Napoleon's campaign in Poland, 1806-7: A military history of Napoleon's first war with Russia, verified from unpublished official documents

by F. Loraine Petre

A Napoleonic classic.

Genres: Military History, History, War, 19th Century, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

354 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Francis Loraine Petre OBE (1852–1925) was a British civil servant in India and a military historian upon his retirement. He wrote a two-volume regimental history of the Norfolk Regiment, but is best known for his works on the Napoleonic Wars. The grandson of the 11th Baron Petre, he was educated at Oscott College and joined the Bar in 1880. He took the civil service exam and subsequently joined the Indian Civil Service. He retired as Commissioner of Allahabad in 1900.

Subsequently, he chose a literary career, pursuing interests in the history of the Napoleonic Wars. He wrote five books on the Wars, most of which are in use a century later. His studies of Napoleon's conquest of Prussia 1806–1807 (1901) and Napoleon's Campaign in Poland, 1806–1807 (1901) were among the first such books in the English language. He also wrote several regimental histories, a study of Simon Bolivar, and a descriptive study of Colombia. World War I interrupted his literary pursuits; he served in the Finance Branch of the Ministry of Munitions. In 1920, Petre was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Reviews

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Napoleon’s Campaign in Poland 1806-1807 is Petre’s first book on the Napoleonic wars, though the second in chronological order, as he later wrote a book on the preliminary Prussian campaign in 1806. Petre’s book was the first full account of the Polish campaigns to be published in English, and some 100 years after it was published, it remains one of a relatively small number of books on these miserable, yet significant affairs in the Polish hinterland. Thus, Petre’s detailed study of the Polish campaign is a valuable source of information, and an entertaining read for those interested in the Napoleonic era.

While I would highly recommend reading this book after Petre’s Napoleon’s Campaign in Prussia 1806, as I did, Petre does provide a brief background at the beginning to set the scene. More importantly, he describes the two armies, their leaders, their organization and more. His descriptions of the French are reliable, and I also enjoyed the brief sketches of the various Marshals. However, when dealing with the Russian army, Petre is seriously hampered by his lack of sources. No Russian sources are used, excepting any that were translated, and his main authority is Sir Robert Wilson – an English officer attached to the Russian staff. While he actually witnessed the events, Wilson is by no means a reliable narrator. His arrogance and affinity towards hyperbole leads to statements like this about the Russian infantry,

"The courage of men who could do such deeds was unquestionable; their intelligence was of a very different order. Absolutely uneducated, they fought like animals rather than human beings...Death had no terrors for them, no carnage appalled them" (Petre 30).

Fortunately, in the preface Petre himself acknowledges that Wilson’s account “is not very accurate in many respects”, and many footnotes are devoted towards clearing up issues.

In relating the movements of the armies, Petre is very precise and straightforward. With the use of the helpful maps, it was easy to trace the movements across Poland. I thought Petre’s descriptions of the battles were excellent. The maps of the battles themselves were very important for my comprehension, and with their help I found the accounts of the battles lucid and hard to put down. Eylau and Friedland are given the most focus, naturally, but minor battles that I was previously unfamiliar with, such as Pultusk and Heilsburg were given due consideration. The battle of Eylau, that notorious bloodbath, was a powerful chapter. The drama of that battle – fought in the heart of winter in subzero conditions – is hard to forget. Here is an excerpt,

"the ill-fated 14th was still on the slope, formed in a rough square on a small mound, surrounded on all sides by infantry, cavalry, and cossacks, fired into by musketry and artillery, stabbed by the long lances of the cossacks, sabred, suffering every conceivable woe, yet gallantly fighting to the death... At last, Marbot succeeded to reaching the doomed regiment. Retreat was impossible. The eagle was carried off by Marbot, though he nearly lost his life in doing so. Firm to the last, the isolated regiment fought, unsupported, refusing to surrender. Not one officer and scarcely a soldier escaped" (Petre 182).

One quick note; in the paperback version I read, the fold-out maps in the original were scanned and printed instead. Thus, one of the maps is splayed out over two pages, which renders the entire middle section (including Warsaw and its environs) unreadable. That was frustrating.

I’m glad that I got around to reading this book, and thus filled a significant lapse in my knowledge of the Napoleonic wars. It is a shame that these momentous campaigns and battles are mostly lost to memory, but, despite its age, Petre’s account admirably attempts to rectify this circumstance.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, following on from his engaging account of Napoleon's victory over Prussia in 1806, is Loraine Petre's second book in his series of five accounts covering Napoleon and his campaigns. This time the author offers the reader an in-depth military study of Napoleon's campaign in Poland. In this account we find Napoleon manoeuvring into Poland to meet the advancing Russian armies moving to assist the meagre Prussian forces left over after being defeated in detail by Napoleon and his marshals.

The author follows every move of this fascinating campaign and offers detailed insights into the battles fought during the terrible winter weather in Poland. We read about the bloody battle at Eylau and latter of Napoleon's crushing victory over the Russians at Friedland. Using numerous sources and first-hand accounts the reader gets a detailed military narrative and analysis of each skirmish and battle fought in this campaign.

