Bitva o Francii 1814 – Kovařík Jiří (2022)

In October 1813, Napoleon lost a gigantic clash in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig and retreated across Germany with a decimated army to the Rhine line. Here, literally on the first day of 1814, the invasion of the allies began, including the Russians, Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and others. For over three months, a battle raged in which Napoleon tried to defend not only France but also the throne of his dynasty. Fighting occurred not only along the main route through Champagne to Paris but also in the southeast near Lyon and in the southwest under the Pyrenees. Napoleon, who refused to make peace in the spirit of his opponents' conditions, won battles but lost campaigns, and after the fall of Paris, he had no choice but to abdicate. It is claimed that the battle for France was Napoleon's most brilliant campaign, and he gave his best as a commander. Was this true, or is it just another Napoleonic legend? These questions, along with many others, are posed by a book accompanied by nearly 170 illustrations and 34 maps. Utilizing a range of documents and memories from soldiers on both sides, it provides the most detailed account of Napoleon's penultimate battle, after which only Waterloo followed in 1815...