New Work & Research

400 Lettres de soldats de Napoléon

https://editionspierredetaillac.com/products/les-grognards-ont-la-parole#:~:text=400%20t%C3%A9moignages%20des%20soldats%20de%20Napol%C3%A9on%20%EF%BB%BF&text=le%20quotidien%20du%20grognard%20et,de%20militaires%20de%20tout%20grade.

a beautiful book which offers the particular interest of presenting not the memoirs of soldiers of the Grande Armée, almost always written and published well after the fall of the Emperor and therefore sometimes reconstructed, but letters, written from day to day, during all campaigns and in all garrisons, which thus have the particular flavor of immediacy, of concreteness, of reality.

Some 400 letters, written by 18 soldiers such as generals, lieutenants, captains, a corporal or an adjutant-major, shed light on the campaigns of the empire "at eye level", but also the possibility of promotion , access to military schools, life in garrisons, in summary the overall military experience, whether it concerns infantry, cavalry or the learned weapons of artillery and engineers. As much as possible, the background of each author is quickly recalled during their first appearance in the book. Very judiciously, the authors also include in their book, when it was possible to find them, letters from families to soldiers, thus occasionally giving a "behind" view of the concerns.

A book which must quickly become essential for all those interested in the Grande Armée and the Epopée Impériale.

French text

Editions de Taillac, Paris, 2024, 511 pages.