The Memoirs of Baron de Marbot - Late Lieutenant General in the French Army. Vol. I

Mémoires du général baron de Marbot #1

by Jean-Baptiste de Marbot, Arthur John Butler (Translator), Pickle Partners Publishing (Contributor)

Perhaps the most famous of all Napoleonic memoirs to be written in any language are those written by Marbot. They stand in a league of their own. Napoleon, himself left a donation of 100,000 to him, for his refutation of General Rogniat's work - to quote Napoleon's will "I recommend him to continue to write in defense of the glory of the French armies, and to confound their calumniators and apostates." So entertaining and full of vivid details that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fictionalized them into his adventures of Brigadier Gerard. In this the first volume of his translated memoirs, it covers his early childhood, born into a military family, to his first steps on the military ladder as a hussar in the 1e Regiment de Hussards (ex-Bercheny). His dash and leadership lead to a commission and appointments on the staff of Generals Augereau and Massena. He writes poignantly of his fathers death at the siege of Genoa (1800) and the privations suffered in the city by the defenders and the inhabitants alike. His career takes him to the battles of Austerlitz, Friedland, Eylau and Aspern-Essling. His narrative is full of anecdotes and vignettes of the great and the good of the Consulate and Empire, he portrays himself in the midst of such luminaries as the Emperor, his Marshals and Generals. Contains portrait of de Marbot from 1812 as a colonel of 23e Hussards, and maps illustrating the 1805, 1806 and 1809 battles.

Genres: History, Biography Memoir

478 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2001

About the author

Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcellin de Marbot

City of Birth: La Riviere, France
City of Death: Paris, France

French soldier. Served as general under Napoleon during the Hundred Days.

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

_The Memoirs of General Baron de Marbot_ (vol. 1) were something I approached with a small amount of trepidation. There was a fairly good chance that these remembrances of an old Napoleonic soldier from the Grande Armée might be dry as dust, but they are actually quite entertaining. Marbot is a charming raconteur and it is easy to believe that Arthur Conan Doyle used this book as one of his primary sources when writing his equally charming adventures of the Brigadier Etienne Gerard. Some have seen Marbot himself as the inspiration for Doyle’s Brigadier Gerard, but while the General is certainly not averse to blowing his own horn when the occasion permits (even to the point of allowing himself to second guess Napoleon with the wisdom of hindsight) he seems to me an altogether more mindful figure than Gerard. I think, though, that his very first mentor might as well be Gerard himself and I’m sure his description tickled Doyle’s imagination: "This example of the old type of Hussar was a rowdy, quarrelsome, swashbuckling, tippler, but also brave to the point of foolhardiness; for the rest, he was completely ignorant of anything that was not connected with his horse, his arms and his duties in the face of the enemy."

We begin with a quick glimpse into Marbot’s early life and education, his memories of an idyllic childhood, and his attachment to his father, a French general whose example did much to inspire Marbot in his own military pursuits. Both were actually present at the seige of Genoa where Marbot’s father died under the horrific circumstances of famine which the defending soldiers and townsfolk experienced. Indeed I was a little surprised to see that Marbot’s descriptions of his military experiences were not all simply the glorious memories of a swashbuckling soldier coloured with splendour by the misty glow of hindsight. After the siege of Genoa Marbot was forced to convalesce as he experienced something akin to shellshock and

…fell into a state of sombre melancholy, and [his] health
deteriorated. [He] had suffered so much, physically and mentally! [He]
became incapable of doing any work.