Again a word of caution, this book was first published in the early 1900's and the style of writing does take some getting used. However, once you have mastered the style the narrative moves along quite easily except for the occasional break to check the maps as you follow the converging armies in the hinterland of Poland. The maps (10) are not the best but detailed enough to locate the points mentioned and to follow the various movements in the battles. The author also provides a number of black and white plates of the personalities and locations mentioned in the narrative.

Overall this is a very decent military study covering Napoleon's campaign in Poland where within six months he had beaten the Russian armies and forced the Russian Czar to sign a treaty at Tilsit. "Napoleon's Campaign in Poland is a brilliant overview of Napoleon's vaunted army confronting some of its most worthy opponents." - From the back cover of the book.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a book for beginners. In fact, I would say unless you have a thorough understanding of the Napoleonic Wars, reading this book would be a complete waste of time. There are many, many generals and many, many place names to know. Honestly, if this book hadn't been next on my tbr pile, I doubt I would have even considered it. So my advice: unless you are a Napoleon nut, pass this one by.

[Steve Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this book as an adjunct to a historical simulation game currently underway. I first acquired this book at around the age of 14 or 15, but lack of a good map reference left me confused at the manoeuvrings described at length in the book. In fact, the campaign saw only two major battles and two minor ones, so the narrative is heavily focussed on the various positions as each army attempted to gain a position of advantage between December 1806 and June 1807.

This time around, I had a good map source, based on near contemporary maps, with place names aligned to Petre's narrative. For the first time I was able to follow the positioning and the strategy of each side, so have found the book worthwhile and a good single volume reference despite its age. The footnotes outlining some of the logistic issues may seem to detract from the account, but they add some valuable insights as to how armies of the era conducted their affairs. The author toured many of the battlefields by bicycle in the early 1900's and his descriptions and photographs are therefore reflective of how the terrain would have appeared before the two world wars and industrialisation altered it.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally published in 1901 or so, I just could not get through this book.

[Alex Helling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following his crushing of the main Prussian armies at Jena/Auerstedt Napoleon’s French forces fought a campaign largely in Poland against Prussia’s Russian allies. This campaign was not to be so spectacular with the Russians initially dealing several reverses to Napoleon and his Marshals in Autumn 1806 and in a dreadful Winter campaign, most notably at Eylau. Eylau is often considered Napoleon’s first reverse, though this is the case only if considering major battles. However Napoleon reorganised, brought up more troops, and recommenced his advance in the summer with overwhelming numbers. He duly won a big victory at Friedland that led to the famous scene at Tilsit where Napoleon and Russian emperor Alexander treated and made peace on a barge in the middle of the Neman river.

It should be noted that this book is very old, being first published way back in 1901. This matters less for military history than for many other areas of study as many of the same resources are used - particularly in terms of studying the army’s orders and commanders’ letters. It does however mean that this is essentially from the commanders' viewpoints. What units moved where, how did the other side move their units in response. Many more modern accounts give a soldier's eye view as well which this does not. It does mean the book can feel a bit repetitive simply following the movement of multiple corps from town to town securing bridging points etc.

There is some analysis of how the campaign is progressing, but this is not the case throughout and often comes after the action which is not perhaps the best way to enliven the reading with what the other options might have been. It would be better to give more of an indication of the jeopardy a particular unit may be in from their situation to give some tension to the telling.

Although both sides are covered the focus is more on the French. In particular there is much less on the Russian view of the strategic situation. So we get a lot about what Napoleon did between Eylau and the summer campaign, but little from the Russian side - we are told little even on what the Russians did in preparation for renewed campaigning, and nothing strategic presumably Alexander didn't sit around doing nothing on the political/strategic front?

Maps are essential with this kind of account, how else can you follow the army? Or trace a grand strategic design? The maps are decent enough. Petre’s campaign maps are thick with place names, so most of the places mentioned are on a map. And there are additional maps for the main battles, though these could do with more detail of movements. I think the biggest downside is the interaction between the text and the maps. Petre often simply gives a unit, and says the place it is at without other orientation. Given the number of place names it is difficult to find, though in most cases the place in question is there somewhere. However as a result I spent as long looking at the maps trying to work out where XY or Z place is as reading the book!

Despite its’ age a decent enough account, but with plenty of scope for improvement. If you want to study these campaigns it might well be a starting point, but it looks like there are more recent and up to date studies (e.g. by James R Arnold) that may be a better go to.

[Steve Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this book as an adjunct to a historical simulation game currently underway. I first acquired this book at around the age of 14 or 15, but lack of a good map reference left me confused at the manoeuvrings described at length in the book. In fact, the campaign saw only two major battles and two minor ones, so the narrative is heavily focussed on the various positions as each army attempted to gain a position of advantage between December 1806 and June 1807.

This time around, I had a good map source, based on near contemporary maps, with place names aligned to Petre's narrative. I kept this open and used it to track the movements of each force mentioned. For the first time I was able to follow the positioning and the strategy of each side, so have found the book worthwhile and a good single volume reference despite its age. The footnotes outlining some of the logistic issues may seem to detract from the account, but they add some valuable insights as to how armies of the era conducted their affairs. The author toured many of the battlefields by bicycle in the early 1900's and his descriptions and photographs are therefore reflective of how the terrain would have appeared before the two world wars and industrialisation altered it.

[Arjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent