Public-domain ebook
by Edward Foord
Language: en1,211 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: History - European·History - Modern (1750+)·History - Warfare
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #57185.
Edward A. Foord’s work is a scholarly survey of the 1812 Russian campaign, drawing on a wealth of official French and Russian documents now made accessible through the war offices of Paris and St. Petersburg. The opening pages explain the author’s purpose: to present a clear narrative of the “terrible campaign” without excessive technical digression, supplying the factual episodes that soldiers and the interested public need rather than a purely scientific treatise. The book is organized into detailed chapters that follow the march from Kovno to Moscow, the battles of Smolensk and Borodino, and the disastrous retreat, each supported by illustrations, maps, and extensive appendices. Foord acknowledges the assistance of staff librarians and historians, underscoring the collaborative research that underpins his concise account.
The prose reflects the early‑20th‑century military historian, combining a formal, report‑like tone with occasional rhetorical flourishes reminiscent of contemporary French scholarship. Readers who appreciate a methodical, document‑based reconstruction of Napoleonic warfare, students of military history, collectors of campaign studies, and admirers of strategic analysis, will find Foord’s clear, fact‑focused style both informative and engaging.
The opening · free to read
The publication of thousands of documents dealing with the struggle from the French side by the Historical Section of the French War Office, has rendered easily accessible an immense mass of material for the earlier period of the campaign. A beginning in this respect has also been made by the War Office at St. Petersburg, and some interesting light is thereby thrown upon the preparations on the Russian side, as well as upon the personalities of the Russian leaders. There are also many documents from private sources which have been collected and published.
My aim has been simply to relate the history of the terrible campaign in straightforward fashion, without obscuring the narrative by too much digression. I believe that, as matters stand, a better service will thus have been rendered to the cause of history than by the composition of a huge essentially technical work--for which, indeed, there is no place in this country. At present, apart from the needs of soldiers--which they are better qualified to supply than myself--it is not so much scientific discussion of the campaign that is required as knowledge of its episodes. This I have conscientiously endeavoured to supply.
I have to express my obligations to Mr. F.J. Hudleston, of the Staff Library at the War Office, for permission to make researches among the works under his charge dealing with the campaign, as well as to his assistant, Mr. Baldry, for his kind help during my work there. I am indebted to Mr. Gordon Home for much invaluable assistance, which it is easier to name than to classify, since it extends to every part of the book.
E.F.
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