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La Bataille #1
Book 1/3 (The Battle)
Louis-François Lejeune, young colonel attached to the emperor's staff, meets his old friend Henri Beyne in occupied Vienna. He also meets the beautiful Anna Krauss, with whom he is madly in love with. Nearby, though, Napoleon is attempting to crush the Austrian army, and organising the crossing of the Danube for his troops on a single pontoon bridge hurriedly erected near Essling. Louis-François is forced to abandon his love and return to the front – and the coming firestorm …
68 pages, Paperback
First published March 16, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2022
!!! M A S T E R P I E C E !!!
August 10, 2019
This is what Graphic Novels do best. The original, well researched novel The Battle by Patrick Rambuad has been transformed into an intense sensory overload. Words have been enhanced by incredible art and illustrations to recapture life and death in 1809 and The battle of Essling, Napoleon’s first major defeat.
Split into three comic books; volume 1 his reviewed here.
From the cover: “May 1809: Napoleon’s Great Army is about to cross the Danube using an enormous floating bridge erected in a single night by the French military engineers.”
“The Battle of Essling was the first mass slaughter of modern warfare: thirty hours of a battle with no winner or loser, that left forty thousand strewn across the wheat fields.”
“The Battle is much more than either a historical or graphic novel. It’s a monumental epic.”
Strong words and a serous boast. Yet in a strange way it is delivered. Words and pictures can provide a more engaging and consuming reading experience. I felt the subject although gross and deeply unpleasant was represented in all its horror. You sense the danger and threat of death. You smell the gunpowder and fear of the soldiers; you hear the cannon, fast flowing river and grunts of face to face combat. You are party to strategy, orders under pressure and how a battle can turn.
There is no way a modern person can equate the Napoleonic Wars with 21st century warfare; battles from World War I are much closer to this type of engagement. Yet the words and illustrations gave me a sense of perspective, a place and time for this carnage; reinforced the futility of war but underscored the sacrifice and commitment of fighting men.
I was moved and fully involved in this story and if the second and third volumes match this one then the work in its graphic novel will achieve so much more than just an historical novel.
I liked the background information and the timeframe that grew out of the date of this event in relation to the age of other people the reader would know from the pages of history, science and social living. It was the year Charles Darwin was born and Joseph Haydn reaches is 77th birthday.
For me why graphic novels work.
Split into three comic books; volume 1 his reviewed here.
From the cover: “May 1809: Napoleon’s Great Army is about to cross the Danube using an enormous floating bridge erected in a single night by the French military engineers.”
“The Battle of Essling was the first mass slaughter of modern warfare: thirty hours of a battle with no winner or loser, that left forty thousand strewn across the wheat fields.”
“The Battle is much more than either a historical or graphic novel. It’s a monumental epic.”
Strong words and a serous boast. Yet in a strange way it is delivered. Words and pictures can provide a more engaging and consuming reading experience. I felt the subject although gross and deeply unpleasant was represented in all its horror. You sense the danger and threat of death. You smell the gunpowder and fear of the soldiers; you hear the cannon, fast flowing river and grunts of face to face combat. You are party to strategy, orders under pressure and how a battle can turn.
There is no way a modern person can equate the Napoleonic Wars with 21st century warfare; battles from World War I are much closer to this type of engagement. Yet the words and illustrations gave me a sense of perspective, a place and time for this carnage; reinforced the futility of war but underscored the sacrifice and commitment of fighting men.
I was moved and fully involved in this story and if the second and third volumes match this one then the work in its graphic novel will achieve so much more than just an historical novel.
I liked the background information and the timeframe that grew out of the date of this event in relation to the age of other people the reader would know from the pages of history, science and social living. It was the year Charles Darwin was born and Joseph Haydn reaches is 77th birthday.
For me why graphic novels work.
August 13, 2019
I know about as much about the Napoleonic Wars, as I got from the Abba song "Waterloo". You know. "My, My, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender."
So, knowing only that, I figured, silly me, that I would at least get what was going on in this graphic novel.
Oh, I got that there was war, and that Napoleon was trying to invade another country. There was even a bit where the rich of the city were watching the battle and commenting on it. But other than that look into humanity, the rest of soldiers fighting back and forth, and raping and pillaging.
My problem is that I don't have a grounding in why this battle is important to winning the war. I'm sure if I had that background, this all might make sense, as there is a lot of name dropping, as though these names were important.
Not for me, but surely for others who enjoy war comics.
Thanks to Netgalley fro making this book available for an honest review.
So, knowing only that, I figured, silly me, that I would at least get what was going on in this graphic novel.
Oh, I got that there was war, and that Napoleon was trying to invade another country. There was even a bit where the rich of the city were watching the battle and commenting on it. But other than that look into humanity, the rest of soldiers fighting back and forth, and raping and pillaging.
My problem is that I don't have a grounding in why this battle is important to winning the war. I'm sure if I had that background, this all might make sense, as there is a lot of name dropping, as though these names were important.
