Notes of the 1812 Campaign: General Ivan Paskevich’s Memoirs of Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich (Author), Jimmy Chen (Translator)
Paperback: 129 pages
Publisher: Independently published (December 9, 2019
ISBN-13: 9781701632691

Notes of the 1812 Campaign

General Ivan Paskevich (1782-1856) is one of the most decorated officers in the history of the Imperial Russian Army. At the age of 30, he commanded the 26th Infantry Division during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and played a key role at the Battles of Smolensk and Borodino.

In Notes of the 1812 Campaign, Paskevich’s vivid account of the French invasion of Russia is available for the first time in English translation. This book serves a key source for historians seeking Russian perspectives on the Napoleonic Wars. Paskevich’s memoirs are also a captivating read for readers interested in Russian military history and Russian history in general.

What’s inside

Paskevich’s memoirs of Napoleon’s Russian campaign begins with the preparations for war with France and his appointment as commander of the 26th Infantry Division in General Nikolay Raevsky’s VII Corps.

Paskevich charts the long retreat of the Second Army under the command of Prince Pyotr Bagration, one of the most impressive achievements in Russian military history. He describes the heroic deeds of General Platov and Neverovsky fighting brave rearguard actions to slow down the advance of the Grande Armée. In his vivid description of the Battle of Saltanovka, Paskevich offers insights into the military strategy and tactics which shaped Napoleonic warfare.

The narrative goes on to describe the Battle of Smolensk in great detail, where Paskevich’s men were at the front line defending the walls of Smolensk. For two days the Russian army held Napoleon at bay before resuming their retreat to Moscow.

Paskevich’s Notes of the 1812 Campaign ends with the climactic Battle of Borodino, one of the greatest in the annals of Russian military history. The two armies commanded by Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov and the Emperor Napoleon clashed on 7 September 1812 in one of history’s bloodiest engagements. In the battle Paskevich’s Division suffered terrible casualties while defending the Raevsky Redoubt, the main defensive position of the Russian army.

Although Paskevich’s memoirs do not cover Napoleon’s retreat in the Russian winter, they provide a key insight into the frontline of several major battles during Napoleon’s advance into Russia in the summer of 1812. It is one of the most important Russian sources for Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and brings to life the events fictionalised by Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace, the great romantic novel on Russia’s experience of the Napoleonic Wars.