LA Grande Armee

by Georges Blond, Marshall May (Translator)

This 'Tour de Force' of Napoleonic study is made available in the English language for the first time since its original French publication in 1979. The author is a respected historian, and this description of one of history's most famous fighting forces is amongst his finest works.
From Boulogne and Austerlitz to Spain and Moscow, and the dramatic conclusion at Waterloo, the reader is taken through the career of Napoleon's Grande Armee in thorough, well researched detail. The result is an account that, for completeness and value to a diverse audience, ranks with the best of military literature.
Students of the art of war, Napoleonic strategies and tactics, European history and military action will eagerly and this volume to their library, while they and wargamers, modellers and re-enactment groups will also benefit from the appendixes which include a chronology, maps, statistics on casualties, pay and structure and other features.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Military Fiction, War

544 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Georges Blond was a French writer. A prolific writer of mostly history but also other topics including fiction, Blond was also involved in far right political activity.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best single volume account of Napoleon's Grande Armee and its campaigns.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Bruce Catton would have written if he were French. Blond writes of the Napoleonic trooper ("the grumblers") with with a bit of reverent awe without glossing over their excesses and depredations. Napoleon is treated as something of a force of nature, and megalomaniacal sociopath. Any well informed reader should never
disparage the French as a people who will not fight. I recommend this book both as a literary work and as an historical narrative.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-researched and detailed. Military history at its finest; an analysis of the Napoleonic Armies would not be possible without this book. Valuable insights and astonishing story-telling abound. The drama begins to reach its crescendo in the long, slow, and tortutous defeat from Moscow and the rush to raise 300,000 more men to vanquish Russia once and for all!
The Coalition; exile; 100 days--masterful storytelling!

[Gui Lhem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il faut avoir beaucoup de volonté pour lire ce livre mais le résultat en vaut la peine. La vie durant les guerres napoléoniennes est retracée avec précision et chaque anecdote est intéressante. L'idée de retracer l'histoire de l'Empire français sans se focaliser sur l'homme qui reçoit toujours tous les projecteurs (récemment via Ridley Scott) permet de voir la condition d'un soldat et des répercussions que chaque action pouvait avoir sur eux. Le livre est donc très instructif et Georges Blond connaît bien son sujet.
Malgré tout, il n'est pas très bien écrit; c'est comme si Georges Blond dictait oralement ce qu'il voulait dire et que quelqu'un écrivait sans changer ce qu'il disait à l'oral à l'écrit. Il est donc facile de si perdre et surtout pour quelqu'un qui ne connaît pas grand chose de cette époque. L'état des état a l'époque est mis de côté pour se concentrer uniquement sur l'armée et ses mouvements, le contexte manque donc parfois.
Georges Blond nous offre ici un livre historique dont on trouve des traces de son idéologie, chose inévitable en écrivant un récit de la sorte.

[Kevin Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the descriptions of the marches made this book rewarding to read. Today we think of traveling 50 miles in a day as not a big issues however having to walk 50 miles in a day as well as the next and the next and the next..... So many different army units that it was sometimes had to keep track. 200,000 men in an army, just think about the bathroom issues. This book helped me understand a little of the age and it was well worth the time to read. Recommend to all.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the book is written is unusual. Its as if its the 1859's and you've stumbled into a tavern in France and found an aging group of veterans of Napoleon's Grand Army drinking and reminiscing. At times the book is quite disjointed and other times where's it very interesting. Throughout out it all the prose is very weird at least to English speakers. But if you're interested in the camp life of Napoleon's troops or what it was like to be on the march this is a good source.

[Curtis J · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good ONE volume history for sure. Especially for those who know little or only want a cursory overview of the Napoleonic Wars.
From a military history stand point the book is sub-par. Famous battles and tactical triumphs are written off in a matter of pages. Furthermore, the prose is disjointed (owing perhaps to translation) and often very anecdotal.

[Sean Chick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to disjointed in its prose and presentation and far too anecdotal.

[Dominick J. Lo Conte · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a handful of books I would take with me, if I could only take a few.