Od Slavkova po Waterloo - Octave Levavasseur pobočník maršála Neye – Kovařík Jiří (2018)

In the decade of the Napoleonic Wars, filled with campaigns and battles, there is no more famous and colorful figure than Marshal Michel Ney. For one of the first battles of the Danube campaign in 1805, which ended in the brilliance of the Austerlitz sun, he was given the title Duke of Elchingen; for what he accomplished during the tragic retreat from Russia in 1812, he received the title Prince of Moscow. However, the greatest honor came from the soldiers themselves, who called him the Bravest of the Brave. Octave Levavasseur, whose memoirs you are currently holding, was Ney's aide for most of his military career, which in itself was a mark of distinction and recognition of courage, as the marshal expected the same from his officers as he did from himself, often involving deadly dangerous actions. Therefore, in his memoirs, you will find dramatic and captivating stories. From the perspective of military and political history of the Napoleonic Wars, it is also an extraordinarily valuable testimony, as its author shapes Ney's psychological profile not only in moments of battle but also in key historical moments, in which this man forced Napoleon to abdicate and a year later literally restored him to the throne. He received little gratitude for this, and the fateful decision in May 1815 then cost Ney his life... Levavasseur was...