Published by Greenhill Books, 1999.
Hardback. ISBN 1-85367-373-0
224 pages 3 maps. 30 illustrations.
$34.95

In the Service of the Tsar Against Napoleon: The Memoirs of Denis Davidov, 1806-1814 opens with a mini profile of Suvorov when he was seven, when he tried to model himself after his father. His father was, at that time 1793, a colonel of the Poltavan Light Horse Regiment and young Davidov spent his youth in army tents. It was Suvorov who predicted great things for the youngster at a camp dinner.

The book then jumps to 24 January 1807 and his first battle -- Wolfsdorf as an adjutant to Prince Bagration. He exchanged shots with the French. Later, he led a counterattack, and was cut off as he made his way back through the no-man's land between the lines. Davidov's description is quite vivid -- especially as he looks back to the youthful folly of his first encounters.

Thence to Eylau and the opening of 3 hours of ineffective cannon fire. Then comes the bayonet charge and aftermath of battle, followed by the Tilsit ceremonies and "meeting" Napoleon

Napoleon emerged from the hall and paused at the entrance next to Emperor Alexander. The doorway was so narrow and he was so close to me that I had to back away for fear of jostling him accidentally. He was busy telling the Tsar something in a jovial, impulsive manner. I heard nothing. I was all eyes, devouring him visually, trying to memorize all the features, all his changes of expression, all his mannerisms. By good fortune, as if to indulge me, he became even more talkative and paused near me for more than two minutes. I was content, but not entirely. I had to get a closer look at the colour of his eyes and, as if on purpose, he suddenly looked right at me. His glance was so direct that in any other circumstance I would have lowered my eyes; but my curiosity overcame everything. His eyes met mine in a hard, unwavering gaze. Then he turned to the Tsar again, replying to some question that had been asked, put on his hat, mounted his horse, spurred it on and galloped off at full speed the way he had come...

His nose was not very large, but straight, with a very slight, hardly noticeable bend. The hair on his head was not black, but dark reddish-blond; his eyebrows and eyebrows were much darker than the colour of his hair, and his blue eyes, set off by the almost black lashes, gave him a most pleasing expression...

The man I saw was of short stature, just over five feet tall, rather heavy although he was only 37 years old and despite the fact that the lifestyle he followed should not, on the face of it, have let him put on much weight. He held himself erect without the least effort, as is common with all short people. But what was peculier to him alone was a nobility of bearing and an urbane, martial air, which undoubtedly was derived from his habit of commanding men and a consciousness of moral superiority. No less remarkable was the ease and frankness of his approach, his natural dexterity and the quickness of his movements." (pg 64-65)

Thense to Finland 1808 for about half of that war, and nothing about his service in Turkey in 1810. After that comes the bulk of the book in Russia 1812 performing partisan duties, primarily between Gzhatsk and Viazma. His efforts seem out of proportion, such as a 300-Cossack force causing 6 officers and 270 men to surrender? (pg. 93)

He hit prisoner convoys to add to his force, and indeed it grows to 908 men and 15 officers.

One interesting point deals with French prisoners:

Peasants from neighboring villages brought to me six French stragglers. This surprised me to no end because until that time, they had never brought me any prisoners, always dealing with them on their own. These unfortunates, tied up with ropes and pulled down into a ditch, would not have escaped the fate of their predecessors had the noice of horsemen and the sound of Russian speech not announced our arrival. Killing them would be useless, so they decided to bring their captives to me and have me decide their fate. I gave orders to include them among the prisoners already in our hands and to send them all to Ukhnov. From there they would be conveyed to remote districts where they would probably either die on the way, become victims of their corrupt guards, or be dealt with by indifferent civilian authorities. (pg. 126)

As the French retreated, Davidov's little independent partisan band grew to 1200 men, 400 cavalry, 800 jagers, and 4 field pieces (pg. 136). From 2 Sept - 23 Oct., he claims to have captured 3500 men and 43 officers (pg. 141).

He vehemently contradicts Napoleon's memoirs about how "not one messenger" was ever captured in Russia etc. etc. and then goes on quite a long while with anecdotes and captured French documents to show that partizens were very successful in interrupting supply, capturing str and forgers, and causing untold problems during the retreat from Moscow. Not to mention almost capturing Napoleon! As he swept into Germany, he was relieved of command for capturing Dresden in 1813, and there the memoirs end.

All told, this is a quite readable translation by Gregory Trowbetzkoy, for only a couple times does the text tangle with English and come out second. It is, however, and no fault of the translator, a bit disjointed at times. There are gaps that I could have liked filled, vs. the Turks in 1810 for example, but that's the way his memoirs are translated.

In the great battles of the Napoleon era, Davidov's partizen efforts are mere pinpricks compared to the Freidlands and Eylaus and Borodinos. Yet, to understand the effectiveness of the Cossacks and partizen depictions of French supply lines in 1812, reading Davidov's memoirs expands those general descriptions of rear-area attacks. It details the short, sharp encounters between irregular Russians and regular French and describes the valuable intelligence gathered from captured messengers.

So when you hear of fears regarding Cossacks -- pick up Davidov's memoirs. It is an excellent contemporary account of Russian partisans in 1812.

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