Authors: Translated by Cynthia Joy Hausmann, edited by John H. Gill Pages: 272 Illustrations: 21 period portraits and illustrations. Maps: 7 strategic level views of five campaigns Hausmann served in, showing the routes he followed. Footnotes: 273 Appendices: 7, including a summary of Hausmann's life, the organization of a Bavarian infantry regiment, and several Bavarian orders of battle. Bibliography: 69 primary and secondary sources, many in German. Index: 142 entries Publisher: Greenhill Books, London (available in the U.S. through Stackpole Books, Pennsylvania). Publication Date: 1998 Binding: Cloth (hardbound) ISBN: 1-85367-336-6 Price: $34.95 Summary: The letters and campaign diary of an officer in the 7th Bavarian Infantry Regiment are published here for the first time. This book offers a rare perspective of a German participant in the great campaigns in central Europe and Russia, and make this book a significant primary source of information on the history of the Napoleonic Wars. The letters of Lieutenant Franz Joseph Hausmann describe the daily life and duties of an officer of the 7th Bavarian Infantry Regiment on campaign with the French Army. Hausmann, the son of a retired Bavarian army officer, lived during one of the most important phases of European history. He experienced many of the dramatic events that transformed Bavaria in the first fifteen years of the 19th Century. Born in 1789 (the same year as the French Revolution), he entered the Bavarian Army in 1799 as a junior cadet in the 4th Grenadier Regiment. In 1804 he was accepted as a cadet in the 7th Bavarian Infantry, his father's and grandfather's regiment. Five years later, Hausmann was a second lieutenant with the Reserve Battalion of the 7th Infantry, where he served as the adjutant. It was in this capacity that he marched off to Russia in 1812. One of a few members of the 30,000 man Bavarian contingent to survive the Russian Campaign, he was present at the capitulation of Paris on 31 March 31 1814. He served until 1815 after the battle of Waterloo and departed the army in 1818 after the last of the Allied occupation troops left France. Hausmann participated in every major central European campaign of the French First Empire, including 1805 against Austria and Prussia, 1806-1807 against Prussia and Russia, 1809 against Austria, 1812 against Russia, and 1813 against the combined Allied powers. In 1814 after Bavaria switched sides - he participated in the invasion of France with a Bavarian corps of the Allied main army. Through all these campaigns, he maintained both a detailed campaign journal and a lively correspondence with his parents in Bavaria. Hausmann's service as an adjutant to various Bavarian commanding officers during these campaigns not only greatly increased his chances of survival but also provided him with unique insights into the Bavarian army at war. It is his campaign journal and letters (21 from the Russian and 4 from the French campaign) which constitute the heart of this book. Hausmann's writings are placed in the context of military events of the period by John Gill. Gill, a serving United States Army officer, wrote With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and his German Allies in the 1809 Campaign (1992). This meticulously detailed work examined the organization, composition, and battle history of each German contingent fighting for Napoleon in the 1809 campaign against Austria. A Soldier for Napoleon puts the reader in the boots of a young and impressionable Bavarian infantry officer through every major campaign fought by the Bavarian Army of the period. Gill proves equally talented at presenting a soldier's view in an informative, insightful, and eminently readable style. Cynthia Hausmann, Franz Joseph's great-grand-daughter, does a skillful job translating Hausmann's letters - and the sense of awe she must have felt in bringing us the words of her ancestors shows through to the reader. More Book Reviews Book Review: The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book Book Review: Napoleon: How He Did It Book Review: A Soldier for Napoleon Book Review: 1815 The Waterloo Campaign Book News Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #14 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct