enghien, on the 21st March, 1804, Napoleon, then first consul for life, took measures to induce the French senate to propose his elevation to the Imperial dignity. - A comprehensive study of Napoleon's campaign in Poland - Describes such key battles as Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland - A remarkable insight into Napoleon's genius for war After Napoleon's humiliation of Prussia, on the field Jena, the French Emperor turned his attention to subduing his Russian foe and marched ...
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SHORTLY after the tragic death of the duc d'Enghien, on the 21st March, 1804, Napoleon, then first consul for life, took measures to induce the French senate to propose his elevation to the Imperial dignity. - A comprehensive study of Napoleon's campaign in Poland - Describes such key battles as Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland - A remarkable insight into Napoleon's genius for war After Napoleon's humiliation of Prussia, on the field Jena, the French Emperor turned his attention to subduing his Russian foe and marched into Poland in the winter of 1806. Six months later, the Russians had been beaten and brought to the peace table and Napoleon was at the height of his power. In his detailed study of this remarkable episode of Napoleonic history, F. Loraine Petre follows every move of the campaign. He assesses the defeat of Prussia, analyses the strengths and weaknesses of both Napoleon's army and that of his Russian opponents, details the bloody battle of Eylau - where Napoleon's troops were fought to a standstill in the snows of a Polish winter - and describes Napoleon's crushing victory over the Russian at Friedland. F. Loraine Petre's campaign studies are renowned for their scope, detail and clarity, and Napoleon's Campaign in Poland is a brilliant overview of Napoleon's vaunted army confronting some of its most worthy opponents. F. Loraine Petre was a distinguished military historian and student of Napoleonic tactics and strategy. He wrote a number of formative campaign studies, including Napoleon's Conquest of Prussia, Napoleon's Last Campaign in Germany and Napoleon at Bay.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. New UK edition in soft cover format with a new introduction from David Chandler, 8vo, 354pp; photo reproductions, line maps; card covers; VG Copy.
This book was the first of Loraine Petre's treatments of major napoleonic campaigns and is still one of the best accounts of the clash of arms between the Emporer and the Holy warriors of Russia in 1806. The maps and battlefield sketches provided with the text are absolutely essentiel to follow the movements of the troops and I resorted to laying them out before me on the table with some counters to mark the position of different bodies of troops or leaders. The author had an excellent coup d'oeuil on the terrain and visited the battlefield and the theatre of operations personally before he sat down to write the book. Comparing the description of the campaign with more recent treatment of the subject reveals that nothing essential was unknown to the author and that the facts are up to date. When data of interest are not provided in the book (such as some numbers of those engaged or lost) you can be pretty sure they are not available at all. The few but very carefully selected sources are duely presented and discussed.
Bibliophile
Apr 6, 2007
Another Solid Account
This book, following on from his engaging account of Napoleon's victory over Prussia in 1806, is Loraine Petre's second book in his series of five accounts covering Napoleon and his campaigns. This time the author offers the reader an in-depth military study of Napoleon's campaign in Poland. In this account we find Napoleon manoeuvring into Poland to meet the advancing Russian armies moving to assist the meagre Prussian forces left over after being defeated in detail by Napoleon and his Marshals.
The author follows every move of this fascinating campaign and offers detailed insights into the battles fought during the terrible winter weather in Poland. We read about the bloody battle at Eylau and latter of Napoleon's crushing victory over the Russians at Friedland. Using numerous sources and first-hand accounts the reader gets a detailed military narrative and analysis of each skirmish and battle fought in this campaign.
Again a word of caution, this book was first published in the early 1900's and the style of writing does take some getting used. However, once you have mastered the style the narrative moves along quite easily except for the occasional break to check the maps as you follow the converging armies in the hinterland of Poland. The maps (10) are not the best but detailed enough to locate the points mentioned and to follow the various movements in the battles. The author also provides a number of black and white plates of the personalities and locations mentioned in the narrative.
Overall this is a very decent military study covering Napoleon's campaign in Poland where within six months he had beaten the Russian armies and forced the Russian Czar to sign a treaty at Tilsit. "Napoleon's Campaign in Poland is a brilliant overview of Napoleon's vaunted army confronting some of its most worthy opponents." - From the back cover of the book.
