A SOLDIER FOR |
| CONTENT: The letters and campaign diaries of Lieutenant Franz Joseph Hausmann have never been published before, and are a unique primary source describing the daily life and duties of an officer in the Napoleonic Wars. Written by Franz Hausmann for his father, himself a former infantry officer in the Bavarian army, they constitute a remarkable soldier’s-eye-view of military life. His contemporary writing has considerable impact and immediacy, unclouded by hindsight or later judgement. The recently discovered letters and diaries, here placed in the context of the military events of the period by John Gill, cover the pivotal campaigns and convey the nature of the conflict from the point of view of a junior officer. Hausmann’s first campaign was the 1805 war against Austria, followed by the 1806 and 1807 campaigns in Prussia and Poland. In 1809 he was in action against the Tyrolian insurrection and he also fought at Abensberg and Znaim. He was only twenty-three when he embarked on the ill-fated 1812 invasion of Russia and served as part of the Bavarian corps that was shattered in this cataclysmic campaign. He survived to describe the 1813 campaign and the 1814 campaign in France when the Bavarians switched sides and fought against Napoleon. This is a unique, intimate picture of a young soldier going to war. With background material by John Gill, this book is not only entertaining, but also an important, authoritative addition to key works on the Napoleonic Wars. KEY POINTS: • Never before published letters and diaries by a Napoleonic officer • Detailed accounts of the 1812 and 1814 campaigns REVIEWS: 'A Soldier for Napoleon fills a very noticeable gap in the history of the Napoleonic Wars by providing a good description of what it was like to be a member of the Royal Bavarian Army. ... well worth reading by any scholar of the Napoleonic era.' - Military History (USA) reviewing A Soldier for Napoleon: The Campaigns of Lieutenant Franz Joseph Hausmann, 7th Bavarian Infantry, edited by John H. Gill. 'Of immense value to Napoleonic scholars, offering as it does first hand insight into the events of those turbulent years ... the events of some 180+ years ago appear as fresh as if they had just occurred ... Hausmann's campaign diaries are a unique primary source which describes in detail the daily life and duties of an officer during the wars ... offers a remarkable soldier's eye view of military life.' - John S. White in The Waterloo Journal. This book offers a rare perspective of a German participant in the great campaigns in central Europe and Russia, and makes this book a significant primary source of information on the history of the Napoleonic Wars ... A Soldier for Napoleon puts the reader in the boots of a young and impressionable Bavarian infantry officer through every major campaign fought by the Bavarian Army of the period. Gill proves equally talented at presenting a soldier's view in an informative, insightful, and eminently readable style. Cynthia Hausmann, Franz Joseph's great-grand-daughter, does a skilful job translating Hausmann's letters and the sense of awe she must have felt in bringing us the words of her ancestors shows through to the reader' - Napoleon (USA). AUTHOR NOTES: Cynthia Hausmann is the great-grand-daughter of Franz Hausmann and painstakingly translated and deciphered the original letters and diaries. John H. Gill is a serving officer in the United States Army and the author of With Eagles to Glory. |
|
|
|