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Imperial Glory

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Occasionally a new book is released that is so important to the study of the Napoleonic era that it immediately falls into the "must have" category for both Napoleonic scholars and enthusiasts. Imperial Glory is such a book. David Markham has assembled for the first time, all of the bulletins written by Napoleon between 1805 and 1812. Many of them have never been translated into English before, while others were only available to the serious scholar. Additionally, Mr. Markham also checked the translations of those bulletins that had been translated in the 19th Century and found many errors in them.

Napoleon used his bulletins for a variety of reasons: to inform the public and his soldiers of the progress of his campaigns, to praise his soldiers and their officers for the actions, and to ensure his enemies heard of his triumphs. They were published in the government's official newspaper, Le Moniteur, and often hung on doors and posted in public squares throughout the Empire. The veracity of the bulletins has always been open to question, with one of the most frequently used expressions from the Napoleonic era being, "To lie like a bulletin."

Although many of these bulletins were published for propaganda purposes, Mr. Markham does point out most are "reasonably accurate." Furthermore, he writes "[Napoleon's] losses were sometimes described as 'considerable', and he would list specific officers that were lost, along with the numbers of men killed, wounded or taken prisoners."

In addition to all 183 bulletins written from 1805 and 1812, Imperial Glory contains 170 other documents, many of which have never been published in English before. Broken down by year, the book includes:

1805

37 Bulletins of the Grande Armée (complete)
9 Bulletins of Masséna's Army of Italy (complete)
9 Proclamations
3 Decrees
2 Orders of the Day
3 Letters
1 Armistice
1 Treaty of Peace

1806-1807

87 Bulletins (complete)
4 Proclamations
1 Letter
1 Armistice between France and Prussia
1 Armistice between France and Russia
1 Treaty between France and Prussia
1 Treaty between France and Russia

1809

30 Bulletins (complete)
4 Proclamations
2 Proclamations of the King of Saxony
2 Orders of the Day
2 Reports by the Viceroy (Eugène)
3 Letters
1 Treaty between France and Austria

1812

29 Bulletins (Complete)
1 Final dispatch from Paris
1 Order of the Day
1 Letter
21 Field Reports, including:
5 Reports from Marshal Ney
4 Reports from Marshal Murat
2 Reports from Marshal Davout
2 Reports from Eugène
2 Reports from Marshal St Cyr
1 Report of Marshal Macdonald
1 Report from Marshal Oudinot
1 Report from Prince Poniatowski
1 Report from Prince Schwarzenberg
1 Report of Russian General Wittgenstein to Tsar Alexander
1 Report from General Wrede

1813

51 Reports from Le Moniteur, which often include reports from multiple days
2 Proclamations
2 Reports from Marshal Berthier
1 Report from General Vandamme
1 Report from Marshal Ney
1 Report from General Milhaud
6 Letters
1 Armistice

1814

23 Reports from Le Moniteur, including two "bulletins" at the end of the campaign
2 Proclamations
1 Decree
1 Order of the Day
2 Speeches
1 Act of Abdication

The collection of material is by campaign, with a separate chapter covering the different campaigns fought in that year or years. Within each chapter, the material is also arranged chronologically. This is an ideal arrangement, for not only does it permit the reader to follow the campaigns as seen through the official press releases, but it also provides great insight into how Napoleon managed his propaganda campaign.

The supplementary material is fascinating. I found particularly interesting the after-action reports on various battles written by the unit commander to the Imperial Headquarters. These reports were not written for public consumption and often were the first communication between a subordinate commander and the army headquarters. These reports contain information that would not necessarily be placed in the bulletins. Mr. Markham also included all the bulletins written by Marshal Masséna in 1805. He was in command of the Army of Italy and operating as an independent commander. Masséna's bulletins are in chronological order and interspersed with Napoleon's. Reading them together will give the reader a good feel for the two individuals' writing styles.

Mr. Markham and Greenhill Books are to be commended for making available to the public, material that has long been inaccessible to all but those with extensive libraries. Imperial Glory is an impressive collection of documents that every Napoleonic library should own. Do not delay buying Imperial Glory. It will be snatched up quickly and soon will be out of print.

The Bulletins of the Napoleon's Grande Armee was in essence, nothing more then newsletters written for French army personals and their opponents. The author did the Napoleonic community a great service by making this book available in English, the complete set of Napoleon's Bulletins. The book also included other pages of history as Napoleons' decrees, treaties that was signed and even military reports.

The Bulletins shows exactly what it supposed to be, a newsletter written for military consumption, and it was geared not only for the French army but also for their enemies. Thus, you will have not only the truth in those bulletins but also misinformation. It does boggled the mind to realized such effort was made to both informed and misinformed both sides of the battle line. As one previous reviewer wrote, a propaganda sheet. But it seems to work. If I was a French soldier reading these bulletins, it would be informative and if I was a their enemy, I would be misinformed. The bulletins also serves to give recognition to troops for their services or valor, both as an unit or as indivduals. These bulletins and its accompanying documents gives a clear inside view of how war looks to the men fighting it.

