by Jakob Walter
5 March Treaty of Basel—Prussia withdraws from war
1796–97 Bonaparte’s Italian campaign—victories of Lodi, Arcola, Rivoli—proclamation of Lombard Republic
1797 18 April Preliminaries of peace at Leoben with Austria
9 July Proclamation of Cisalpine Republic
17 October Treaty of Campo Formio—Austria concedes French acquisitions
1798–99 Bonaparte in Egypt
1798–1801 War of the Second Coalition
1798 9 November Bonaparte’s coup d’état—proclaimed First Consul (18 Brumaire, according to revolutionary calendar)
1801 9 February Treaty of Lunéville with Austria
1802 27 March Treaty of Amiens with England
18 May Creation of the Légion d’honneur
2 August Bonaparte proclaimed Consul for life
1804 18 May Bonaparte proclaims himself Emperor of the French
2 December Coronation of Napoleon as emperor
1805 Third Coalition formed against France
21 October Battle of Trafalgar
2 December Battle of Austerlitz
26 December Treaty of Pressburg with Austria
1806–7 War with Prussia and Russia
1806–12 War between Turkey and Russia
1806 12 July Confederation of the Rhine formed
6 August Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nation dissolved
14 October Battles of Jena and Auerstädt—Berlin occupied by French
21 November Decree of Berlin instituting Continental Blockade
1807–11 Reforms in Prussia
1807 7–8 February Battle of Eylau
14 June Battle of Friedland
7–9 July Treaties of Tilsit with Prussia and Russia
1808–9 Russo-Swedish War—Russia conquers Finland
1808–14 Napoleon’s war in Spain
1809–10 Tyrolean rebellion
1809 War with Austria
5–6 July Battle of Wagram
14 October Treaty of Schönbrunn with Austria
1810 April Napoleon marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria
1812 28 May Treaty of Bucharest ending Russo-Turkish war
24–26 June Napoleon crosses Niemen River
17–18 August Battle of Smolensk
7 September Battle of Borodino (or of the Moskova)
14 September Moscow occupied by Grande Armée
15–19 September Fire devastates Moscow
19 October Napoleon orders retreat
24 October Battle of Maloiaroslavets
26–28 November Grande Armée recrosses Berezina River
1813 3 February Appeal by Prussia to rise against Napoleon
28 February Convention of Kalisch between Russia and Prussia to carry on war against Napoleon
17 March Organization of Landsturm and Landwehr in Prussia and German lands
12 August Austria reenters war against France
9 September Treaty of Teplitz—Austria, Prussia, and Russia agree to fight France to victory
16–19 September Battle of Leipzig
1814 9 March Treaty of Chaumont—Four-power treaty setting up Quadruple Alliance of England, Austria, Russia, and Prussia
31 March Allies enter Paris
11 April Napoleon abdicates—goes into exile to island of Elba
30 May First Treaty of Paris
September 1814–June 1815 Congress of Vienna
1815 20 March–29 June The Hundred Days
18 June Battle of Waterloo
22 June Second abdication of Napleon—eventually banned to island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821
7 July Second occupation of Paris and return of Louis XVIII
1815 26 September Conclusion of Holy Alliance
20 November Second Peace Treaty of Paris—Renewal of Quadruple Alliance
Place Names
The names are first given as they appear in the text of Walter’s autobiography. Alternative spellings and designations are given to facilitate their identification on more recent maps.
The distances indicated are approximate and largely culled from the notes in the original publication, Bulletin of the University of Kansas—Humanistic Studies, vol. VI, no. 3 (Lawrence, Kans.: University of Kansas, Department of Journalism Press, 1938). In some cases, especially in East Prussia, places could not be identified since there has been a radical renaming since 1945.
