take more serious note of it, and declared his intention of ‘uprooting the German national spirit’. And the only way he would be able to ‘uproot’ this burgeoning growth was by cutting off its chief source of nourishment, which came from Russia. 14
Plates
This sketch of Napoleon, made by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson in March 1812, shortly before the Emperor’s departure for the Russian campaign, shows the unhealthy plumpness which had recently set in, belying his attempt to appear aquiline.
The French army on campaign was a far cry from the glorious image suggested by most military prints, as this scene, drawn from life by Albrecht Adam, shows. Here, a party of cuirassiers are concerned with the vital business of herding food on the hoof.
Tsar Alexander I, painted by Gerhard von Kügelgen in 1804, the year he denounced Napoleon as an upstart and before he had been forced to flee from him on the battlefield of Austerlitz.
General Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Russia’s Minister of War and commander of the First Army, a brave but prudent soldier who knew the limitations of his force, by an unknown artist.
A group of Russian gunners, drawn from life by Johann Adam Klein.The Russian artillery was probably the best in the world at the time.
General Prince Piotr Ivanovich Bagration, commander of the Second Army, a firebrand who believed he should be in overall command, sketched at the start of the campaign by one of his staff officers, General Markov.
General Count Levin Gottlieb Bennigsen, who, despite having been soundly beaten by Napoleon at Friedland in 1807, believed he should be in command in 1812, by George Dawe.
Cossacks on the march, by Johann Adam Klein.A type of light cavalry recruited largely from the cossacks of the Don and the Kuban, they were used mostly to harry rather than to fight.Those depicted here belong to one of the regular cossack regiments.
Napoleon’s stepson Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, loved throughout the army and esteemed by his peers for his bravery and chivalry, by Andrea Appiani.
Marshal Davout, a strict disciplinarian, probably the most capable and loyal of Napoleon’s marshals, from a miniature on porcelain by Jean-Baptiste Isabey.
RIGHT Joachim Murat, King Joachim I of Naples, a legend of dash and flash who invented his own uniforms. Detail from a painting by Louis Lejeune, a colonel on the general staff.
BELOW Elements of the Army of Italy on the march on 29 June, shortly after crossing the Niemen, sketched by Albrecht Adam, an artist attached to Prince Eugène’s staff. At the centre of the picture, an officer has drawn his sabre to try to get a cantinière ’s wagon out of the way of his marching men.
A French infantryman returning from the maraude , on a small peasant pony typical of the type to be found in this part of the world, a drawing by Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur, a Swiss artist serving in the Württemberg contingent of the Grande Armée.
Portuguese infantry returning from a foraging expedition, by Faber du Faur.
A Bavarian cavalryman haggling with Jewish traders, by Faber du Faur.
French cuirassiers returning from a foraging expedition, by Albrecht Adam.
ABOVE This scene, sketched by Albrecht Adam near Pilony on 29 June, shows how inexperienced many of the men were at the tasks of butchering and cooking.
ABOVE A detail of Württembergers on grave-digging duty, by Faber du Faur.
RIGHT Tents were not part of the French army’s equipment, and the only shelter the men could hope for was one constructed with straw or foliage, like this one, depicted by Faber du Faur.
The fierce rainstorm that assailed the Grande Armée four days after it crossed the Niemen slowed progress. This engraving by Faber du Faur shows French artillery teams floundering through a sea of mud on 30 June.
The conditions took a heavy toll of the French army’s horsepower, and it is thought that as many as 50,000 horses may have died in the
Plates
This sketch of Napoleon, made by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson in March 1812, shortly before the Emperor’s departure for the Russian campaign, shows the unhealthy plumpness which had recently set in, belying his attempt to appear aquiline.
The French army on campaign was a far cry from the glorious image suggested by most military prints, as this scene, drawn from life by Albrecht Adam, shows. Here, a party of cuirassiers are concerned with the vital business of herding food on the hoof.
Tsar Alexander I, painted by Gerhard von Kügelgen in 1804, the year he denounced Napoleon as an upstart and before he had been forced to flee from him on the battlefield of Austerlitz.
General Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Russia’s Minister of War and commander of the First Army, a brave but prudent soldier who knew the limitations of his force, by an unknown artist.
A group of Russian gunners, drawn from life by Johann Adam Klein.The Russian artillery was probably the best in the world at the time.
General Prince Piotr Ivanovich Bagration, commander of the Second Army, a firebrand who believed he should be in overall command, sketched at the start of the campaign by one of his staff officers, General Markov.
General Count Levin Gottlieb Bennigsen, who, despite having been soundly beaten by Napoleon at Friedland in 1807, believed he should be in command in 1812, by George Dawe.
Cossacks on the march, by Johann Adam Klein.A type of light cavalry recruited largely from the cossacks of the Don and the Kuban, they were used mostly to harry rather than to fight.Those depicted here belong to one of the regular cossack regiments.
Napoleon’s stepson Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, loved throughout the army and esteemed by his peers for his bravery and chivalry, by Andrea Appiani.
Marshal Davout, a strict disciplinarian, probably the most capable and loyal of Napoleon’s marshals, from a miniature on porcelain by Jean-Baptiste Isabey.
RIGHT Joachim Murat, King Joachim I of Naples, a legend of dash and flash who invented his own uniforms. Detail from a painting by Louis Lejeune, a colonel on the general staff.
BELOW Elements of the Army of Italy on the march on 29 June, shortly after crossing the Niemen, sketched by Albrecht Adam, an artist attached to Prince Eugène’s staff. At the centre of the picture, an officer has drawn his sabre to try to get a cantinière ’s wagon out of the way of his marching men.
A French infantryman returning from the maraude , on a small peasant pony typical of the type to be found in this part of the world, a drawing by Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur, a Swiss artist serving in the Württemberg contingent of the Grande Armée.
Portuguese infantry returning from a foraging expedition, by Faber du Faur.
A Bavarian cavalryman haggling with Jewish traders, by Faber du Faur.
French cuirassiers returning from a foraging expedition, by Albrecht Adam.
ABOVE This scene, sketched by Albrecht Adam near Pilony on 29 June, shows how inexperienced many of the men were at the tasks of butchering and cooking.
ABOVE A detail of Württembergers on grave-digging duty, by Faber du Faur.
RIGHT Tents were not part of the French army’s equipment, and the only shelter the men could hope for was one constructed with straw or foliage, like this one, depicted by Faber du Faur.
The fierce rainstorm that assailed the Grande Armée four days after it crossed the Niemen slowed progress. This engraving by Faber du Faur shows French artillery teams floundering through a sea of mud on 30 June.
The conditions took a heavy toll of the French army’s horsepower, and it is thought that as many as 50,000 horses may have died in the
Similar Books
