A wonderful book that analyzes and brings back to life from Austerlitz to Borodino La Moscowa, passing through the formidable charge of Eylau, the epic of battles but also of alliances between France and Russia. Extremely well documented, this book helped me understand why Russian culture is still today so deeply rooted in the French collective unconscious and why Russians continue to toast "Prince Murat".

Prince Joachim Murat

Bernard and Rene Wilkin bring fresh insights into the trauma that the French Army experienced when facing the Russian army. Using a wealth of published letters and diaries – many never translated to English before- as well as unpublished archive documents, the march on Moscow, Borodino and the route are recalled in compelling detail. Of all Napoleon’s enemies, the Russians were the most tenacious: since the Flanders campaign, the Russians had challenged France for control and dominance of Europe. For Russia, the war with Napoleon was an “annoyance” that distracted from the war in the east with Turkey. Yet war when it came to the borders of Mother Russia, showed the Russian soldiers were every bit the equal of the French. In the climatic campaigns of 1813 and 1814, French eye-witnesses relate the savage brutality of the last battles of the Empire and how Napoleon was nearly captured by Cossacks. Bernard and Rene are to be congratulated for making these sources available to the reader, in a narrative drive by the men and civilians who witnessed the fighting first hand. The authors show, how Russia once involved in European affairs, became transformed into a European super power, resulting in a trauma cemented into French and Russian national psyche: 1812 which marked the high and low points of the war. Highly recommended.

Paul L Dawson, fellow author

'A fascinating and often intimate glimpse into the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars against Russia from the perspective of French officers and soldiers: highly recommended.'

Andrew Field