Not for me, but surely for others who enjoy war comics.
Thanks to Netgalley fro making this book available for an honest review.
Read
August 30, 2019An excellent wonderful produced, graphic novel. The artwork is fantastic really gives the horror of war in all it gory details.
The historical facts is really shown in the artworks details and shows the research done by the authors and the artists.
Looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
The historical facts is really shown in the artworks details and shows the research done by the authors and the artists.
Looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
October 14, 2021
The Battle is a graphic novel based on Patrick Rambaud's novelization of the battle of Essling, Napoleon's first major defeat in 1809.
Although I know nothing about Rambaud's novel nor about the battle (I have just got interested in the Napoleonic Wars in the last months, but seldom have much time to get into reading material thus often end up just ogling uniforms -lol), the story gripped me from the very first panels and kept me captivated by the constant action and dynamic art Ivan Gil brings to the table portraying all the faces of war.
I already knew the Rambaud - Richaud - Gil trio from the fantastic graphic novel Berezina; and they didn't let down the quality with this adaptation either. At this point I feel Gil has mastered the way to draw very big crowds and battles and leave not an uniform without its details in few lines at all angles. The vibrancy of Albertine Ralenti's coloring also adds to the engagement of this novel.
I wish there's more Napoleonic war period pieces for they do work well in the illustrated format. Can't wait to read the second and third part.
Although I know nothing about Rambaud's novel nor about the battle (I have just got interested in the Napoleonic Wars in the last months, but seldom have much time to get into reading material thus often end up just ogling uniforms -lol), the story gripped me from the very first panels and kept me captivated by the constant action and dynamic art Ivan Gil brings to the table portraying all the faces of war.
I already knew the Rambaud - Richaud - Gil trio from the fantastic graphic novel Berezina; and they didn't let down the quality with this adaptation either. At this point I feel Gil has mastered the way to draw very big crowds and battles and leave not an uniform without its details in few lines at all angles. The vibrancy of Albertine Ralenti's coloring also adds to the engagement of this novel.
I wish there's more Napoleonic war period pieces for they do work well in the illustrated format. Can't wait to read the second and third part.
August 15, 2023
A Napoleonic Era war Graphic Novel of the highest class
I cut my teeth on the Sharp Novels by Bernard Cornwell, so I like to think I have a high bar when it comes to historical fiction and especially napoleonic Era fiction. This book surpassed my expectations. The art is pristine. The buildings look like they were ripped from art period. The uniforms are all varied and accurately depict each side. My one complaint, I wish the heads of the soldiers in uniform were varied more. I thought one general was napoleon when it was one of his field Marshall's (this could totally be me and a more attentive reader would have sorted this out better than I). This book is the first part in a trio of GNs that are going to tell the story of Napleon's first defeat in Europe. I loved that the protagonist the reader spends the most time with are not napoleon or a field Marshall, but a colonel delivering napoleon orders to his various detachments. This gives us a different perspective of the battle than typically re dered. I found myself wanting to spend more time with each group he delivers orders to. Highly recommended and I eagerly await the next one.
I cut my teeth on the Sharp Novels by Bernard Cornwell, so I like to think I have a high bar when it comes to historical fiction and especially napoleonic Era fiction. This book surpassed my expectations. The art is pristine. The buildings look like they were ripped from art period. The uniforms are all varied and accurately depict each side. My one complaint, I wish the heads of the soldiers in uniform were varied more. I thought one general was napoleon when it was one of his field Marshall's (this could totally be me and a more attentive reader would have sorted this out better than I). This book is the first part in a trio of GNs that are going to tell the story of Napleon's first defeat in Europe. I loved that the protagonist the reader spends the most time with are not napoleon or a field Marshall, but a colonel delivering napoleon orders to his various detachments. This gives us a different perspective of the battle than typically re dered. I found myself wanting to spend more time with each group he delivers orders to. Highly recommended and I eagerly await the next one.
June 10, 2023
I was really taken by the artwork, but the story didn't quite connect all the way for me. This is basically an adaptation of a novel by Patrick Rambaud, which is in itself a depiction of the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, a major defeat for Napoleon. This volume depicts how the French forces construct a bridge made entirely of ships to cross the Danube to meet the Archduke Charles' forces on the opposite bank. The story then shifts into the first day of conflict which resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives on both sides.
The battle sequences are sublime, but there was a fair amount of rather uninteresting subplots happening in the prelude to the battle. I suppose the intention is to humanize the officers/commanders taking part in the battle, but unfortunately I found their side stories to drag. I would still overall recommend this since Ivan Gil draws the hell out of this book. A really beautiful looking book for sure.
The battle sequences are sublime, but there was a fair amount of rather uninteresting subplots happening in the prelude to the battle. I suppose the intention is to humanize the officers/commanders taking part in the battle, but unfortunately I found their side stories to drag. I would still overall recommend this since Ivan Gil draws the hell out of this book. A really beautiful looking book for sure.
