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La Grande Armee
Georges Blond
Translated by Marshall May
Arms and Armour Press
Wellington House,125/130 Strand, London WC2R OBB
The quote from page 317 regarding the weather is a deduction on the part of the writer after reading the historical documents and testimonies from survivors of the Russian Campaign by the Grande Armee
If you are interested in the Napoleanic era then I recommend this book. It is an awesome read. I'm not selling, just directing. Look it up at Amazon.com
hi Steve, I really only go by published memoirs and contempary source,hard first hand factual accounts of somebody who was actually present, attributed to (whever wetc).The absence of the originator of the quotes reduces the page references to mere here-say, a good read it may be.Without these i find such references are null and void.
I have no time for compilations and so called latter day historians as much is distorted and omitted in sake of journalistic and publishing liimitations.
eg Memoirs of Bourienne (Napoleons personal secretary) 1816 (4 volumes) translated/published 1826 into english give alot of detail about the whole era. Probally the best personal account I have yet read.
But I'm sure you'll find some reason to tear this one to pieces as well:
from the memoirs of baron de marbot:
>>>THE battle was fought on september 7.THE WEATHER WAS OVERCAST AND A COLD WIND RAISED CLOUDS OF DUST. ...THE ICY WIND, BLOWING WITH GREat force, prevented him (napoleon)from staying on horseback.<<<<
In the morning Napoleon rode over the wreck-covered field. A cold fierce wind, a driving rain, and a sombre sky, imparted still greater gloom and desolation to the scene.
thank god someone is amused. At the begining of the thread the translation took off and we have a 200 year old weather report.Nothing is impossible chuckle.Thankyou Bert Ford
As I stated in a previous post the weather was similar to mid to late Fall. There was no snow. I never said there was snow. You can mock my post all you want. the facts are the facts.
I know the histoical calender said the battle was Sept. 5th, 6th, and 7th., and that is still summer. But to the consternation of both French and Russian troops, and , 129 years later, German troops, the weather became unseasonably cold and were forced to protect themselves accordingly.
The neat thing about this hobby is that it lends itself to playing make believe. In your case you may continue.
The 25th Line regiment (of Compans division) at the
battle of Borofino (la Moskowa) in the early morning before commencement of the battle:
Dans cette sanglante journée, les divisions Compans et Desaix, placées sous les ordres mêmes de Davout, eurent pour mission d'attaquer en flanc, par la lisière des bois, le second monticule et les trois flèches que les Russes avaient construits sur la gauche de leur ligne, pendant que Ney devait les attaquer de front avec deux de ses divisions. À trois heures du matin, le mouvement des troupes commença dans le plus profond silence, aidé par un brouillard (english=fog) épais qui masquait aux yeux de l'ennemi les dispositions prises de notre côté.
Arrivé à leur lisière par des chemins difficiles, il s'était approché de celle des trois flèches qui était la plus à droite, afin de la prendre par côté et de l'enlever brusquement.
This info I found on the French Site of this regt. When the circumstances in the morning were as discribed I can certainly imagine the soldiers were wearing their greatcoats and other items to protect themselves and their arms and ammo.
Having read lots of info about the battle and the campaign just prior and after La Moskova, the weather was switching from wet and cold to a more sunny autumnclimate during the day. I can therefore imagine the lads fighting there would have worn a mixture of uniforms.
Re: Re: Re: Re: The weather before Borodino(Moskowa)
I tried to translate it as best as I could:
"On that bloody day the divisions of Compans and Desaix were under the direct command of Davout. Their mission was to attack the flank, from the edge of the wood on to the second hill and the three flèches that the Russians had build on the left of our line. Ney was to attack them at the front with two of his divisions. At 3 AM the troops were set in motion with the utmost silence. A dense fog furthermore covered our movement and this helped us to reach our dispositions unnoticed by the enemy.
We reached the vicinity of the flèches over difficult roads. Their centre now lay on our extreme right, complete for the taking and destruction by surprise."
At the end of or just after the battle it seemed it started raining again (probably during Napoleons inspection of the concered terrain).