Tag: Leipzig
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Louis Jacques Romand and the turmoil of 1813 … (II)
On the 30th, General Vandamme, commanding I Corps, entered the defiles of the Bohemian mountains, where he was soundly beaten by the [Allied] combined army. He lost most of his men and he himself was captured by the enemy. Our baggage having, ill-advisedly, followed that of this corps and finding itself on the road was…
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The experiences of Dragoon Auguste de Maupas in Spain and Portugal, 1808-1812 (I)
Born on 5 September 1786 in Laon, Aisne, into a noble family originally from Berry, Auguste-Marie was the son of Jérôme Clément Agard, the Marquis of Maupas, and Marie-Madeleine de La Fons d’Happencourt. He married Geneviève-Stéphanie-Félicité-Cécile de Martiny on 2 January 1821. Maupas entered the École Militaire of Fontainebleau on 17 February 1805, and was…
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Guard Grenadier Philippe Ballut at Lützen and Bautzen, 1813 …
In the evening, with the 2nd Grenadier Regiment occupying the ground on a plateau, the soldiers sighted the town of Lützen, with its round bell tower and a tall belfry tower dominating the large tile roofed buildings. The French cavalry had already entered the town to capture a few stragglers. It was known that Blücher…
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The Military Life of Bruno d’Ast … (II)
Moscow, 20 September 1812. My dear father, you must have received my letter from Smolensk by now. I hope that it finds you in as good health as I am at the moment, despite the fatigue and hardship we had to endure before arriving in this city. I spoke to you in my last letter…
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Some notes of a grenadier of the Imperial Guard, 1813 …
A couple of passages of a journal kept by Philippe Ballut, a soldier serving in the 2nd Grenadier Regiment of the Guard, related to the early stages of the 1813 Campaign … Thursday, 29 April. – The Old Guard arrived at Naumburg before noon and we lit our fires at the foot of the tower,…
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An Imperial Guard commander and the 1813 Campaign (IV) …
… The tremendous enthusiasm that had always motivated our battalions was shattered. Ambition had replaced emulation; the army was now commanded only by officers who were brave to the point of recklessness, but without experience or instruction. Soldiers were only looking for the opportunity to leave their corps, to enter hospitals, to flee from danger.…
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Officer Boudousquie (18th Line) on the road to Russia, 1812 (II) …
Leipzig, 25 March 1812. We have only arrived in this city today, my dear father, as we were obliged to stay for some time at Mulhausen and in the vicinity of Erfurt, as a result of the troops who were passing us on their way to Magdeburg … It seems that we will stay here…
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Polish VIII Corps’ clashes prior to Leipzig, October 1813 …
A Polish officer relates the events leading up to the struggle known as the battle of the Nations at Leipzig … At six o’clock in the morning, VIII Corps set out on the march; skimming along Frohbourg, it gained the main road to Leipzig. The troops of the vanguard, (now) forming the rear guard, while…
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Chef d’escadron Mathieu and the 1813 campaign …
The author of the following account was a French squadron commander in the horse artillery. Here is an extract from his recollections, set during the 1813 campaign … An order of the Minister of War stated to form four companies with 78 men [remnants of the seven companies remaining at the end of the Russian…