However, unlike the other reviewers, I would say this much. I don't think this book is for everyone. Readers with limited background in Napoleonic military history will undoubtfully be totally confused or be misinformed themselves. Most of the bulletins were written with the understanding that people reading them knows who "Duke of Auerstadt" and what corps he commanded. It was written for people who already know what went on previously. I don't believed this is a book for beginners into this subject but someone who already have a good understanding of the Napoleonic wars and its terrains, leaders and troop types.

A valuable book, a "must have" in any Napoleonic library and almost a mandatory reading material for any experienced Napoleonic reader.

Imperial Glory, a new book of English translations of Napoleon's campaign bulletins from 1805-1814, by J. David Markham, published by Greenhill Press, is a real gem. As a student of history with an interest in Napoleon, it is thrilling to read Napoleon's accounts of his many campaigns in his own words. For those of us who do not read French fluently, Markham has done a real service in bringing the Emperor's accounts of both his victories and defeats to our attention. This is the first-ever English translation of all the bulletins, and the book also includes Marshal Massena's 1805 Bulletins of the Army of Italy as well as reports by various marshals in several campaigns, especially in 1812. The book also includes biographical sketches of important people mentioned in the Bulletins, as well as a very useful glossary. Markham has to deal with the dilemma of using modern English or a more literal translation of the language of Napoleon's time, and the result is occasionally uneven. Even so, Imperial Glory is a wonderful opportunity for many of us to see into the mind of one of the world's great and very complex men.

J. David Markham has compiled the first English language translation of all of the bulletins of the Grande Armée from 1805 to 1814. In addition, he has included reports from marshals and the major general of the army, Marshal Alexander Berthier. Markham has written an excellent introduction that he calls "A modern view of Napoleon's bulletins" in which he points out the strengths and weaknesses in the use of these documents. The book also contains the bulletins of Marshal Masséna's Army of Italy in 1805; a selected guide to men and their titles; a partial list of other important individuals mentioned in the bulletins; and a very good index, all of which make it very user-friendly for scholars doing research on Napoleon, his generals, and/or the Napoleonic wars.

These bulletins also provide a real insight into Napoleonic propaganda. They were written for publication in the Monitor, the official government newspaper, to bolster moral and support on the home front and to raise the moral of the troops on campaigns. Thus, when he deemed it wise or necessary, the Emperor was given to exaggerate his successes and accomplishments and those of his armies while playing down his reversals and setbacks.

Nevertheless, the bulletins provide a wealth of information on Napoleon, his armies, and men who fought those wars. Markham has provided a major contribution to Napoleonic studies by making the bulletins available in the English language in one concise volume. It will be a welcomed addition to individual libraries and a must for colleges and universities where French history is taught.

John G. Gallaher
Professor Emeritus of History
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Author, The Iron Marshal: A Biography of Louis N. Davout; Napoleon's Irish Legion; General Alexandre Dumas: Soldier of the French Revolution.

Thanks to David Markham, Executive Vice-President of the International Napoleonic Society, we now possess the great treasure from the Napoleonic times - the Bulletins of the Grande Armée, 1805-1815. This is the first time that all of them have been translated into English, assembled in chronological order and put together in one source, and thus presents an important source of information of the epoch. Now, when one is about to read any book on Napoleon's campaigns, Imperial Glory will present an indespensable source of understanding the epoch, including operations and movement of the troops. By all means it should serve as desktop reference book for any serious scholar and student!
True, Napoleon's bulletins were written and published for propaganda purposes, although admitting certain facts, loses and misfortunes. For example, during the First Polish Campaign, 1806-1807, in the first day of battle at Eylau, 7 February 1807, the 2nd bataillon of the 18th Line Regiment lost its Eagle and color to the St.-Petersburg's Dragoons; this loss was admited in the Bulletin!
Generally, this book could serve as a good starting point for anyone who is interested in Napoleonic history. Comparing what's written in this or that document with an actual event of the campaign, one could find very interesting facts which might move to conduct another, more thorough research on this or that event. It is also very useful for re-enactors (the author of this review is one) because it presents important information on all aspects of various troop movements, operations and achievements; it will help them to understand epoch they recreate in more colorful aspects and on various levels.
Overall, we need more books like this! Highly recommended!

