'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

Great post, I'm glad you are enjoying the book, I also found it quite an interesting account. I've always enjoyed the story about Napoleon's mother calling him out whenever he tried to cheat :)

Indeed, I found their behaviour quite vile and I was disgusted of how they tried to cheat Scharnhorst and his wife (their sister!). I would have liked to have seen them both thrown into jail for their despicable actions.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the story so far Scott, I'll be keen to hear your thoughts on the book.

I'm a few chapters into the book on Scharnhorst and I am quite enjoying it so far. The information on Scharnhorst early military mentor, Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst zu Schaumburg-Lippe, was very interesting and even he had some interesting relatives like his uncle; Johann Matthais von der Schulenburg.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst zu Schaumburg-Lippe:
https://the-kingdom-of-imperial-pruss...

Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_...

I plan to start my theme book over morning tea later today; "Scharnhorst: The Formative Years, 1755-1801".

Scharnhorst: The Formative Years, 1755-1801 by Charles Edward White

Scott wrote: "Napoleon

I found this paperback edition by Alan Forrest in a market bookstall some months ago when the markets were open in between lock-downs . I hagg..."

Nice deal, I hope you enjoy the book :)

Manray9 wrote: "This morning I'll start --

The Invisible Emperor: Napoleon on Elba from Exile to Escape by Mark Br..."

I hope you have better luck with this book MR9.

Manray9 wrote: "On Anthony Sullivan's Man of War: The Fighting Life of Admiral James Saumarez from the American Revolution to the Defeat of Napoleon.

I won't continue with Sullivan's book. The fir..."

Uh-oh, that's not good news, I better go check my copy :(

I hope its a good book MR9 as I know I have an unread copy somewhere in my house :)

I've started reading this book today which combines two of my favourite subjects; Napoleon and Renaissance art!

Napoleons Plunder and the Theft of Veroneses Feast by Saltzman Cynthia

Betsy wrote: "As I mentioned before, I am also reading Scharnhorst, The Formative Years."

I might be doing the same Betsy :)

Hi folks, the August theme read page is open and ready for comment/discussion. The theme is any book or books of your choice that is a Napoleonic biography or autobiography:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The August Theme Read is any book or books of your choice that is a Napoleonic biography or autobiography.

Russia Returns Remains of Napoleon-Era General to France:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2...

There is also Leggiere's volume on the campaign:

Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany: The Franco-Prussian War of 1813, Volume II: The Defeat of Napoleon by Michael V. Leggiere

Plus Digby Smith's book:

1813 Leipzig: Napoleon and the Battle of the Nations by Digby Smith

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the book as much as expected. I have a preference for Petre's books which were written around the same time but seem to be more readable.

There could be some truth to that statement about how aware Frederick William was to the dangers confronting Prussia at that time.

That's an interesting character assessment. I really don't know that much about Frederick William other than what I have read in other Napoleonic books.

I went and checked my HB edition of the book and it has lots of large fold out maps covering the various battles and campaigns. Shame your edition failed to keep those in the book. I will be keen to hear what you think of Maude's book on Leipzig.

"October Triumph: Napoleon’s Invasion of Germany, 1806" - A great story of an incident towards the end of the campaign in Germany:

"Marshal Augereau's VII Corps subsequently marched through Halle. In his younger days, Augereau had spent thirteen years drifting across Europe. At one time he served as a private in a Prussian regiment. Among the prisoners in Halle were Augereau's old company captain and first sergeant. Because the former lacked noble blood, he had never received promotion while the latter retained his same rank because the Prussian army did not elevate non-commissioned officers to officer rank. The captain had difficulty comprehending Augereau's exalted status. He accepted the marshal's invitation to dinner and acted as if it was the first time they had met. Nonetheless, Augereau loaned him money and gave him letters of introduction to help make his imprisonment in France more agreeable. Augereau's interaction with his old sergeant was on an altogether different plane. The two men warmly shook hands. The marshal gave him 500 francs for himself and another 40 for each of his former comrades still with the company."

Marshal Charles Pierre François Augereau:
https://www.frenchempire.net/biograph...

https://www.napoleon-series.org/resea...