Synopses & Reviews
The author, an editor of Campaigns Magazine for ten years, has written a groundbreaking new study of Napoleon's disasterous Russian campaign of 1812. In doing this, he has employed primary sources never before translated from the German and Russian. He points out the real reasons for Napoleon's defeat which had nothing to do with cold weather but rather were a complex combination of faulty logistics, bureaucratic mismanagement and Napoleon's own but uncharacteristic indecision and bad choices.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 511-513) and index.
Table of Contents
PRELUDE.
Napoleonic Europe: The Years of Ascendancy.
Europe from 1810.
The Gathering Storm.
THE MILITARY BACKGROUND.
The French Military Establishment.
The Russian Army.
The New Ways of War.
Logistics.
THE ADVANCE.
Crossing the Niemen.
The Road to Vilna.
Drissa and Beyond.
The Chase Resumes.
The Battle of Smolensk.
A Change in Command.
Borodino.
Only 70 Miles to Go.
The Flanking Forces.
THE FUTILE WAIT.
Moscow.
The Russians Regroup.
The Flanks Begin to Waver.
THE RETREAT.
The Retreat Begins: Moscow to Malo-Jaroslavets.
Back to Smolensk.
Krasnoi.
The Flanks Cave In.
The Beresina.
The Final Curtain.
Epilogue.
Glossary.
Appendices.
Bibliography.
Index.