Campaigns
In the Emperor's
footsteps...
...and in mine!
Why this title? Because I wanted to indicate which battlefields I already visited, to give a better idea of the situation and of the pictures of memorials I have. The battlefields I have already visited are mentioned in yellow and, if there is something on this website, the links are in orange and those I have not (yet) visited are indicated in red . You'll quickly understand that I only show you here a very small part of what I have. Not speaking of other subjects: the French-German war of 1870-71 (already more than 3.000 memorial listed, I have the intention of writing a book about it -later), WW1 and WW2, Frederic II's campaigns, etc... Beware, this table doesn't mention everything, I have probably forgotten to mention many smaller battles.
You should also know that I not only take pictures of memorials, but also - and I could also say, above all- of the battlefields themselves. Indeed, more and more often, and at an accelerating pace, these battlefields are destroyed by a galloping urbanisation: housing development, industrial estates, etc... destroy these historic places forever. Europe - unfortunately - is not the United States, where many Civil War battlefields are protected. In Europe, only one battlefield is protected, the one at Waterloo, and in a very imperfect way : just look at what is done there, or what has been done, to see how badly the law is respected, and only a part of the battlefield is protected...So I try, as well as I can, to take a maximum number of pictures of these places, to better understand how these battles took place and where the troops stood. These few thousand pictures and hundreds of hours of film will maybe remain some of the rare testimonies for the future. As an example of this, I just arrived one or two years too late for the battlefield of Vitoria, which is now a huge industrial estate where only a few bridges and churches stand as silent witnesses of yesterday's fighting . At Corunna, things aren't much better; you even have difficulties to find the small village of Elviňas in the middle of the university campus and the retail park. At Essling, I only found it a few preserved acres of the battlefield. Preserved, but for how long?
But not everything is that negative: at Teugn-Hausen (where the monument was only placed in 2009 !) the battlefield -including the woods- is miraculously preserved. There is not a single building to spoil the battlefield and it's just if Davout's soldiers have just left. The same for Craufurd's Light Brigade on the rio Coa!
So, if you want to see some battlefield or memorial, or if you want to ask a question, don't hesitate to contact me. But keep in mind but I can't always answer you at once, for professional or for other reasons, or because I have been asked some other biography.Have a nice visit!
Beware : if there is no link for the battle itself, click on the general campaign link (in orange).
[Out of subject :
- Wars of the French Republic : (1792-1796):
- in Northern and Eastern France: quite a lot
- in Vendée : nearly exhaustively]- First Italian campaign (1796-1797) : nothing
- Egyptian campaign (1798-1801) : nothing (apart from a few memorials in Israel)
- 1800 Campaign :
- in Italy (Second Italian campaign): nothing
- in Germany : Unterhausen (07/06/1800), Hohenlinden (03/12/1800) : OK
- in Austria : Lambach (19/12/1800), Pass Strub: OK
- in Bavaria : Donauwörth (06-07/10/1805), Augsburg (09/10/1805), Haslach (11/10/1805), Jungingen (11/10/1805), Elchingen (14/10/1805), Ulm(15/10/1805), etc : OK
- in the Tyrol : Pass Lueg (31/10/1805), Pass Strub (02-03/11/1805), Amstetten (05/11/1805), Scharnitz (04/11/1805), Leutasch (04/11/1805), Kufstein (08/11/1805) : OK
- in Austria : Lambach (31/10/1805), Melk (10/11/1805), Dürrenstein (11/11/1805), Schöngraben, Hollabrunn (16/11/1805): OK
- Austerlitz : not yet....
