Tag: Poland
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Archduke Charles’ correspondence from the 1809 Campaign
Ried, this 8th April 1809. My dearest uncle, I arrived here yesterday, though not without having suffered a lot from the cold. Everything here is covered with snow. I leave this afternoon for Altheim. I will be in Braunau tomorrow evening, and the day after tomorrow before daylight I will cross my Rubicon, if, as…
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Dedicated to the Imperial Cause – Letters of the Dandalle Family (III) …
The Austrian Campaign of 1809 The Erfurt conference had, at least in appearance, strengthened the friendly relations between Napoleon and the Tsar. The two emperors divided Europe between themselves. Napoleon sought to consolidate the Russian alliance in order to have a free hand to re-establish the situation in Spain, where the capitulations of Bailén (22…
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Letters of Désiré Trefcon, quartermaster in the 22nd Dragoons – 1806-1807
Désiré Trefcon was conscripted in Year VII and initially served with his brothers Pierre-Antoine and Toussaint-Jean in the 15th Demi-Brigade. Due to his frail health and poor tolerance of arduous stages, he was almost constantly assigned to the depot companies. He had therefore remained in Bitche (Moselle Department) during the brilliant campaign of 1800. Eager…
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A dragoon under Marshal Murat – Letters of the 1806-1807 Campaigns (I)
In the spring of 1806, Amédée Le Nourry, captain-adjutant-major in the 16th Dragoon Regiment, was posted on the banks of the Inn, near Passau, alongside Marshal Soult’s army corps. Adjutant-major Le Nourry was an excellent officer with a keen understanding of his profession. Born on 8 July 1777 in Craconville near Evreux, he volunteered for…
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Correspondence of grognard Jean-Henry Rattier (IV) …
Bayonne, 15 March 1812. We arrived here the day before yesterday, and we are leaving tomorrow for Paris, where we will arrive on 16 April. I would have obtained permission to go to Ardèche, but I had to be in the capital by 15 April, which prevented me from obtaining it. I could only have…
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Dedicated to the Imperial Cause – Letters of the Dandalle Family (I) …
Introductions by the authors The reader is in for a unique experience from the outset, as the authenticity of the study’s content is striking. The sense of duty, the boundless admiration for their Emperor, Napoleon I, made these officers from the ranks perform nearly astonishing feats. They travelled the length and breadth of Europe, as…
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Recollections on the battle of Austerlitz, by Captain Ballue …
Pierre Ballue, from whose memoirs we are reproducing an extract, was born in Bergerac in the Dordogne on 20 February 1778. His father, Jean-Baptiste, was a postmaster in the town. In 1799 (14 Vendémiaire, Year VII of the Republic), Ballue was drafted into the army through conscription. ‘This law’, he said, ‘summoned me to serve…
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Two letters of beau sabreur Jean-Baptiste Guindey, 1805-1807 …
Guindey, who was born on 12 April 1785 at Laruns in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, was a French quartermaster in the 10th Regiment of Hussars during the Napoleonic Wars. He is reputed to have killed Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia in single combat at the battle of Saalfeld in 1806. He would find his death as a lieutenant…
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Letters of infantry corporal Charles Vanesse, 1806 …
A few more letters of this soldier from the 8th Infantry Regiment, prior and following the battles of Jena and Auerstädt … Anspach, 24 April 1806, I Corps of the Grande Armée. C. J. Vanesse to Miss VANESSE. Dear Sister, Your pleasant letter dated 17 January, as well as that from Van den Bruggen, reached…