From the publishers:
As a result of an astonishing series of victories (Champaubert, Montmirail, Monterau or Craonne…), Napoleon was able to place the French Campaign at the heart of the legend of his life. Indeed, he was not wrong to do so. Irrespective of the fact that it ends with the Emperor's abdication, it was just as spectacular a military action as the marvels performed in Italy, Austria and Prussia. Napoleon the warlord had lost none of his brilliance. He still managed to galvanize his men and to give his enemies the impression that he was leading countless troops. And yet, though he was never beaten in a decisive battle, the Emperor was nevertheless forced to abdicate, once Paris had been taken and his close friends had abandoned him. The French Campaign thus marks the end of the Empire. France was tired of ten years of war and fifteen years of authoritarianism. Napoleon's charisma was no longer enough to draw crowds along behind him. And also, for the first time, the French people were experiencing at first hand the consequences of war, notably the violence and the occupation of French soil by the enemy troops – they began to dream of peace. The French Campaign was the last episode in the confrontation between Europeans and Revolutionary France, and it was to seal the fate of Europe for the next century.
Jacques-Olivier Boudon, Professor at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and President of the Institut Napoléon, has published around thirty works on the Napoleonic world, including Napoléon et la campagne de Russie, 1812.
Contents:
1. L'Europe et la France à la veille du conflit
2. L'invasion du territoire
3. L'entrée en campagne
4. Napoléon contre Blücher
5. L'échec des pourparlers de paix
6. Les fronts périphériques
7. La dernière campagne d'Italie
8. Une guerre en hiver
9. Les Français face à la guerre
10. Les derniers feux de Napoléon
11. Le réveil des monarchistes
12. La chute de l'Empire
Napoléon et la campagne de France 1814
Author(s) : BOUDON Jacques-Olivier
- Year of publication :
- 2014
- Place and publisher :
- Paris: Armand Colin
- Number of pages :
- 368