1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow

Contemporary Review, Oct, 2004

1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow. Adam Zamoyski. HarperCollins. [pounds sterling]25.00. 644 pages. ISBN 0-00-7122375-2. Napoleon's Russian campaign cost about one million lives according to the scholarly researches of the author. There are some justly popular memoirs on the French side ranging from Segur and Cauliancourt at the top to the sufferings of Seargeant Bourgogne at the bottom.

What we have long needed is an up-to-date general account of this great military disaster brought about by the boundless ambition of one man. Adam Zamoyski has now supplied that need with a colourful but incisive account of diplomacy and warfare. He strives for fairness and balance, but it is clear he has no romantic devotion to Napoleon. He has a ready eye for the telling and often poignant anecdote. Drawing upon his mastery of many sources, especially the mainly ignored Polish ones, Mr Zamoyski creates an unforgettable tapestry of human suffering and tragedy with frightful accounts of torture and even cannibalism. Towards the ends of the harrowing retreat, Napoleon could boast that 'His Majesty has never been in better health'. Few others would agree after reading this splendid history. (R.M.)