True, first-hand accounts of combat and soldiering from the men who fought for Napoleon Bonaparte and the First French Empire. The French side of the Napoleonic Wars is often presented from a strategic point of view, or in terms of military organization and battlefield tactics, or through officers' memoirs. Fighting for Napoleon: French Soldiers' Letters, 1799-1815, based on more than sixteen hundred letters written by French soldiers of the Napoleonic armies, shares the perspectives and experiences of the lowest, ordinary ranks of the army who fought on the frontlines. Authors Bernard Wilkin and Reň Wilkin provide an informative read of common soldiers' lives for military and cultural historians as well as a fascinating counterpoint to the memoirs of Cpt. Jean-Roch Coignet, Col. Marcellin de Marbot, or Sgt. Adrien Bourgogne

Mode of access: World Wide Web