Adlerberg territory—see Vorarlberg
Altdorf—now Weingarten
Altshausen—40 km N of Lake Constance
Ansbach—40 km SW of Nuremberg
Asperg—Asberg—5 km E of Ludwigsburg, 10 km NW of Stuttgart
Baltic Sea
Bayreuth—in Bavaria, Upper Franconia
Beeskow on the Spree—Brandenburg province, 40 km SW of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder
Belgard—Białogard—Pomerania, now Poland, 35 km SE of Colberg
Beresina—Berezina—river, E of Minsk
Berlin—capital of Prussia
Bernlohhof—Bernlohöf—hamlet 15 km S. of Ellwangen
Beshenkovichi—35 km SW of Vitebsk
Biberach—in Württemberg, 100 km SE of Stuttgart
Bischofstein—East Prussia, SW of Königsberg
Bobr—190 km W of Smolensk
Borissov—Borisov—75 km NE of Minsk
Borodino—hamlet on confluent of Kolocha and Moskva rivers, 110 km W of Moscow
Borovsk—20 km N of Malo Jaroslavetz
Brandenburg—province of Prussia, also provincial town
Braslav—50 km SE of Dvinsk
Bregenz—on Lake Constance in Austrian Tyrol
Breslau—Wrocław—capital of Silesia, now Poland
Buchhorn—now Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance
Bug—river in Poland
Bunzlau—in Silesia, 35 km WNW of Liegnitz
Calw—Kalw—in Württemberg, 30 km SW of Stuttgart
Cassel—Kassel—in Hessen, Germany
Colberg—Kolberg—Kołobrzeg—in Pomerania, now Poland
Constance, Lake of—Bodensee—between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany
Crossen—Krossen—45 km SE from Frankfurt-on-the-Oder in Brandenburg
Dam—Altdamm—village 5 km ESE of Stettin, Pomerania, now Poland
Danzig—Gdańsk, 274 km NW of Warsaw
Darkehmen—East Prussia, SE of Königsberg
Diescony—village, see Labonary
Dinkelsbühl—Bavaria, 20 km NE of Ellwangen
Disna—30 km W of Polotsk
Dnieper—Dnepr—river in U.S.S.R.
Dornbirn—in Austrian Vorarlberg, 13 km S of Bregenz
Dorogobush—Dorogobuzh—75 km ENE of Smolensk
Dresden—capital of Saxony
Drysviaty—Drisviaty—between Vilna and Dvina River
Dubrovna—W of Smolensk—75 km NNE of Mohilev on the Dnieper
Dvina—Dünau—river in Latvia
Dvinsk—Dünaburg—Daugavpils—in Lithuania
Eisleben—in Anhalt, 60 km NW of Leipzig
Elbe—river in Germany
Elhardorf?
Ellwangen on the Jagst—in Württemberg, 60 km ENE of Stuttgart
Eve—village between Kovno and Vilna
Frankenstein—in Prussian Silesia, 50 km E of Berlin
Frankfort-on-the-Oder—Frankfurt-on-the-Oder—in Posen province of Prussia
Fraustadt—in Posen province
Fürstenwalde—in Brandenburg, 50 km E of Berlin
Galicia—province, formerly part of Austrian Poland, now U.S.S.R.
Glatz—Kłodzko—Silesia, on Neisse River, 80 km S of Breslau
Gnesen—Gniezno—in Prussian Poland, 45 km E of Posen
Grodno—Byelorussian S.S.R., 150 km SW of Vilna
Grossglogau—fortress on Oder in Silesia, 60 km WNW of Breslau—also known as Glogau—Głogòw
Gshatsk—Gzhatsk—150 km WSW of Moscow
Hechingen—55 km S of Stuttgart
Hochkirch—village, now in Poland
/> Hofen—combined with Buchhorn to form Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance
Hohenberg—village, 7.5 km NW of Ellwangen
Inowrazlav—Inowrocław—between Gnesen and Thorn
Isny—80 km SE of Ulm in Bavaria
Kalisch—Kalisz—200 km WSW of Warsaw
Kaluga—175 km SWS of Moscow
Kalvaria—Kalvariya—180 km ESE of Königsberg
Kempten—60 km E of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance
Killerthal—valley of Starzel River, S of Tübingen, Württemberg
Kochanova—Kokhanovo—140 km W of Smolensk
Königsberg—Kaliningrad—capital of East Prussia, now U.S.S.R.