August 13, 2019
Not for me – people I've never heard of yacking about a bridge to help a war effort for a war I've never heard of in a place I've never heard of. Apparently it's Napoleon v the Austrians for the Battle of Essling, but as proof of the reader unfriendliness of this we're never told until we read the blurb afterwards, and so I started from zero knowledge and interest, and gained none of either before stopping.
June 8, 2023
There were so many characters in this with similar uniforms that it was really difficult to maintain who was who. I know it was one of Napoleon's main battles but it was extremely difficult to keep up with what was happening. I think maybe if you were European where it was taught in schools more, it would make more of an impact.
August 17, 2023
Grand Format = D.L. March 2012 = eo
February 13, 2021
La bataille, BD éponyme du roman de Rambaud sacré par le prix de l’académie française et le prix Goncourt, suit Napoléon dans son affrontement contre l’archiduc Charles à la bataille d’Essling. Trente heures de combat, quarante mille morts, Gil et Richaud nous offrent une fresque magistrale mais parfois difficile à suivre pour qui ne connaît que peu les guerres napoléoniennes. L’effort en vaut pourtant la chandelle pour comprendre ce que fut la première grande hécatombe de la guerre moderne à travers les yeux des voltigeurs, des officiers, de l’état major et même de l’empereur. On referme cette BD avec un sentiment d’admiration devant la richesse des détails historiques (uniformes, paroles de Napoléon tels que rapportés par des témoins directs, vue d’ensemble des batailles) mais aussi de dégoût devant cette cette grande guerre gâchis sans vaincu ni vainqueur.
January 27, 2021
3.5 - the vibrant art kept me reading.
June 17, 2024
The Battle (1-3) is a graphic novel treatment of the battle of Aspern-Hessling in 1809, based on the historical novel by Patrick Rimbaud in a 1997 novel of that title.
The art presents the massive scale of the battle, the way it tore apart towns and villages, the way men were maimed and destroyed by ordnance, and the grim inhumanity of military leaders overseeing the campaign, from the regiment officers up to Napoleon himself, “the emperor.” The team here applied a rich and complex comic art printing process, with color and shading and lineation that somehow give mere ink and paper the special effects power of a major action film.
The story is almost of necessity less interesting. It isn’t clear why we should care that Lejeune’s fiancée is being pursued by Henri Beyle. I remembered that Haydn lay dying in 1809 Vienna, and that was a fun fact to mention near the beginning, but there was no dramatic reason for it. The central and all-encompassing theme is that war yielded hundreds of thousands of brutal casualties, but Napoleon, his generals, and his enemies all considered it a game, an adventure not even about gaining wealth or territory so much as proving the superiority of this emperor or that archduke over others. To the degree that any humans should admire or stand in awe of such monstrosity, that is the degree to which we still live with the reality, the eternal possibility, of war.
The art presents the massive scale of the battle, the way it tore apart towns and villages, the way men were maimed and destroyed by ordnance, and the grim inhumanity of military leaders overseeing the campaign, from the regiment officers up to Napoleon himself, “the emperor.” The team here applied a rich and complex comic art printing process, with color and shading and lineation that somehow give mere ink and paper the special effects power of a major action film.
The story is almost of necessity less interesting. It isn’t clear why we should care that Lejeune’s fiancée is being pursued by Henri Beyle. I remembered that Haydn lay dying in 1809 Vienna, and that was a fun fact to mention near the beginning, but there was no dramatic reason for it. The central and all-encompassing theme is that war yielded hundreds of thousands of brutal casualties, but Napoleon, his generals, and his enemies all considered it a game, an adventure not even about gaining wealth or territory so much as proving the superiority of this emperor or that archduke over others. To the degree that any humans should admire or stand in awe of such monstrosity, that is the degree to which we still live with the reality, the eternal possibility, of war.
March 29, 2017
Unlike, say Waterloo or Austerlitz, the Battle of the title of this work is actually that of Aspern-Essling, in which Napoleon's army crossed the Danube (from Lobau island) into the teeth of the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, and in which Napoleon suffered a (rare) defeat.
As such, while at first glance it may seem a strange choice instead of one of the more famous battles, I think this actually works in its favour since the events of said battle are not as well-known. The visual medium also works largely in its favour, able to show how the large bodies of men would have looked instead of relying on the minds eye to do the same.
On the down side, however, as a visual medium I find there's not as much room for plot as in prose ...
As such, while at first glance it may seem a strange choice instead of one of the more famous battles, I think this actually works in its favour since the events of said battle are not as well-known. The visual medium also works largely in its favour, able to show how the large bodies of men would have looked instead of relying on the minds eye to do the same.
On the down side, however, as a visual medium I find there's not as much room for plot as in prose ...
August 5, 2021
The Battle, Vol. 1 is part of a series that covers the battle of Essling between Napoleon and Charles of Austria. Plenty of action, plenty of drama, and a nice sense of the war. Will have to hunt up the other two volumes. I am glad these are now out in English!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews