Armies of 1812

The outline of Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, the battle of Borodino, the burning of Moscow and the interminable, grinding misery of the great retreat are infamous. What is much less well known are the background details of the campaign, the vast efforts which were devoted – in vain – to the logistics, and the dramatic losses suffered by the Grande Armée even in the first few weeks of the advance when many of the soldiers had not even seen the enemy. The invasion brought together greater numbers of fighting troops from more nations than at any previous time during Napoleon’s campaigns. In Armies of 1812, Digby Smith analyses Napoleon’s aims and logistic plans, and the reasons for their breakdown. He includes illustrated descriptions of the uniforms and flags for each contingent; minutely detailed Orders of Battle for each Corps; plus battle details, casualty charts and maps. The route of every corps is shown on its own map and each national contingent is cross-referenced into the corps in which it fought. An extensive bibliography and an index of regiments and commanders down to brigade level complete this indispensable work of reference of one of history’s most dramatic campaigns.