Russia Against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace

About this book

A major new history of the Russian conflict immortalized by Tolstoy in War and Peace Russias expulsion of Napoleons Grande Arme in 1812 is considered one of the most dramatic events in European history. However Tolstoyan myth and an imbalance of British and French interpretations have clouded most Westerners understanding of Russias role in the defeat of Napoleon. Based on a fresh examination of Russian military archives Russia Against Napoleon provides the first-ever history of the period told from the Russian perspective. In Dominic Lievens account Russias victory in 1812 was just the beginning of what would be the longest military campaign in European history marked by Russias epic efforts to feed and supply half a million troops as they crossed an entire continent. Moving from the 1807 treaty signed by Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I through the Russian armys improbable entry into Paris in 1814 Lieven provides suspenseful accounts of events such as the burning of Moscow and the great battles of Leipzig and Borodino as well as astute analyses of the great military strategists of the time. The result is a magisterial work sure to be eagerly anticipated by military and history buffs alike.