Sergeant Bourgogne - with Napoleon's Imperial Guard in the Russian campaign and on the retreat from Moscow 1812 - 13 Paperback – 1 Oct. 2006

You don't often find memoirs from those who spent a lot of time in front line units, unless they were officers, but this is a rare treat, written in a terribly matter-of-fact tone, uncompromising in what it describes.

This is a facinating first hand account of Napoleons invasion of Russia and the infamous retreat from Moscow in 1812 .The book starts by briefly describing how the author joined the army and some details of his training ,and covers some of the campaigns he took part in before his regiment as part of the grand Armee invaded Russia and,took part in Battle of Borodino the entry of Moscow and its subsequent fire .The biggest part of the book however covers in a lot of detail the horrific retreat through the snow and the incredibly high amount of casualties sustained by the sub zero temperatures .On top of all that they were constantly fighting of russian cavalry which included the cossacksThere are a number of upsetting incidents he discribes and this book does bring home some of the horrors of war.

This is truly an amazing biography. You really feel empathy for Bourgogne, as he comes across as a decent and honest soldier, caught up in the nightmare of the retreat from Moscow. Extremely harrowing at times, this book is not for the faint-hearted as Bourgogne starkly describes the horror of war, murder, starvation, depravation and unbearable cold, all the while under constant harrassment from Cossacks.It is hard to actually stop reading and put down. It is one of the few books that remain in the mind long after youve finished it. Horrifying and touching, it is by far the best first-hand account Ive read of the retreat.

Well, I haven't quiet finished it yet, but it is a most fascinating account. However, I am not sure how he managed to remember so many details/names/placed etc. when he was fighting for his life over several months of retreat from Moscow! The foreword says that he kept notes, but as he lost all his other possessions and was half frozen and half dead there is a small doubt in my mind that it is a true account. But, perhaps I am wrong!

A bit of a grind to read, but nevertheless interesting to hear about the privations suffered by Napoleon's retreating army. The author either had a remarkable memory or made up a lot of the detail as there was no way he could have kept a journal during the journey from Moscow back to France.

Great first person narrative. With deprivation beyond description. How did any of them surviveThe ending was an anticlimax . And searched fruitlessly for a second continuing tale ......Still and excellent read

I bought this for a friend and his comments were:1) Very good book with highly entertaining narrative.2) Spoiled by very poor proof-reading: odd numbers and charcters appearing randomly in the text.3) Although it didn't have a map in the original version, the book would be greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a map outlining the journey out and back.

For anyone interested in Napoleonic era and military manoeuvres,it pretty much obligatory reading. Incredible struggle, so very well detailed and writte