240 x 159mm. 224 pages. 3 maps. 30 illustrations.

THE COSSACKS ARE COMING! . . .

IN THE SERVICE OF THE TSAR AGAINST NAPOLEON is a very real ground-breaker for Greenhill as this exciting new book is the first Napoleonic memoir by a Russian officer to have ever been produced in English.

Denis Davidov was an officer of hussars, a partisan, a Russian hero and the inspiration for the character Denisov in Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace. Davidov’s captivating memoirs, now edited and translated by Gregory Troubetzkoy for Greenhill, recount his adventures in the Napoleonic Wars and convey the Russian perspective on this cataclysmic conflict.

Davidov’s dashing recollections cover the confrontation between the French and Russians in Prussia in 1806-7, including the horrific battle of Eylau; the Russian invasion of Finland in 1808 and defeat of the Swedes; the devastating French invasion of Russia in 1812; and the War of Liberation in Germany and France in 1813-14.

The memoirs cover Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 in great detail, as it was during this campaign that Davidov made his legendary reputation leading a band of cossacks and hussars against the French. In the summer of 1812, as Napoleon’s troops pushed far into the Russian interior, Davidov became a partisan and launched a series of successful raids - recounted in great detail in the memoirs - on the French lines of communication. By the autumn the French had occupied, then abandoned, Moscow and begun their famous retreat. Davidov’s partisans turned to harrying the invaders and were some of the first Russians to enter Poland, hard on the heels of Napoleon’s broken army. His account of this triumphant and tragic campaign is one of the finest to have survived and ably presents the victors’ point of view of the struggle.

Gregory Troubetzkoy, who lives in Florida, is an expert on Russian aspects of the Napoleonic Wars and the author of a number of articles. Mr Troubetzkoy’s translation of Davidov’s account of the battle of Eylau was first published in Napoleonic Scholarship: The Journal of the International Napoleonic Society in April 1997. Greenhill then approached Mr Troubetzkoy and arranged for the publication of the complete memoirs, resulting in IN THE SERVICE OF THE TSAR AGAINST NAPOLEON.  We asked Mr Troubetzkoy to describe some of the background to this exciting project:

“I was a nine-year-old boy in the summer of 1940 when, in a France overrun by the Nazis, I first became interested in the character Denisov of War and Peace fame. We were stranded in the countryside and my aunt read Tolstoy’s novel to us to keep us occupied and to distract us from the terrible events around us. We were transported to another world - a world also plunged into war, but filled with chivalry and romance nonetheless. I was very young and much of Tolstoy’s writing went way above my head, but Russians have always needed heroes to admire and there were none better than the dashing figure of Denis Davidov (the real-life Denisov).

Davidov was heroic enough to even admire his enemies - and Napoleon in particular - and this apparent contradiction served to excite my curiosity. The love-hate relationship which many Russians felt for Napoleon was just as true in the Napoleonic Wars as it is now.

Some sixty years later I am delighted to be able to share Davidov’s fascinating memoirs with Western readers and hope that, in some small way, this will help promote better understanding of the vast Napoleonic saga from an entirely different perspective.”

This compelling account of Napoleonic warfare includes the following chapters:

Chapter 1: A Meeting with Suvorov, 1793
Chapter 2: Lesson for a Madcap, 1807
Chapter 3: The Battle of Eylau, 7/8 February 1807
Chapter 4: Tilsit, 1807
Chapter 5: Recollections of Kulnev in Finland, 1808
Chapter 6: Diary of Partisan Warfare, 1812
Chapter 7: The Year 1812
Chapter 8: The Occupation of Dresden, March 1813
Epilogue
Biographical Sketches
Bibliography

“We launched our night attack. An autumn drizzle had been falling all day and the darkness was total. We struck with our reserve regiment and some infantry.  Fortunately, the enemy guards were fast asleep in their huts and refused to wake up!

In the meantime, Khrapovitsky’s and Chechensky’s men galloped into the village; some of them dismounted and, shouting ‘Hurrah!’, started to fire at the windows. Reinforcing them with 100 infantrymen and taking 200 cossacks from the reserve, I crossed the Uda stream to prevent the enemy sneaking into Viazma by the side roads. But the night was so black that we lost our way and our guide brought us out at a different spot from the usual crossing. This forced us to descend by fits and starts from a considerable height and get across as best we could. Not knowing the surroundings, I decided to go slowly and keep firing away with pistols and shouting ‘Hurrah!’Fortunately the enemy chose not to come this way but turned towards Kikino and fled in disorder along the road from Ukhnov to Gzhatsk.

Our whole party chased them for about four versts. Then I detached 100 cossacks to pursue the fleeing French, but to bear left so as to keep closer to our group, and stay in touch with the road between Viazma and Tsarevo where I intended to turn up after our sweep on Losmino.

In this operation we took prisoner one platoon leader, one officer and 376 foot soldiers. And, because it was night, I directed my men not to get involved taking a lot of prisoners. We captured as many of the enemy as we killed. After tying them up and sending  them to Ukhnov, as was customary, I let the horses enjoy a well-deserved rest; then, dispatching the infantry to Ermaki, we set off for Losmino. I had to go by way of Belystchino in order to join up with Biriukov and to replace his unit with the 100 cossacks who had been sent to pursue the enemy; also I needed to gather information from him about the enemy  located in Losmino; and lastly, by turning towards Derevestchin  and Krasnoje Gora, we planned to arrive from the Viazma side in the rear of the enemy and fall on them like snow out of the blue.

All my plans would have been fulfilled to the letter if only enemy foragers had not sighted my party and hurried on to Losmino to warn their commander of my coming. My riders chased this rabble, but because we had been on the march for the preceding 24 hours, including two hours of fighting, the horses had become weary, thus allowing some of the foragers to get away and spread the alarm through the detachment, which was clearly doomed. Meanwhile we continued to advance at full trot along the road from Viazma to  Losmino. It was getting light and because of the incessant rain the road had become quite slippery. My opposite number had been careless and had omitted to shoe all his horses, so that about half of them were not properly provided. Nevertheless, upon my arrival at Losmino he met us on firm footing.

As the fighting got under way, the forward elements came to grips and the action teetered back and forth inconclusively. When our whole force was battle-ready, we charged the three lines of the enemy, positioned one behind the other.

At the first clash, the enemy front line tumbled back into the second and the second collided with the third. Then they all fled headlong. You had to have been a witness to this event to believe the confusion that reigned among the French ranks. To make matters worse, half of the detachment came crashing upside-down. The horses that had not been properly shod collapsed as if struck by grapeshot; their riders ran off on foot in every direction without resistance. Two squadrons did form in battle order and attempted to move forward and impede our attack, but when they sighted my hussars at the forefront of my reserve, they immediately turned back for good.

The pursuit continued until noon. We cut and slashed and shot and dragged into  captivity officers, soldiers and horses ? in a word, the victory was complete. I was overflowing with joy! We came to a halt.

There were 403 men and two officers taken, all wounded. The regimental commander, I was told, had fallen on the field of battle and with him another 150 rank-and-file men; the others scattered through fields and woods or were captured by the inhabitants. In all these engagements we lost only four cossacks and fifteen others were wounded together with two hussars; up to 50 horses had also been killed or wounded.

It goes without saying that I was impatient  to boast to the field marshal about this, my finest success to date! A courier was immediately dispatched with a report still smoking from the fire of the battlefield.”

Greenhill Books  ISBN 1-85367-373-0

Click here to order In the Service of the Tsar Against Napoleon!