by Paul Britten Austin
Published by Greenhill Books 19.50 pounds

1812 - Napoleon in Moscow is the second part of Paul Britten Austin's trilogy on the 1812 campaign in Russia, the first volume of which, 1812 - The March on Moscow, was reviewed by Ken Guest in FE18.

The book is written almost entirely from the French viewpoint, which is not a criticism since that is what the author sets out to do, describing it as a drama documentary. Comprising 13 chapters, this volume is slimmer than the first and this is reflected in an equally 'slim' price in comparison. There are two useful maps at the front, one of Moscow and another of the principal places within an approximately 150 mile radius of the city. It was inconvenient to have to keep returning to these at first, but I don't really see how this could be overcome; they have to go somewhere. In any event the reader should soon retain a memory of the geographic relationship of the places mentioned in the text before too long. Be that as it may, there were some places in the book where I felt a more detailed map of the area being described would have been a useful aid.

The book starts with the reader arriving in Moscow during the comparatively heady days following the hard fought victory of Borodino. We see the conquerors settling down in comfortable quarters, although supplies of food, particularly for the animals, are already becoming parlous. We experience their dislocation of expectations as the fire starts to take hold and I confess to being unaware of the extent to which it spread, destroying the larger part of the old city, its buildings being largely constructed of wood.

We wait, with anticipation, for the Russians to make peace and share the disappointment of the soldiers, the regimental officers, the generals and Napoleon himself when this does not happen, all brought to life by the use of accounts of eyewitnesses. The reader is taken in similar fashion through Napoleon's procrastinations and the daily lives of the soldiers as autumn approaches, each chapter comprising numerous wonderful little snapshots of their personal experiences all woven together by the author to produce a thoroughly absorbing narrative that achieves the immediacy and vividness he tells us in his introduction he seeks.

Of particular interest, I thought, was the evident inability of Napoleon to take a decision when it was really necessary to do so, his refusal to accept the facts and believe what he was being told, even to the extent of dismissing warnings about the severity of the Russian winter. The arrogance and ego of the man is extraordinary as he allows himself to be carried along on the tide of events, rather than fashioning them himself.

We leave this book when Napoleon, at last, faces up to the reality of the situation and the retreat starts. By this time, however, the weather has started to turn and he has delayed too long. Though doubtless the first soldier of his age, who achieved prodigious success on the battlefield, one tends to forget that he was also responsible for the most costly military blunders of the age too. As we march out of Moscow with the Grand Army, back over the ground of Borodino with its still unburied corpses, towards the west, we are aware that it is already too late. Even the most casual reader of this book, unaware of the outcome of the campaign, if such exists, must realise that absolute disaster awaits in 1812 - Retreat from Moscow.

The final pages are taken up with extensive notes to the chapters, which are very interesting reading in themselves, a comprehensive bibliography and an index. This trilogy, when completed will contrast with and complement the many comparatively 'dry' historical accounts of the campaign. It is also a lucid account of what soldiering generally was like during the Napoleonic period. William T. Sherman, the famous American general, said in a speech in 1880 "There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell". The evidence of Paul Britten Austin's absorbing account of the 1812 campaign shows that it always was.

Reviewed by different reviewer:

1812: Napoleon in Moscow in FE30.