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A full-life portrait of the man Tolstoy immortalized, Stalin
lionized, and Russian history has manipulated and mythologized
beyond recognition. Every Russian knows him purely by his patronym.
He was the general who triumphed over Napoleons Grande Armee during
the Patriotic War of 1812, not merely restoring national pride but
securing national identity. Many Russians consider Field Marshal
Mikhail Illarionovich Golenischev-Kutuzov the greatest figure of
the 19th century, ahead of Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, even Tolstoy
himself. Immediately after his death in 1813, Kutuzovs remains were
hurried into the pantheon of heroes. Statues of him rose up across
the Russian empire and later the Soviet Union. Over the course of
decades and centuries he hardened into legend. As award-winning
author Alexander Mikaberidze shows in this fascinating, often
startling, and wholly humanizing new biography, Kutuzovs story is
far more compelling and complex than the myths that have encased
him. An unabashed imperialist who rose in the ranks through his
victories over the Turks and the Poles, Kutuzov was also a realist
and a skeptic about military power. When the Russians and their
allies were routed by the French at Austerlitz he was openly
appalled by the incompetence of leadership and the sheer waste of
life. Over his long careermarked equally by victory and defeat,
embrace and ostracism-he grew to despise those whose concept of war
had devolved to mindless attack. Here, at last, is Kutuzov as he
really was-a master and survivor of intrigue, moving in and out of
royal favor, committed to the welfare of those under his command,
and an innovative strategist. When, reluctantly and at the 11th
hour, Czar Alexander I called upon him to lead the fight against
Napoleons invading army, Kutuzov accomplished what needed to be
done not by a heroic charge but by a strategic retreat. Across the
generations, portraits of Kutuzov have ranged from hagiography to
dismissal, with Tolstoys portrait of him in War and Peace perhaps
the most indelible of all. This immersive biography returns a
touchstone figure in Russian history to human scale.
A superbly illustrated narrative of how Napoleon skilfully
extracted his Grande Armee from the clutches of the pursuing
Russian armies. Much has been written about the Battle of the
Berezina and the 1812 Russian campaign in general, during which the
cold winter devastated the Grande Armee. Historians often praise
Napoleon for his actions at the Berezina and attribute his success
to a brilliant strategic mind, laying a trap that deceived the
Russians and resulted in a remarkable feat in the history of
warfare. Drawing on contemporary sources (letters, diaries,
memoirs), and featuring an extensive order of battle, this book
recreates in hourly detail one of the great escapes in military
history, a story often told with embellishments that require a more
critical examination. Although the core of Napoleon's army escaped,
tens of thousands were killed in the battle, trampled in the rush
for the bridge, drowned in the icy waters of the Berezina, or
captured. Written by an acknowledged expert on the period, and
using a broad range of sources from all sides, this title brings to
life in stunning visual detail, using maps, battlescene artworks
and period illustrations, the events of late November 1812, as
Napoleon's retreating, desperate Grand Armee extricated itself from
the clutches of the Russian armies under Kutuzov, Wittgenstein and
Chichagov in an epic feat of heroism and masterful tactics.
The first of three volumes, this book represents the first English
translation of the memoirs that rank among the best in the vast
Napoleonic memoir literature. The author, Ilya Timofeyevich
Radozhitskii, served with distinction during the wars against
Napoleon and wrote down his reminisces shortly after the war based
on the notes that he kept while campaigning. Born in 1788,
Radozhitskii studied at the Imperial Orphanage, enlisted in the
artillery unit in 1806, and steadily rose through the ranks,
earning a reputation of a capable officer. Napoleon's invasion of
Russia in 1812 changed his life. Serving as an artillery
lieutenant, he saw action in virtuall every major battle of that
historic campaign. Wounded at the battle of Ostrovno, he remained
in ranks and later fought at Smolensk, Lubino (Valutina Gora) and
Borodino, lamented the surrender of Moscow, and celebrated Russian
victories at Vyazma and Krasnyi. He watched in bewilderment the
catastrophe that engulfed Napoleon's forces that winter, an event
he vividly describes in his memoirs. Radozhitskii offers fresh
insight into the life and daily experiences of Russian officers
during the Napoleonic Wars. Starting in the summer of 1812 and
following the travails of his unit over the next six months,
Radozhitskii's narrative contains striking descriptions of the
wartime experiences of soldiers and officers, vivid accounts of the
battles, and heartrending stories from the French retreat. When
published in Russia, these memoirs garnered considerable public
attention and Leo Tolstoy consulted them extensively while writing
his famous War and Peace . The second and third volumes, entitled
The German Liberation 1813 and The Invasion of France 1814, will be
published by Pen & Sword Books later this year.
