Laurence Spring – författare

Much has been written on Napolean's ill-fated invasion of Russia, but from the Grande Armee's point of view, their bold crossing of the River Nieman and capture of Moscow, and their eventual destruction by the Russian winter. In 1812: Russia's Patriotic War, Laurence Spring looks at the conflict from a Russian standpoint, using sources from over forty eyewitness accounts, not only from Russians, but from English, French and Americans who were in Russia at the time, most of which have never been printed in English before. These range from Tsar Alexander himself, to diplomats and spies at the Russian Court, generals, and Russian Soldiers and serfs who were caught up in the campaign. This book seeks to dispel many myths that surround the campaign, such as that the Russian Army escaped the initial French onslaught because of Russia's bad roads and weather; in fact, the Russians also suffered from these disadvantages. It also shows that while it is generally accepted that 'General Winter' destroyed the Grande Armee rather than the Russians, this is exactly what the latter wanted - and that far from being a friend to the Russians it killed almost as many of them as the enemy. From the staggering losses at Borodino to the nightmarish end of so many on the road from Moscow, starved, frozen, struck down by fever, these are eyewitness descriptions that will never leave the sympathetic reader.

The Russian Jaeger regiments and Napoleon’s Young Guard clashed repeatedly during the campaigns of 1812–14.The Russian Jaeger were light infantry who gained enormous experience and prestige during the struggle to rid Europe of Napoleon’s armies, while the Young Guard was expanded to become the main strike force of the French field armies. In appalling winter conditions in 1812, the Young Guard turned to confront their opponents, including Jaeger forces, at Krasnyi.In the face of constant bombardment, Young Guard regiments held off the Russians, covering the retreat of large parts of Napoleon’s forces. They clashed again at Leipzig in 1813 and then again in the bitter cold at Craonne in 1814, where horrendous casualties finally told on the newly formed Young Guard units pitched into an attack upon Russian Jaeger regiments.Putting the reader in the shoes of the ordinary soldiers of both sides, this absorbing book traces the evolving trial of strength between Russia’s Jaeger arm and France’s Young Guardsmen at the height of the Napoleonic Wars.

A comprehensive and vivid account of life in the Russian infantry at the turn of the 19th century, when the Russian army was arguably one of the most important in the world.Although hopelessly outdated at the outbreak of war in 1799, the army underwent radical changes and modernisation after Czar Paul I's murder. This book details recruitment and training procedures, tactics and equipment, and daily life both at home and on campaign.The experiences of the average soldier are examined, and several commonly held assumptions regarding his character and motivation are reassessed.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Cossacks were Russia's unique and plentiful supply of irregular cavalry. They were employed as skirmishers, raiders and scouts, and their tactics of harassment and harrying caused great problems for Napoleon's Grand Armée as it retreated through Russia in 1812. This title shows how, although labelled as rapacious, lascivious, mercenary and ill-disciplined on the field by their detractors, they laid claim to being the finest light cavalry in Europe.It details the various tribes that made up the Cossack nation, the social structure of Cossack life, and how they were organised and employed in war.