Not only a much needed view of the peninsular wars from the French perspective; this is a soldier’s attempt to describe what really happened, depicting events that foreshadow the horrors of the 20th century.
Memoirs of Francois Lavaux, sergeant of the 103rd Ligne: 1793-1814
‘I prefer to say no more. It is not possible to tell you all the atrocities committed in these mountains; it would shock even the hardest heart … I limit myself to saying that, for six consecutive weeks, daily, we did nothing but plunder and burn.’
Francois Lavaux’s memoir is remarkable. For one thing, it is written by a Napoleonic infantryman, albeit one who was gradually promoted to Sergeant. This is at a time when published memoirs were the strict preserve of high ranking officers. However, Lavaux’s memoir also covers almost the length and the breadth of the Napoleonic wars, from 1793 to 1814. He witnessed the campaigns of 1798-99, as well as the campaigns of Hohenlinden, Austerlitz, Jena and Eylau. He then spent six years campaigning in Spain.
This is the first translation into English of Francois Lavaux’s memoirs; a translation that puts the memoirs in context and makes them accessible to the modern reader. Maps and contemporary paintings and drawings help to illustrate and clarify Lavaux’s narrative.
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DDT Publishing: Uniforms of Austerlitz, Marengo and Jena 