F. Loraine Petre wrote five books about the Napoleonic Wars which have been reprinted in the Napoleonic Library by Greenhill, and were reprinted by Arms & Armour Press thirty years ago. Now for the first time an F. Loraine Petre book is to appear in paperback - Napoleon’s Campaign in Poland 1806-7. Dr. David Chandler writes in his Introduction: “Francis Loraine Petre (1852-1925) was a member of the group of prominent soldiers, scholars and authors - including General Hamley, Colonels G. F. R. Henderson and R. W. Phipps, Sir John Fortescue, Sir Charles Oman and Professor Spenser Wilkinson - which was virtually responsible for the introduction of the serious analytical study of military history to British academic life. This school of British military historians was never a closely-knit association of the type that developed on the Continent under the aegis of the French and German General Staffs. Rather it took the form of a loosely-confederated number of soldiers and men-of-letters who shared a common interest in the military affairs of the immediate or more distant past, and set out to improve the professional competence of the British officer and the general awareness of the more enlightened sections of the reading public by writing studies on the art, and science of warfare. Field Marshal Earl Roberts, V.C., K.G., writing in his introduction to the original edition of the present book, noted with satisfaction that ‘... the rising generations of soldiers read it (military history) now with a keen desire to profit by its practical teaching as well as with intense interest in the romance of war.’ The Field Marshal also appreciated that ‘ ... the study of Military History is not confined to military men, but is also engaging the attention of literary civilians...’ This republication will be welcomed by all students of the dramatic campaigns of the Grande Armee and its incomparable chief.” After Napoleon’s humiliation of Prussia, on the field of Jena, the French Emperor turned his attention to subduing his Russian foe and marched into Poland in the winter of 1806. Six months later, the Russians had been beaten and brought to the peace table and Napoleon was at the height of his powers. In his detailed study of this remarkable episode of Napoleonic history, F. Loraine Petre follows every move of the campaign. He assesses the defeat of Prussia, analyses the strengths and weaknesses of both Napoleon’s army and that of his Russian opponents, details the bloody battle of Eylau and describes Napoleon’s crushing victory over the Russians at Friedland. F. Loraine Petre’s campaign studies are renowned for their scope, detail and clarity, and Napoleon’s Campaign in Poland is a brilliant overview of Napoleon’s vaunted army confronting some of its most worthy opponents. F. Loraine Petre (the surname is pronounced ‘Peter’) was a distinguished military historian and student of Napoleonic tactics and strategy. He wrote a number of formative campaign studies, including five studies on the Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon’s Conquest of Prussia, 1806 Napoleon’s Campaign in Poland, 1806-7 Napoleon and the Archduke Charles, 1809 Napoleon’s Last Campaign in Germany, 1813 Napoleon at Bay, 1814 Other books by F. Loraine Petre include: The Republic of Columbia Simon Bolivar, El Libertador History of the Norfolk Regiment 1st King George’s Own Ghurka Rifles The Royal Berkshire Regiment The Scots Guards in the Great War, 1914-18 Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 106 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com