Russia against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace

摘要

The key proposition of the work-to tell a new story of the wars of 1812-1813, which is indeed 'one of the best stories in the European history' (p. 17)-might appear impossible. It was told by such beloved authors as Leo Tolstoy and Stendhal, examined by such classical strategists as Karl von Clausewitz and Antoine de Jomini, so there could not possibly be anything new to tell. Yet Lieven in the first paragraph of the Introduction declares his intention to re-tell it 'in what seems to me to be a more truthful way' (p. 3) and proceeds through the impeccably well-written volume in a very old-fashioned way-by presenting the evidence meticulously gathered in the Russian archives.