Austerlitz, Wagram, Borodino, Trafalgar, Leipzig, Waterloo: these
are the places most closely associated with the Napoleonic Wars.
But how did this period of nearly continuous warfare affect the
world beyond Europe? The immensity of the fighting waged by France
against England, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, and the immediate
consequences of the tremors that spread from France as a result,
overshadow the profound repercussions that the Napoleonic Wars had
throughout the world. In this far-ranging work, Alexander
Mikaberidze argues that the Napoleonic Wars can only be fully
understood with an international context in mind. France struggled
for dominance not only on the plains of Europe but also in the
Americas, West and South Africa, Ottoman Empire, Iran, India,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic and
Indian Oceans. Taking specific regions in turn, Mikaberidze
discusses major political-military events around the world and
situates geopolitical decision-making within its long- and
short-term contexts. From the British expeditions to Argentina and
South Africa to the Franco-Russian maneuvering in the Ottoman
Empire, the effects of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
would shape international affairs well into the next century. In
Egypt, the Wars led to the rise of Mehmed Ali and the emergence of
a powerful Egyptian state; in North America, the period transformed
and enlarged the newly established United States; and in South
America, the Spanish colonial empire witnessed the start of
national-liberation movements that ultimately ended imperial
control. Skillfully narrated and deeply researched, here at last is
the complete global story of the period, one that expands our
contemporary view of the Napoleonic Wars and their role in laying
the foundations of the modern world.
In the winter of 1812, Napoleon's army retreated from Moscow under
appalling conditions, hunted by three separate Russian armies, its
chances of survival apparently nil. By late November Napoleon had
reached the banks of the River Berezina - the last natural obstacle
between his army and the safety of the Polish frontier. But instead
of finding the river frozen solid enough to march his men across,
an unseasonable thaw had turned the Berezina into an icy torrent.
Having already ordered the burning of his bridging equipment,
Napoleon's predicament was serious enough: but with the army of
Admiral Chichagov holding the opposite bank, and those of Kutusov
and Wittgenstein closing fast, it was critical. Only a miracle
could save him In a gripping narrative Alexander Mikaberidze
describes how Napoleon rose from the pit of despair to the peak of
his powers in order to achieve that miracle. Drawing on
contemporary sources - letters, diaries, memoirs - he recreates one
of the greatest escapes in military history - a story often
half-told in general histories of the Russian campaign but never
before fully explored.
The fifth installment in the "Russian Voice of the Napoleonic Wars"
series is the memoirs of Louis-Victor-Leon de Rochechouart, the
scion of an eminent French noble family who fled his native land
during the French Revolution and served in the Russian army during
the Napoleonic Wars.
Biography of Colonel Nicolas Tokhadze of the French Foreign Legion.
Born and raised in Georgia, Tokhadze immigrated to France after the
Bolshevik occupation of Georgia in 1921. Enrolling in the Foreign
Legion, he served with distinction in Morocco between 1925 and
1939. During the World War II, he was sent to the 5th Foreign
Regiment of the French Foreign Legion in Indochina, where he
distinguished himself during the fighting the Japanese in 1945,
when the legionnaires conducted an epic retreat of some 1000 km
from the Tonkin region to China. Rising to the rank of colonel and
garnering the much coveted Legion d'Honneur, Tokhadze was the
highest ranked Georgian officer in the French army.
The fourth installment in this series is the memoirs of Moritz von
Kotzebue, the son of the famous August von Kotzebue. After being
captured at Polotsk in August 1812, Kotzebue spent the next year
and a half in the French captivity as he was moved first to Germany
and then to France. His memoir is fascinating for its vivid, and
occasionally witty, descriptions of his experiences.
