Defeat: Napoleon's Russian Campaign (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

by Philippe-Paul de Segur (Author), J. David Townsend (Translator), Rk Danner (Introduction)
Key Phrases: disbanded men, Napoleon's Russian Campaign, Grand Army, Prince Eugène (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This is War and Peace without the peace and the love interest, and therefore a fraction of the length. But it was Tolstoy's major source: the History of Napoleon and the Grande Armée in 1812, the diaries of Bonaparte's aide de camp, Philippe-Paul, Comte de Ségur, was first published in 1824. Defeat is a reissue of the 1958 translation by the late David Townsend, with an introduction by the journalist and historian Mark Danner...His account of the march on Moscow is a work of reflection and justification as well as narrative, but it still conveys the horror." --London Times

“Count de Ségur’s famed diary of Napoleon’s Russian campaign is not just another book about Bonaparte; it is the main source of a thousand schoolbooks, cartoons, legends, sermons and second thoughts for would-be conquerors…Ségur wonderfully evokes the opening scenes of the disastrous war…[he] was a war chronicler ranking with Herodotus and Bernal Díaz.” –Time magazine

“The influence of the work now made available in a new translation, was felt for many years. The giants of literature used it as a source book and as an inspiration…It is still the most vivid account of that apocalyptic disaster…it’s appeal is eternal.” –The New York Times (June 22, 1958)

“The book is valuable…a most entertaining and interesting work.” –The New York Times (June 5th, 1895)

“Ségur served throughout the Napoleonic era as an aide-de-camp to the Emperor, becoming a brigadier on the eve of the Russian campaign. His memoirs remain the classic account of the destruction of the Grand Army.” –Parameters, The US Army War College Quarterly

Military History Appeal: “One of the most celebrated debacles in all military history, it is the subject of a brilliant eye-witness account…extremely well written…Filled with exact observation and filled also with the grief and horror Ségur had personally experienced, it is one of the enduring classics of war memoirs. Its narrative of battles and routs, starvation and panic, is outstanding. It’s close-up view of Napoleon vacillating and apprehensive, blundering into defeat, is fascinating.” –The New York Times (July 25, 1958)

Product Description
In the summer of 1812 Napoleon gathered his fearsome Grande Armée, more than half a million strong, on the banks of the Niemen River. He was about to undertake the most daring of all his many campaigns: the invasion of Russia. Meeting only sporadic opposition and defeating it easily along the way, the huge army moved forward, advancing ineluctably on Moscow through the long hot days of summer. On September 14, Napoleon entered the Russian capital, fully anticipating the Czar’s surrender. Instead he encountered an eerily deserted city—and silence. The French army sacked the city, and by October, with Moscow in ruins and his supply lines overextended, and with the Russian winter upon him, Napoleon had no choice but to turn back. One of the greatest military debacles of all time had only just begun.

In this famous memoir, Philippe-Paul de Ségur, a young aide-de-camp to Napoleon, tells the story of the unfolding disaster with the keen eye of a crack reporter and an astute grasp of human character. His book, a fundamental inspiration for Tolstoy’s War and Peace, is a masterpiece of military history that teaches an all-too-timely lesson about imperial hubris and its risks.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: NYRB Classics (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590172825
• ISBN-13: 978-1590172827
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,385 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read This Book, December 2, 2008

By	DaLaoHu (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

I came across this book by chance. I am not a historian nor am I a student of the Napoleonic era, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this text. De Segur does seem to put the French in a more positive light and the Russians in a more negative, but that is to be expected since he was a French officer. What I can say is that his descriptions go right to the heart. The anticipation of the advance, the ghostly uneasiness of the occupation, and then of course the retreat ... the retreat ... the long, cold, bitter, humiliating retreat. If you must read this book, read this book for the retreat. You will see humanity stripped to its very bones, both literally and figuratively. Without giving away any of the details, I will just say that you will not be unmoved. Guaranteed. Read it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caprices of Fortune, February 6, 2009

By	Keith A. Comess - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am very pleased to see this book back in print: it is a genuinely classic war narrative. Before this re-issue, the last edition I know of was in the all-to-short-lived, "Time Reading Program" text of 1965, translated by J. David Townsend.

The original text was published in 1824 and served as the primary source for most subsequent novels and histories of the Russian Campaign. The NYRB and the Time edition are abridged versions (as edited by the Count's grandson) of the 10 volume original, omitting many of the tedious military details, focusing instead on the motive force behind it all: Napoleon himself.

The author began his military career as an aide-de-camp on Napoleon's staff. He remained there through many of the Emperor's campaigns. As a result, he had intimate exposure to the great man and was a first-hand witness to history. The Russian invasion lead to the destruction of the Grande Armee and, therafter, to the eventual defeat of the Empire and this book spells out the reasons for the debacle in clear and fascinating detail.

Napoleon vastly underestimated the resilience of Russian defenders, the vast spaces to traverse (with their extended lines of supply), the difficulty of the terrain and, most especially, the Russian weather. He was also physically ill during periods of the campaign, further complicating matters.

Despite deprivations that rivaled those experienced by Napoleon's epigone, Adolf Hitler, his troops remained loyal throughout the protracted campaign. For example, "From now on there existed no fraternity of arms, no society, no human ties. An excess of hardship had made brutes of our men and hunder, ravenous, devouring hunger, had killed everything in those unfortunate beings but the instinct of self-preservation, sole driving force of the fiercest animals, to which everything else is sacrificed."

The book is outstanding military history and a genuinely gripping account of battle. The soldiers, their leaders, the battlegrounds, strategy and tactics are all vividly depicted and lucidly conveyed. Napoleon's charisma and skillful generalship are evident throughout, although the author is not an uncritical observer.

Napoleon was one of the last great soldier-conquerors and statesman. Along with the French Revolution, Napoleon has left an indelible imprint not only on France, but on Europe and the rest of the world. As we know, the Russian Campaign ended in a resounding defeat, one whose implications echoed into the 20th century. It is fitting that an historian of the skill of Count Philippe-Paul de Segur was a witness to the man and his army. As the Count wrote, "Theirs was only the ghost of an army: but, it was the Grand Army! They felt like they had been defeated by Nature, and the sight of the Emperor restored their courage."

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT MILITARY HISTORY , February 22, 2009

By	Roger Angle (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished reading the 1958 edition which is about 300 pages long. It is wonderful. I don't see how it could be abridged. But I trust that the shorter version is just as great. I recommend it highly for anyone who is interested in military history, or just in history, or in the greatest subject for any writer: human nature. This is one of the most insightful and compelling books I've ever read. I hope it stays in print forever.