- 1806 Campaign:
- in Thuringia: Schleiz (09/10/1806), Saalfeld (10/10/1806), Iéna (14/10/1806), Auerstaedt (14/10/1806) : OK
- more in the north of Germany : not yet
- Maida
- 1807 Campaign: unfortunately nothing yet
- 1808 : nothing
- 1809 : Cacabelos (03/01/1809), La Coruňa (16/01/1809), Alba de Tormes (28/11/1809) : OK
- 1810 : Caceres (12/02/1810), Trujillo (17/05/1810), Cuidad Rodrigo (30/05/1810), Almeida (Pt) (26/07-29/08/1810), Fuerte Concepcion (21/07/1810), rio Coa (Pt) (24/07/1810): OK
- 1811 : Badajoz (26/01/1811+22-26/04/1811), Fuentes de Oňoro (05/05/1811), Fuerte Concepcion (05/05/1811), Almeida (Pt) (09/05/1811), La Albuera (16/05/1811), Elvas (Pt) (22/06/1811), Arroyomolinos (28/10/1811): OK
- 1812 : Cuidad Rodrigo (07-19/01/1812), Badajoz (26/01/1811), Salamanca (17+27/06/1812), Los Arapiles (22/07/1812), Garciahernandez (23/07/1812), Burgos (18/09-22/10/1812), , Alba de Tormes (11/11/1812), Freineda (Pt): OK
- 1813 : Vitoria (21/06/1813) : OK
- 1814 : in France : Toulouse, Montferrand OK ; Pyrenees : not yet
- 1809 campaign: nearly exhaustively (apart from northern Germany and Italy)
You can download my lecture (in French) on the 1809 campaign here (+/- 2 hours) :
I can't present here the Powerpoint document of my lecture, because I don't own the right of the paintings and maps included. Nevertheless, I'll give a summary here as soon as possible.
- in Bavaria : Teugn-Hausen (19/04/1809), Dunzling (19/04/1809), Abensberg (20/04/1809), Landshut (21/04/1809), Eckmühl (21-22/04/1809), Ratisbon (19-20-23/04/1809) : OK
- in Austria : Ebelsberg (03/05/1809), Linz (05-17/05/1809), Aspern-Essling (21-22/05/1809), Wagram (05-06/07/1809), Hollabrunn (09/07/1809), Schöngraben (10/07/1809) : OK.
- in Czechia : Znaïm (11-12/07/1809)
- in Slovakia : Bratislava/Pressburg
- in Hungary : Györ/RaabZnaïm (11-12/07/1809)
- in the Tyrol : Pass Lueg (01/05+04-05/05+24/07+25/09/1809), Pass Strub (11/05/1809), Kufstein (11/05/1809), Wörgl (13/05/1809), Hall, Bergisel (25+29/05+13/08-01/11/1809), Innsbruck (26/05+14/08/1809), Sachsengang (05/07/1809), Birgitz, Sankt-Johann, Kirchdorf, Waidring : OK
- in Germany : Dodendorf (05/05/1809)
- in Italy (Tyrol) : Sterzing (11/04-08-09/08/1809), Sankt-Leonhard (25/11/1809), Tiroldorf, Meran
- rest of Italy : nothing- Campaign de 1812 : nothing, apart from a few memorials from the retreat in Poland and Germany
- 1813 campaign: nearly exhaustively
- Spring campaign: Möckern-Dannigkow (03-04-05/04/1813), Bad Langensalza (13/04/1813), Merseburg (29/04/1814), Rippach (01/05/1813), Weissenfels (01/05/1813), Lützen/Grossgörschen (02/05/1813), Eichberg/Weissig/Königswartha (19/05/1813), Bautzen/Würschen (20-21/05/1813), Markersdorf (22/05/1813), Reichenbach (22/05+14/06/1813), Haynau (Pol) (26/05/1813), Liegnitz (27/05/1813), Glogau (Pol) (28/05/1813), Luckau (04/06/1813), Kleinschkorlopp/Kitzen (17/06/1813) : OK
- Summer/Autumn campaign: Bober (18-23/08/1813), Kruszin (21/08/1813), Bunzlau (Pol) (21-22/08/1813), Pirna (22+27-28/08/1813), Goldberg (Pol) (23/08/1813), Grossbeeren (23-25/08/1813), Dresden (26-27/08/1813), Gadebusch (26/08/1813), Krietzschwitz (26/08/1813), Katzbach (Pol) (24-26/08/1813), Belzig (27/08/1813), Hagelberg (27/08/1813), Löbau (28/08/1813), Kulm (Cz) (29-30/08/1813), Löwenberg (Pol)(22+29/08-04/09/1813), Glogau (Pol) (01/09/1813), Gadegast (05/09/1813), Dennewitz (06/09/1813), Dohna (08/09/1813), Ebersdorf (09/09/1813), Nollendorf (14/09/1813), Wartenburg (03/10/1813), Liebertwolkwitz (14/10/1813), Wachau (16/10/1813), Leipzig (16-19/10/1813), Bad Kösen (21/10/1813), Eckartsberga (22/10/1813), Hanau (30/10/1813), Kaub (31/12/1813-01/01/1814).
