The Invasion Of France 1814 The Special Campaign Series

Part of the acclaimed "Special Campaign" series of works intended for serious professional students of military history each volume is interspersed with strategical and tactical comments and illustrated by numerous sketches. The 1814 campaign in France was Napoleon's final campaign. Following their victory at Leipzig, Russian, Austrian and other German armies invaded France. Despite the disproportionate forces in favour of the Coalition, Napoleon managed to inflict many defeats. However, the Coalition kept advancing towards Paris, which capitulated in late March 1814. Napoleon was deposed and exiled to Elba and the victorious powers started to redraw the map of Europe. Napoleon escaped from Elba the following year leading to the last conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Beset along the northern border of France by enemies that out-numbered him by at least five to one, where ordinary generals might have despaired, Napoleon went on to win a remarkable series of victories that recalled the rapidity of his brightest early campaigns. Although not enough to turn the tide of the Allies march on Paris, they are hugely important for the methods used by the Emperor in his last campaign before Waterloo. Turning on isolated parts of the Prussian Field Marshal Blücher’s army, composed of both Russians and Prussians, Napoleon won the battles of Champaubert, Montmirail, Château-Thierry and Vauchamps, inflicting nearly 20,000 casualties for a loss of 3,000 of his own men. However, this magic could not last... A well-known and respected writer on the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Maycock’s work is a fine addition to any bookshelf on a much neglected campaign. This book is part of the Special Campaigns series produced around the turn of the 20th century by serving or recently retired British and Indian Army officers. They were intended principally for use by British officers seeking a wider knowledge of military history. Title – The Invasion of France, 1814

In 1814, after two successive years of defeat in Russia and central Europe, Napoleon was faced with the ultimate disaster - an Allied invasion of France itself. The conduct of the intense, fast-moving campaign that followed has been widely hailed as one of his greatest feats as a commander, yet it has rarely been described fully and objectively. Andrew Uffindell, in this gripping and original study, reconstructs the campaign, reassesses Napoleon's military leadership and provides a masterly account of a campaign that helped shape modern Europe. AUTHOR: Andrew Uffindell is a leading British military historian and one of the outstanding modern writers on the Napoleonic Wars. His most recent books include Napoleon's Immortals, a major reassessment of the Imperial Guard using previously unpublished material from the French archives, and The National Army Museum Book of Wellington's Armies, which was part of a series that collectively won the Royal United Services Institute's Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature. Among his many other books are Waterloo Commanders; Great Generals of the Napoleonic Wars; and The Eagle's Last Triumph, a study of Napoleon's final victory at Ligny. SELLING POINTS: * Exciting, new account of the pivotal 1814 campaign * Demolishes the popular myths * Uses unpublished archive material * Reassesses Napoleon as a commander * Reveals the untold stories of the campaign * Fully illustrated with maps, diagrams and photographs of the battlefields today ILLUSTRATIONS 30 illustrations

Montmirail, Champaubert, Reims, Laon, Craonne, Montereau, Paris... Each of these names is synonymous of tumultuous victories and heroic fighting. Each is them is also a sign of the genius of Napoleon as a military leader, and a testimony of the sacrifice accepted by the men which followed him on the battlefields. In this new book, the Authors survey the whole campaign of France, stating facts and explaining the opponents' views. And, in the now famous third part of the book, they introduce us to the main actors of the drama: marshalls and generals, but also the obscure, ordinary NCOs and privates of Napoleon's army. And, as usual in this series, the intricately detailed color plates by André Jouineau render the richness and diversity of the uniforms of all armies involved in the Emperor's most dashing campaign.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Part of the acclaimed "Special Campaign" series of works intended for serious professional students of military history each volume is interspersed with strategical and tactical comments and illustrated by numerous sketches. The military lessons of the Russian campaign are numerous. In its general features, in the grandeur of its conception, and in some respects in its execution, as well as in its abysmal end, this gigantic invasion was splendid and awe-inspiring. Who can contemplate unmoved the sublime spectacle of that mighty human stream pouring across Europe into Russia, fighting its way to Moscow, and its shattered remnants struggling back across the Berezina, in worst icy flood so many thousand lives were quenched in circumstances of tragic horror. The dramatic figure of the Great Emperor, standing in the snow during the retreat, domination the situation by the mere terror of his personality, will stand out for ever on the page of history. The fortitude in the retreat of Ney, what warrior of transcendent courage, who, asked were the rearguard, replied in all truth "I am the rearguard"; and in response to a summons to surrender "A Marshal of France never surrenders " furnishes one of the finest episodes of this dramatic epoch. The Causes of War - Preparations for War - The Opposing Forces - The Theatre of War - The Invasion of Lithuania - The Advance to the Dwina - From the Dwina to the Dnieper - The Battle of Smolensk - The Advance to Borodino - The Battle of Borodino - The Occupation of Moscow - From Moscow to Maloyaroslavetz - The Retreat to Smolensk - From Smolensk to Borisov - The Passage of the Berezina - From the Berezina to the Niemen - The Causes of Failure. Maps and Plans: 1. Map of the Theatre of Operations. 2. Map to Illustrate the Operations round Smolensk. 3. Plan of Smolensk and its Environs. 4. The Battle of Borodino. 5. From Moscow to Smolensk. 6. The Passage of the Berezina.

The Italian campaigns were fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number of other Italian states. The second phase of the war in Italy began in 1799 as part of the War of the Second Coalition with Russian forces participating in the campaign.

Having suffered a massive reversal of fortunes in Russia Napoleon found himself confronted, in Germany, by the combined forces of Russia, Prussia, and Austria. After the disaster of Leipzig Napoleon’s German allies fell away and he was forced to fall back, beyond the borders of France. Offered a negotiated peace on the basis of a return to the pre-1792 borders, Napoleon chose to continue to fight, trusting in his star. He was, however, desperate for troops and short of horses and cash. Cornered and threatened by three armies invading from the north, northeast, and east, every chance to stop the Allies had to be taken and there was desperate battle after desperate battle. Of all his campaigns, Napoleon’s 1814 campaign was one of his most brilliant. Eventually, after several terrible defeats, the Allies refused to engage him in battle when he confronted them. Instead they pushed their other two armies forward, slowly driving him back as he rushed to block the advance of the other armies on Paris. This strategy proved successful and eventually Napoleon was obliged to abdicate when his marshals refused to fight further.