Philippe-Paul de Ségur was an aide-de-camp to Napoleon, privy to the councils of the emperor's inner circle. There he witnessed the debates surrounding the decision to invade Russia in the summer of 1812. The emperor's generals opposed the venture, and even Napoleon entered on it against his better judgment. Nonetheless, Napoleon found the undertaking too tempting to resist. Ségur describes the subsequent campaign with a reporter's eye both for the big story and for the telling detail: we witness the march through the long hot days of the summer; the supply lines growing more stretched with every effortless victory; the Grande Armée suffering unanticipated losses; the taking and sacking of Moscow, and its abandonment; the disastrous winter retreat that destroyed Napoleon's army and insured his downfall.
Ségur's account is to this day one of the greatest military disasters of all time and a masterpiece of military history, providing a vivid and unmistakable lesson about imperial hubris and its risks.
Email to a colleague