- sieges : Glogau, Hamburg
- in Eastern France : Huningue (21/12/1813), Ste-Croix-en-Plaine (24+31/12/1813)
- in Italy : nothing
- 1814 campaign in France : nearly exhaustively- dans le Nord-Est : Choignes (18/01/1814), Tournus (23/01/1814), Saint-Dizier (27/01/1814), Brienne-le-Château (29/01/1814), La Rothière (01/02/1814), Rosnay-l'Hôpital (02/02/1814), Châtillon (03-08/02/1814), Chalon-sur-Saône (08/02/1814), Champaubert (10/02/1814), Montmirail (11/02/1814), Château-Thierry (12/02/1814), Vauchamps (14/02/1814), Guignes (16/02/1814), Valjouan (17/02/1814), Montereau-Faut-Yonne (18/02/1814), Moret-sur-Loing (18/02/1814), Bar-sur-Aube (24+26-27/02/1814), Lusigny-sur-Barse (24-28/02/1814), Bar-sur-Seine (02/03/1814), Laubressel (03/03/1814), La Guillotière (03/03/1814), Bézu-St-Germain (03/03/1814), Fismes (04/03/1814), Montfaucon (04/03/1814), Berry-au-Bac (05+14/03/1814), Craonne (07/03/1814), Laon (09-10/03/1814), Reims (13/03/1814), Châtillon (19/03/1814), Arcis-sur-Aube (20-21/03/1814), Doulevant (24/03/1814), Fère-Champenoise (02+25/03/1814), Saint-Dizier (26/03/1814), Paris (30/03/1814), Sens (30/03/1814) : OK
- dans le Sud-Ouest : Toulouse (10/04/1814), Montferrand (cf.supra)
- in South-Eastern France: nothing
- in South-Western France (Pyrenees): nothing- the Return from Elba : le "Vol de l'Aigle" (the Flight of the Eagle) (march 1815) : the conquest of a throne without firing a single shot !
- 1815 campaign : (nearly) exhaustively
- in Belgium : Gilly (15/08/1815), Charleroi (15/08/1815), Quatre-Bras (16/08/1815), Ligny (16/08/1815), Waterloo (18/08/1815), Wavre (18-19/08/1815), Nivelles, Namur (20/08/1815).
- in the Vendée : Les Mathes (03/06/1815), Les Sables d'Olonne (03/06/1815), Rocheservière (20/06/1815).
- in France : Roquencourt (01/07/1815), Condé (30/06-12/08/1815) + a few other sieges : Valenciennes, Avesnes, Le Quesnoy, Marsal, Maubeuge, Landrecies, Neuf-Brisach...
In orange : link towards the page
In yellow : already visited, but not online
In red: missing! (= not yet visited)
Bibliography:
Alain CHAPPET - Roger MARTIN - Alain PIGEARD, Le Guide Napoléon, Bibliothèque Napoléonienne, Tallandier, 2005.
Alain PIGEARD, Dictionnaire des Batailles de Napoléon, Bibliothèque Napoléonienne, Tallandier, 2004.
Digby Smith, The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book – Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792-1815, Greenhill Books, London, 1998.