Tag: Moscow
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The Military Life of Bruno d’Ast … (III)
In the meantime, Bruno d’Ast’s family was delighted to receive the news that he had been promoted to the Legion of Honour: they knew that this was the award that their son sought above all else, and we will see in one of the following letters the emotion with which he received this distinction, the…
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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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A letter on the retreat from Russia, by an artillery officer …
The author of the following letter, Jean-Michel-Marie Prévost, son of Henri-François, councillor to the King, judge, magistrate in the seneschal and presiding court of Clermont-Ferrand, and Marguerite Monestier, was born in Clermont-Ferrand on 26 July 1782. Prévost entered the École Polytechnique on 1 Frimaire Year 10, became a student second lieutenant on 1 Vendémiaire Year…
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Letters of a battalion commander, Russia 1812 …
The military operations of 1812 commenced in June. On the 15th, the 33rd Infantry Regiment numbered 4,252 men divided into five battalions. This is the unit of our officer, whose letters we reproduce. On the 18th, Napoleon, who was at Gumbinnen (Prussia), inspected the 33rd Regiment, part of the 2nd Division (led by General Friant)…
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A Belgian cavalryman in Moscow, 1812 …
A relative of our Belgian soldier here, Constant de Limon (officer in the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval, General Bordessoule’s Brigade, part of Davout’s I Corps), forwarded the latter’s letter to a younger brother of our protagonist: Mister Delimon (sic, De Limon), place du Carrefour de Lodeau n° 4, in Paris. Ypres, 6 November…
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An Italian, the Grande Armée and the campaign of 1812 …
The Biblioteca Estense in Modena preserves the original copies of a substantial set of letters written by an unsung soldier of the Army of the Kingdom of Italy, Paolo Magelli, born at Pavullo in 1785. These were addressed to his elder brother Giustiniano. In contrast, the correspondence does not contain the letters written by Giustiniano…
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Eyewitness accounts of the campaign in Russia, 1812 (V) …
General Georg von Scheler (1770-1826, from Württemberg) wrote the following: Moscow, 8 and 9 October 1812. Everyone found shelter, albeit packed and cramped, in the suburb on the road to Kazan. The horses of the artillery, the two regiments of chevau-légers and the regiment of the King’s Chasseurs No. 4 were accommodated in stables or…
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Excerpts of a campaign journal, Russia 1812 …
Details drawn from the Journal of General Friant’s Division … On the 9th, the division fought with the Russian troops who were defending the town of Mozhaysk and who were forced to evacuate it, after having torched it and caused some losses to the 48th Regiment. The division crossed Mozhaysk and found itself in the…
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Doctor Wilhelm Meier and Baden’s war efforts during the Russian campaign …
This excerpt represents one complete chapter of Meier’s recollections. Relations between France and the rest of Europe, with Russia in particular – Causes and preparations for war Through the Peace of Vienna of 1809 and its consequences, the family bond established with the Imperial House of Austria, Napoleon had reached the summit of his fortune…