Yermolov is a legend in Russia. A man who rose from obscurity to
command armies and conquer provinces, he was the epitome of a
military man of action. To his enemies he was a byword for
brutality, but, to his homeland, a hero. His memoirs are as
dramatic as his rise to fame and fortune. Disgraced and exiled by
Emperor Paul he was brought back into service only to witness
Russian defeat at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Honoured and
advanced by his new patron, the dashing Emperor Alexander, Yermolov
then made rapid progress. He witnessed firsthand Napoleon's
invasion of Russia in 1812 and went on to see revenge completed
when the Russians marched into Paris in April 1814. Yermolov was a
talented general who captured the spirit of his times in his
engaging memoirs. His acidic wit, acute powers of observation and
grasp of drama make his memoirs stand out as a unique source on the
Napoleonic Wars.
The diary of Pavel Pushin, an officer of the Life Guard
Semeyonovskii Regiment, covering the last three years of the
Napoleonic Wars. It provides valuable insights into the characters
of Russian generals and officers and realities of campaigning,
relations within the ranks as well as the outside world.
The Napoleonic Wars saw almost two decades of brutal fighting.
Fighting took place on an unprecedented scale, from the frozen
wastelands of Russia to the rugged mountains of the Peninsula; from
Egypt's Lower Nile to the bloody battlefield of New Orleans. Volume
II of The Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars provides a
comprehensive guide to the Napoleonic Wars and weaves together the
four strands - military, naval, economic, and diplomatic - that
intertwined to make up one of the greatest conflicts in history.
Written by a team of the leading Napoleonic scholars, this volume
provides an authoritative and comprehensive analysis of why the
nations went to war, the challenges they faced and how the wars
were funded and sustained. It sheds new light not only on the key
battles and campaigns but also on questions of leadership,
strategy, tactics, guerrilla warfare, recruitment, supply, and
weaponry.
An indispensable reference on concentration camps, death camps,
prisoner-of-war camps, and military prisons offering broad
historical coverage as well as detailed analysis of the nature of
captivity in modern conflict. This comprehensive reference work
examines internment, forced labor, and extermination during times
of war and genocide, with a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries
and particular attention paid to World War II and recent conflicts
in the Middle East. It explores internment as it has been used as a
weapon and led to crimes against humanity and is ideal for students
of global studies, history, and political science as well as
politically and socially aware general readers. In addition to
entries on such notorious camps as Abu Ghraib, Andersonville,
Auschwitz, and the Hanoi Hilton, the encyclopedia includes profiles
of key perpetrators of camp and prison atrocities and more than a
dozen curated and contextualized primary source documents that
further illuminate the subject. Primary sources include United
Nations documents outlining the treatment of prisoners of war,
government reports of infamous camp and prison atrocities, and oral
histories from survivors of these notorious facilities. Maintains a
modern focus while providing broad historical context Covers
lesser-known but significant events such as the camps set up by the
British for refugees of the Boer Wars that resulted in the deaths
of 25,000 people Provides the context necessary to help students
understand the significance of the primary source material in
introductions Studies camps outside of World War II, illustrating
their use in numerous other wars and genocides
A Georgian-language translation of Napoleon Bonaparte's memoirs on
the siege and capture of Toulon in 1793.
Situated in the breathtaking Caucasus Mountains between the Black
and the Caspian Seas, the country of Georgia sits at the crossroads
between Europe and Asia; it has gone through more turbulence and
change in the last twenty five years-the casting off of the Soviet
regime, a civil war, two ethno-territorial conflicts, economic
collapse, corruption, government inefficiency, and massive
emigration-than most countries go through in 250 years. This small
nation's strategic location at the crossroads of different
civilizations has been a curse as well as a blessing. Once a
battlefield between the ancient empires and the Christian and
Islamic worlds, today it is caught between its NATO aspirations and
its location in Russia's backyard. Yet, despite all challenges and
hardships, this resilient and ancient country, with thousands of
years of winemaking, three-thousand years of statehood, and almost
two millennia of Christianity, continues to survive and thrive.
Historical Dictionary of Georgia, Second Edition through its
chronology, glossary, introduction, appendixes, maps, bibliography,
and over 900 hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on
important persons, places, events, and institutions and significant
political, economic, social, and cultural aspects, traces Georgia's
history and provides a compass for the direction the country is
heading. This book is an excellent access point for students,
researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Georgia.
A Georgian-language chronicle of twenty six Marshals of Empire
created by Emperor Napoleon. The book explores their origins, early
careers during the French Revolution, elevation under Napoleon's
leadership and their changing relationships as the fortunes of the
Napoleonic empire rose and fell.
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