Kosatschisna—Karachisno—village between Vilna and Dvina River
Kovno—Kowno—Kaunas—Lithuania, its capital from 1920 to 1940
Krasnoë—30 km WSW of Smolensk
Kremlin—fortress and palace section of Moscow
Krupky—Krupki—195 km W of Smolensk
Künzelsau—35 km NE of Heilbronn, Württemberg
Labonary—Diescony?—village between Vilna and Dvina River
Lagarben—Laggarben—Lamgarben—East Prussia, S of Königsberg
Landsberg on the Warthe—Gorzòw Wielkopolske—140 km E of Berlin
Leipsic—Leipzig—major city in Saxony
Liecnize—Loshnitsa?—near Bobr
Lindau—on Lake Constance, 20 km E of Friedrichshafen
Löventin—village in East Prussia, S of Königsberg
Ludwigsburg—royal residence, 9 km N of Stuttgart
Main—river, Germany
Maliaty—N of Vilna, E of Vilkomirz
Malo Jaroslavetz—Maloiaroslavets—110 km SWS of Moscow
Marburg—in Hessen, Germany
Mariampol—Mariyampole—50 km NE of Suwałki
Marmsfeld?
Memel—Niemań—Nemunas—river in Lithuania and Byelorussian S.S.R.
Mergentheim—in Württemberg, 90 km NE of Stuttgart
Minsk—in Byelorussian S.S.R., 250 km W of Smolensk
Moldavia—province, formerly in Ottoman Empire, then Romania, now in U.S.S.R.
Molodetschno—Molodechno—100 km SE of Vilna
Moscow—Moskva—capital of Russia and U.S.S.R.
Moshaisk—Mozhaisk—Mazaik—120 km W of Moscow
Moskva—river flowing through Moscow, tributary of Oka and Volga
Narev—Narew—Narwa—river in Poland
Neeswicz—perhaps Nezvizh—SSW of Minsk
Neglinnaia—rivulet, tributary of Moskva River at the Kremlin, now covered over
Neisse—Nisa—on Klodzka River, in Silesia, now Poland
Niemen—river, see Memel
Niklawi—Mlava?—Mława?—110 km NNW of Warsaw
Nordenburg—East Prussia, 75 km SE of Königsberg
Nuremberg—Nürnberg—in Bavaria
Oder—Odra—river, now border of Poland on the west
Oehringen—20 km NE of Heilbronn
Orscha—Orsha—100 km W of Smolensk
Ortelsburg—East Prussia, 120 km SES of Königsberg
Ostrovno—village near Vitebsk
Plauen—in Saxony, 90 km SW of Leipzig
Plechnizi—Pleshchenitsy—75 km NE of Minsk, 40 km from Borissov
Plock—Plotsk—100 km WNW of Warsaw
Polotsk—Polock—on Dvina River, Byelorussian S.S.R.
Pomerania—province of Prussia, now Poland
Poniemon—Panemune—SE of Kovno on Niemen River
Posen—Poznań—midway between Berlin and Warsaw in former Prussian Poland
Prussia—kingdom
Ravensburg—20 km N of Friedrichshafen
Reichenbach—Silesia, 45 km SW of Breslau
Reppen—village in Brandenburg, 18 km E of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder
Rettstadt—5 km E of Ellwangen
Riga—capital of Lativian S.S.R.
Rosenberg—10 km NW of Ellwangen
Saale—river in Germany
St. Petersburg—Petrograd—Leningrad—captial of Russia from 1712 to 1918
Saulgau—55 km SE of Ulm in Bavaria
Saxe-Coburg—Sachsen-Koburg—former principality in Saxony
Saxe-Weimar—Sachsen-Weimar—former principality in Anhalt-Saxe
Saxony—Sachsen—formerly kingdom in Germany
Schorndorf—Württemberg, 25 km E of Stuttgart
Schweidnitz—Scheweinitz—Saxony, 65 km NE of Leipzig
Seeburg—East Prussia, SW of Königsberg
Selnia—river near Moscow
Sembin—Zembin—25 km NWN of Borissov
Semlevo—125 km NE of Smolensk
Silberberg—in Silesia, 50 km SE of Berlin
Silesia—Schlesien—province of kingdom of Prague
Slaiski—Seliche? Sedlicz?—between Minsk and Vilnius
Smolensk—capital of Byelorussian S.S.R.
