Dawson, Paul L. Napoleon's Army at Austerlitz

Uniforms and Equipment of the Grande Armée at the Emperor's Greatest Battle

A snow-covered hill in what is now the Czech Republic, dominated by a small church with a black onion dome, stands on a battlefield that cemented Napoleon's position as Emperor of France. His throne was secure. His power was limitless. Europe lay at his feet. The Battle of Austerlitz is widely regarded as the most impressive of Napoleon's many victories. The scale of the French success against a larger Russian and Austrian force was unprecedented. The great victory was greeted with sheer amazement and enthusiasm in Paris, where just a few days earlier the nation had been on the brink of financial collapse. It was a time when Napoleon's Grande Armée was at the height of its power. The Grande Armée, which had been trained on the Channel coast for over two years, was considered the most powerful and, in many ways, the most glamorous army in Europe. Using archival documents from the period, this book traces the history of the men who made up this army. Drawing on rare eyewitness accounts that have never before been published in either English or French, we assess whether this army was indeed the best in the world. Men such as Grouchy, Oudinot, Ney, D'Hautpoul and many other famous names put the army to the test their judgements confirm or refute the army's effectiveness. These men also examined the soldiers' clothing and equipment in great detail. Based on these reports, we present the true history of the Grande Armée for the first time. This was made possible by the author's access to an extensive source that remains untapped by the vast majority of researchers and historians seeking to understand the Napoleonic era in general. These are the regimental archive boxes kept in the French army archives. The regimental inspections and the observations made at the time by the division commanders provide potentially unbiased empirical data which, although based on personal assessments and therefore not error-free enable us to reconstruct the life story of a regiment, its officers and, above all, its clothing. Another unique feature is that the text is supplemented by an unparalleled collection of colour illustrations, many of which have never been published before, including images of original items of equipment held in museums and private collections, to which the author has been granted special access. In this illustrated book, Paul Dawson critically examines the myth and presents the contemporary assessment of the army, which has since been openly romanticised by both Napoleon enthusiasts and his opponents.