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

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.

Also included are lett...