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The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier by Jakob Walter

The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier

A Unique Eyewitness Account of the Face of Battle From Inside the Ranks of Bonaparte's Grand Army

Jakob Walter

Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · February 1, 1993

Eighteen-year-old German stonemason Jakob Walter served in the Grand Army of Napoleon between 1806 and 1813.

Military LivesLives in HistoryNapoleonic Warsbiography
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Who it’s for
An intimate soldier’s diary brings the grinding marches and human cost of Napoleon’s campaigns close.
Themes
Napoleonic campaigns, A soldier’s loss of innocence, War’s effects on soldiers
Genres
Napoleonic Wars, Military Lives, Lives in History

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About this book

Eighteen-year-old German stonemason Jakob Walter served in the Grand Army of Napoleon between 1806 and 1813. His diary intimately records his trials: the long, grueling marches in Prussia and Poland, the disastrous Russian campaign, and the demoralizing defeat in a war few supported or understood. It is at once a compelling chronicle of a young soldier's loss of innocence and an eloquent and moving portrait of the profound effects of all wars on the men who fight them.

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Also included are letters home from the Russian front, previously unpublished in English, as well as period engravings and maps from the Russian/Soviet and East European collections of the New York Public Library. "Vivid and gruesome but also a story of human fortitude. It reminds us that the troops Napoleon drove so mercilessly were actually more victims than victors—a side of Napoleon that should not be forgotten." —Chicago Tribune

War From the Ranks

An intimate soldier’s diary brings the grinding marches and human cost of Napoleon’s campaigns close.

Come here for

  • Firsthand detail from campaigns in Prussia, Poland, and Russia
  • A young soldier’s perspective on war’s lasting human toll

Expect

  • A grueling, reflective account rather than a commander’s grand strategy
  • Letters home, period engravings, and maps alongside the diary

Where it sits

Napoleonic Wars76%
Military Lives71%
Lives in History32%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Lives in History
  • Other Military Conflicts
  • 19th-Century History
Authors
Jakob Walter
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Published
February 1, 1993
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Napoleonic campaigns · A soldier’s loss of innocence · War’s effects on soldiers
Reading lane
Lives in History