Louis Rochechouart

With the Tsar Against Napoleon Louis Rochechouart

The incredible adventures of a French Royalist officer

This is a personal account of the Napoleonic Wars from a rare perspective. The author was a French aristocrat and royalist who fled from Paris as a child after his mother was discovered to be involved in the plot to free Marie-Antoinette. He joined an emigre regiment at an early age and fought with the Portuguese. He later joined the Russian Army, eventually becoming an aide-de-camp to the Tsar, Alexander I. When France invaded Russia in 1812, Rochechouart was mobilised to Tormassov's Russian army fighting at the capture of Minsk and at the Berezina where he witnessed the debacle of the river crossing by the French Army in retreat. He fought in the final battles in Germany which brought about the defeat of Napoleon including Lutzen, Dresden, Kulm and Leipzig, and also in the Six Days Campaign as the allied forces closed upon Paris itself. He became Military Governor of Paris, holding the post until 1821, and was present at the execution of Marshal Ney. This is a fascinating memoir from the perspective of a French nobleman who opposed the First Empire of the French and its emperor. Contains maps and illustrations not present in earlier editions of the book.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.