The narrative starts where volume 1 left off, starting with the period after the battle of Polotsk and takes us through the appointment of Kutuzov as commander in chief, the horrors of the battle of Borodino, the French capture of Moscow and its subsequent burning, and the manoeuvring that led up to the battle of Tarutino in October 1812. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the guerrilla war; not out of place in a more modern setting maybe.
The book benefits from a profuse scattering of original correspondence and reports which always add significantly to the overall narrative, and without which I always feel shortchanged in terms of depth of research. A very personal thing but I always like to put myself in the minds and thoughts of the people who were there, in whatever capacity and/or level of importance they may have held.
The appendices are again very revealing being transcriptions of contemporary reports and orders. There are of course several orders of battle and a number of well detailed maps of the theatres of operations and so forth.
This was an enjoyable book to read and one difficult to put down; I was up till about 03:00hrs finishing it off. As I’ve said earlier both for this volume and the previous one, the translation is seamless, which makes it so, so much easier to follow. I felt drawn in as I would a good novel. I have learnt a fair bit from this book, in terms of detail rather than generic ‘stuff’. For Napoleonic fans this is a must buy book, and if you’ve not bought volume 1 buy that as well. Roll on Volume 3 is all I can say.
ISBN978-1-804514-33-7 Soft covers, 421 pages.
The Russian Patriotic War of 1812 Volume 3: The Russian Official History is the concluding instalment of Major General Modest Ivanovich Bogdanovich's superb trilogy, now available in English as No.142 in Helion’s ‘from Reason to Revolution’ series. The author is meticulous in describing step-by-step, almost one frost-bitten foot after another, the events of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow until the remnants of the Grande Armée were chased from Russian territory, offering a comprehensive Russian perspective on these pivotal moments.
I have previously reviewed the two earlier volumes, also published by Helion, both of which were excellent and certainly met my expectations in terms of the account of this campaign. This third volume is no different.
Bogdanovich was a distinguished nineteenth century military historian who had unparalleled access to Russian state archives. His narrative makes helpful references to other European sources, together with extracts from official and private correspondence, which together provide a well-rounded context to the campaign. The inclusion of detailed maps and battle plans certainly helped in my understanding of the strategic manoeuvres and terrain challenges faced during the war. Additionally, this edition features a brief review from sometime secret policeman, duellist, suspected ‘Decembrist’ and Freemason, Major General Ivan Petrovich Liprandi. His insights into contemporary analyses of the events is something I found especially revealing.
The highly detailed maps, 13 in total, are taken from original Russian sources, detailing strategic movements and battle plans such as Maloyaroslavets, Vyasma and Krasny. The appendices included detailed orders of battle and the book is finished off with an extensive bibliography.
As with the preceding volumes, the book was expertly translated by Peter Phillips, and readers can be confident in anticipating a scholarly and thorough account of the conclusion to the 1812 campaign.
ISBN: 978-1-804515-44-0 360 pages 13 maps, paperback
No comments:
Post a Comment