After recovering and returning to active duty Marbot rose quickly through the ranks and was aide-de-camp for many of Napoleon’s greatest generals, thus giving him an intimate view of the actions and decisions and the power brokers of the day. This has resulted in more than a few amusing anecdotes, such as the story of the body of General Morland, killed in battle on the Pratzen heights, which was supposedly preserved in a cask of rum in order that Napoleon might inter it in a mausoleum to be built on the Esplanade des Invalides. It appears that the mausoleum was never built and the general’s body was still in a room in the school of medicine when Napoleon lost his empire in 1814. So much for the glory of the dead. Or again the classic tale of intrigue revolving around M. de Czernicheff, a Russian colonel and intimate of the Czar who according to Marbot was “Handsome, courteous, likeable, highly deceitful and exquisitely polite…” and used his political connections to gain access to the French court at which point he beguiled a clerk of the Ministry for War to sell him secrets. He was not apprehended, being warned by a lover of Napoleon’s suspicion, leaving the poor clerk to be shot by a firing squad.

Marbot is also not averse to pointing out the failings of his superiors. He notes with disdain the attitude of a foppish general who disbelieved Marbot’s scouting report of a sizeable Russian force ahead of them and instead decided to continue his luncheon and then barrel ahead with no regard for what he had been told lies beyond the nearby forest, much to his eventual chagrin. He will, at times, even go so far as to question the wisdom of some of the decisions of the Emperor himself, attributing hubris to some of his more fatal decisions, despite his obvious love for his commander.

All in all this was an entertaining read as it not only gave me some grounding in an era of history with which I was not previously much familiar, but a pleasurable one as well as it was seen through the eyes of one who had lived through it and was not afraid to give his opinions and let slip a few anecdotes that gave colour to his tale.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was both historically interesting and entertaining at the same time. As with any memoirs, accuracy is never assured and opinions are heavily emphasized. Marbot is no different, as his memories are not always correct in details but certainly make up for that with some good old fashioned puffery and boasting.

The tales provided give a real glimpse into the personal lives of a French officer, and of the politics and dramas that truly engulfed their everyday lives. I am certain that much of this is indeed accurate, and this aligns well with other period memoirs.

What really sets this book aside for me is the quality of the writing. You can actually feel excitement as Marbot relates tales of his bravery and leadership, even knowing that the precise details given are probably more fancy than fact. He was no doubt a brave soldier and his many wounds do give some credence to the exciting stories he relates so eloquently. There is no doubt about his presence at many important battles as well, so his personal views of these affairs is extremely enlightening and valuable.

I would grade this as a 4 Star, with a half star bonus for being so well written and enjoyable. 4.5 Stars with a roundup for making me so happy to have read it. If you like the Napoleonic period, this series of books should be on your reading list. You will not regret it.

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is among the best of all memoirs. Of course it is highly subjective, but that is the nature of a memoir as opposed to a theoretically objective history. Many commentators or reviewers comment on the inaccuracies or even falsities in the work, but I have yet to find anyone proving outright lies, merely the faulty memory of time when events either coalesce or confuse (which happens to us all), or the perspective of a participant coloured by the natural biases of relationship and self perception.

All this give three factors to justify my high rating and comment on its implications. Firstly there is this relative perspective. Marbot presents rather a rose tinted view of affairs. He is of noble and high military stock himself, and served mostly in close association with the top of the military hierarchy; thus he is cushioned and less acquainted with the suffering, deprivation, cruelty of the times. He is also more oriented to glory and honour than to mere survival. Therefore we don't get the whole story from this memoir any more than any give us, but we do have a truly valuable story from the perspective of youthful invincibility.

Secondly Marbot does give us a lot of history as he explains how he saw events and persons performing. Naturally his history is tilted, however it really does give a huge sweeping narrative of the whole Napoleonic experience. So many crucial events are covered both in battles, sieges and political considerations. Marbot surely is a crucial primary source for the period and I wonder myself how much background a reader needs to get the most out of this work, or whether it itself is an introductory history intact? Of course I'd love to see someone prove Marbot couldn't even have been present in one of these events thus discounting the history, but as I say, I've yet to see this anywhere.

Lastly a good memoir should be entertaining with plenty of insightful anecdotes and personal experiences. Marbot is above all both exciting and amusing. No doubt there is a story teller's exaggeration and selectivity in play, but Marbot is storyteller par excellence!

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding account of the Napoleonic Wars