Smorgoni—100 km NW of Minsk on road to Vilna
Spangenberg—S of Cassel
Stargard—in Pomerania, now Poland, 25 km ESE of Stettin
Stettin—Szczecin—on Oder, Pomerania, now Poland
Stuttgart—capital of Württemberg
Thorn—Toruń—200 km NW of Warsaw
Thuringia—Thüringen/Thuringian Forest—Thüringer Wald—mountainous district on border of Saxony
Toloczin—Tolochini—in Byelorussian S.S.R., 160 km W of Smolensk
Torgau—in Saxony, 50 km NE of Leipzig
Tyrol—Tirol—Southwestern province of Austria
Ula—Ulla—on Dvina River, 60 km W of Vitebsk
Vaihingen-on-the-Enz—22 km NW of Stuttgart
Vereia—Vereya—110 km WSW of Moscow, 20 km S of Moshaisk
Verina?
Viasma—Viazma—200 km W of Moscow
Vilkomirz—Wilkomierz—Ukmerge—75 km NW of Vilna
Vilna—Wilno—Vilno—Vilnius—capital of Lithuania
Vistula—Wisła—Weichsel—river in Poland
Vitebsk—in Byelorussian S.S.R.
Vorarlberg—mountainous massif in Western Tyrol on Swiss border
Waiblingen—10 km NE of Stuttgart
Waldenbuch—15 km SW of Stuttgart
Waldsee—35 km N of Friedrichshafen
Wangen—Württemberg, 75 km SW of Ulm
Warsaw—Warszawa—capital of Poland
Warthe—Warta—river in Germany and Poland
Weikersheim on Tauber—60 km N of Ellwangen
Weiltingen—20 km ENE of Ellwangen
Weimar—in Sachsen-Thüringen
Weingarten—monastery, 20 km N of Friedrichshafen
Werra—river in Germany
Westphalia—Westfalen—kingdom set up by Napoleon comprising several German territorial principalities
Württemberg—Württenberg—kingdom
Würzburg—in Bavaria
Wüstenroth—village, 20 km E of Heilbronn
Reading Suggestions
REFERENCE WORKS
Tulard, Jean. Bibliographie critique des ménoires sur le consulat et l’empire écrits où traduits en francais. Paris-Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1971. Most useful guide to memoir literature of the period.
———, ed. Dictionnaire Napoléon. Paris: Fayard, 1987. Most recent and up-to-date compendium, alphabetically arranged, on everything pertaining to Napoleon, his reign, wars, statecraft, and the major events of his day.
GENERAL HISTORIES OF THE PERIOD
Breunig, Charles. The Age of Revolution and Reaction 1789–1850. Vol. IV, The Norton History of Modern Europe. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970.
Gershoy, Leo. The French Revolution and Napoleon. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1955.
Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1648–1840. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964.
Seton-Watson, Hugh. The Russian Empire 1801–1917. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1967.
Thomson, David. Europe Since Napoleon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957. Has useful survey account of Napoleonic period.
NAPOLEONIC WARS AND CAM
PAIGN OF 1812
‡ Bourgogne, Adrien Jean Baptiste. Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne 1812–1813. Authorized translation with introduction by Hon. J. W. Fortescue. New York: Robert M. McBride, 1929.
‡ Brett-James, Antony, ed. 1812—Eyewitness Accounts of Napoleon’s Defeat in Russia. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1966.
‡ Caulaincourt, Armand Augustin Louis, marquis de, duc de Vicence. Memoirs. Edited by Jean Hanoteau, translation by Hamish Miles. London: Cassell, 1950.
‡ ———. General Wilson’s Journal 1812–1814. London: William Kimber, 1964.
‡ Clausewitz, Carl von. The Campaign of 1812 in Russia. Translated from the German. London: J. Murray, 1843 (reprinted: Hattiesburg, Miss.: Academic International, 1970.)
‡ Coignet, J.R. The Note-books of Captain Coignet, Soldier of the Empire. London: Greenhill Books, 1985.
Duffy, Christopher. Borodino and the War of 1812. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973.
Josselson, Michael and Diana. The Commander—A Life of Barclay de Tolly. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
† Nafziger, George F. Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1988.
† Riehn, Richard K. Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.
‡ Ségur, Paul Philippe. Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958.
Tarlé, E. V. Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia 1812. New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1942.
‡ Wilson, R. T., Sir. Narrative of Events during the Invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Retreat of the French Army 1812. London: 1860.
Woloch, Isser. The French Veteran from the Revolution to the Restoration. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1970.
And of course no one has surpassed Leo Tolstoy’s description of the atmosphere in Russia during the Napoleonic period in War and Peace.
† Most recent professional accounts of the technical aspects of the campaign of 1812.
‡ Accounts by participants.