Napoleon's Bulletins are often quoted, sometimes criticized and frequently misunderstood. They were meant to bolster morale, encourage competition among his officers and men, send a message to his enemies and reassure folks at home from Austerlitz to the final days in 1814. What the Bulletins do for us today is to throw new light on Napoleon's own interpretation of various battles won and campaigns which eventually turned into a rout but always retained an aura of victory and imperial glory.
J. David Markham has made a very important contribution to Napoleonic scholarship by presenting in print for the first time a complete English translation of the Bulletins of Napoleon's Grand Armée. It is amazing that this has not been done before, and Markham deserves great credit for filling in a major gap in our knowledge of Napoleonic history. Imperial Glory shows us how Napoleon conveyed history to his fellow Frenchmen and distilled the official propaganda into a rousing patriotic fanfare, with bugles and drums rolling down to posterity. Whether he addressed his soldiers in person or through the printed bulletins, he knew how to electrify his audience and hold everyone spellbound.
Markham's book is beautifully translated and brings the Bulletins to life. But Imperial Glory does far more than just present a translation of the Bulletins. It also presents numerous additional documents of great importance. Of special interest are the reports of Napoleon's marshals and generals, many translated here for the first time. Markham includes 21 of these field reports from the 1812 campaign in Russia, also in one volume for the first time, and they give new insight into that campaign.
History is being rewritten constantly and rarely so much as in the famous twenty-ninth bulletin of the Grande Armée (13 December 1812). The reputation of the bulletins has never been very brilliant but there it took a bad fall along with the French troops.
It strained credibility and was full of contradictions in its account of the retreat from Russia. It goes on and on about the weather and its effect on French and German horses. One morning the French army woke up and found all its horses frozen at the bivouac. "More than 30,000 horses perished in a few days and a cavalry found itself entirely on foot." At that point the French officers lost their heads and the soldiers lost their courage. But not Napoleon, who still believed in his star.
The twenty-ninth bulletin insisted it was cold alone that was responsible for the losses sustained by the cavalry and argues that without horses the men had weakened and perished, the guns abandoned, the plans upset, everything thrown into confusion.
According to its version of what happened it was the cold that chased the French back behind the Vistula and Napoleon to Paris!
The thermometer is given an enormous role and the number of degrees below zero is researched no less carefully than the number of earlier victories. By now the French cavalry has been reduced to 600 horses! But the truth is that the French defeat at Beresina was caused by warm weather. If it had been freezing, they would have simply crossed the river on foot without any problems.
Several bulletins end with the refrain "The Emperor's health has never been better." That may seem a little callous to some, considering the horrendous losses sustained by the French during the retreat. And yet there was a very important political motive in stressing the state of Napoleon's health, especially after the famous Malet conspiracy which almost succeeded in toppling the Imperial Regime in France.
General Malet made his attempt to seize power and restore a Republican form of government on 22 October 1812. Napoleon's long absence from Paris had apparently weakened his hold at home and the fact that no one gave any thought to his son's succession to the throne, once his death in Russia had been proclaimed, took the Emperor completely by surprise.

Actually it wasn't known until 6 November when Napoleon was between Viazma and Smolensk that he learned of Malet's attempted coup. From here on, Napoleon's bulletins sought to reassure the fickle French that his health had never been better as he rushed back to Paris.
As he confided to Caulaincourt, who accompanied him in his horse-drawn sledge, "The French are like women, one must not absent oneself from them for too long."
However one chooses to see the bulletins, they are important and fascinating historical documents. Anyone with an interest in Napoleon will need a copy of Imperial Glory in their collection.

Gregory Troubetzkoy
Author, In the Service of the Tsar: The Memoirs of Denis Davidov
Fellow, International Napoleonic Society

Greenhill books and David Markham have hit a home run with this magnificent collection of the Bulletins of Napoleon's Grande Armee. This is the first time they have been collected together and published in English. This book is a wonderful reference work, and if definitely fills in a very large blank in the history of the period.

There are some who would doubt the usefulness of the Bulletins as historical reference. It is true that they were used as propaganda, but it is also true that they were full of accurate information as well as some misinformation, deliberately put in them by the Emperor. There are two things that must be remembered when talking of Napoleon's Bulletins. First, they were never intended as history; second, Napoleon was the first European ruler to speak directly to his people, and the Bulletins was one of the ways in which he did it.

An interesting facet of this volume is that it contains more than just the published Bulletins. There is other relevant correspondence of the period, one of the most interesting is the death warrant issued against Austrian General Chasteler by Napoleon for his conduct regarding French and Bavarian prisoners during the Tyrol uprising in 1809. Apparently, he allowed prisoners taken by troops under his command to be murdered, and did nothing about it. There was a price on his head, but unfortunately he got away. This is but one of the valuable gems that you will find in the pages of this most excellent of volumes.

This book is highly recommended and it should be on the bookshelf of every enthusiast of the period. Much useful information and knowledge can be gleaned from these pages, and the author has definitely made his mark with this volume.