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Die Eisfestung: Hamburg im kalten Griff Napoleons
Mit Schnee, Eis und Pferdemist macht er aus der Stadt eine feindselige Trutzburg. Im bitterkalten Winter des Jahres 1813 verbarrikadiert sich Napoleons gefürchteter Marschall Louis-Nicolas Davout mit seinen Soldaten in Hamburg. Für die Bürger der Stadt folgen erbarmungslose Monate, in denen Frost, Hunger und Seuchen sowie Angst und Hass regieren.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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July 7, 2015
Excellent semi-academic work on a episode of the Napoleonic wars that I was unaware of, at least in detail. It bases its narrative on personal diaries and letters, as well as official documentation, and those personal documents show that -- as usual -- the history that we are taught in schools is one-sided at best. It shows why Davout, in earlier years among Napoleon's best battle field commanders, kinda goes missing after the Russian campaign (and one wonders what would've happened at Waterloo had Davout been there instead of Ney).
Indirectly though, it goes even deeper than that: it shows how for a short period of time, the German bourgeoisie was in the ascendency, how it was poised to play a greater role in German politics, only then to be shattered by the Vienna Conference. I suppose that the author considered that as non-pertinent to her chosen topic, but it could be argued (and it probably has) that the Vienna Conference was at the foundations of the horrors of the twentieth century.
Because the author managed to unearth so many primary sources, and has cast these into a narrative, you are on occasions left a bit dizzy by the number of people involved, their relationships with each other; it's a bit War-and-Peacey in that respect.
Also, I would've preferred proper footnotes, or at least references to the endnotes in the main text, because this way, you really only discover them at the end, when they are of limited use. Publishers seem to think readers prefer it that way, but this reader doesn't.
Indirectly though, it goes even deeper than that: it shows how for a short period of time, the German bourgeoisie was in the ascendency, how it was poised to play a greater role in German politics, only then to be shattered by the Vienna Conference. I suppose that the author considered that as non-pertinent to her chosen topic, but it could be argued (and it probably has) that the Vienna Conference was at the foundations of the horrors of the twentieth century.
Because the author managed to unearth so many primary sources, and has cast these into a narrative, you are on occasions left a bit dizzy by the number of people involved, their relationships with each other; it's a bit War-and-Peacey in that respect.
Also, I would've preferred proper footnotes, or at least references to the endnotes in the main text, because this way, you really only discover them at the end, when they are of limited use. Publishers seem to think readers prefer it that way, but this reader doesn't.
Displaying 1 of 1 review