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La Bataille #3
The Battle, Book 3/3
Napoleon is furious. It appears the battle can no longer be won. The French cavalry is so exhausted it can't even gallop when charging. Ammunition is running out, while losses mount horrifically - both in men and in irreplaceable officers ... But the Austrians have paid an equally steep price, and a complete defeat may yet be avoided. Louis-Fran�ois, Paradis, Fayolle ... Who will survive the terrible bloodbath - the better to serve again in the next one?
68 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 3, 2022
MUST
READ
MASTERPIECE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
READ
MASTERPIECE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 17, 2024
The Battle (1-3) is a graphic novel treatment of the battle of Aspern-Hessling in 1809, based on the historical novel by Patrick Rimbaud in a 1997 novel of that title.
The art presents the massive scale of the battle, the way it tore apart towns and villages, the way men were maimed and destroyed by ordnance, and the grim inhumanity of military leaders overseeing the campaign, from the regiment officers up to Napoleon himself, “the emperor.” The team here applied a rich and complex comic art printing process, with color and shading and lineation that somehow give mere ink and paper the special effects power of a major action film.
The story is almost of necessity less interesting. It isn’t clear why we should care that Lejeune’s fiancée is being pursued by Henri Beyle. I remembered that Haydn lay dying in 1809 Vienna, and that was a fun fact to mention near the beginning, but there was no dramatic reason for it. The central and all-encompassing theme is that war yielded hundreds of thousands of brutal casualties, but Napoleon, his generals, and his enemies all considered it a game, an adventure not even about gaining wealth or territory so much as proving the superiority of this emperor or that archduke over others. To the degree that any humans should admire or stand in awe of such monstrosity, that is the degree to which we still live with the reality, the eternal possibility, of war.
The art presents the massive scale of the battle, the way it tore apart towns and villages, the way men were maimed and destroyed by ordnance, and the grim inhumanity of military leaders overseeing the campaign, from the regiment officers up to Napoleon himself, “the emperor.” The team here applied a rich and complex comic art printing process, with color and shading and lineation that somehow give mere ink and paper the special effects power of a major action film.
The story is almost of necessity less interesting. It isn’t clear why we should care that Lejeune’s fiancée is being pursued by Henri Beyle. I remembered that Haydn lay dying in 1809 Vienna, and that was a fun fact to mention near the beginning, but there was no dramatic reason for it. The central and all-encompassing theme is that war yielded hundreds of thousands of brutal casualties, but Napoleon, his generals, and his enemies all considered it a game, an adventure not even about gaining wealth or territory so much as proving the superiority of this emperor or that archduke over others. To the degree that any humans should admire or stand in awe of such monstrosity, that is the degree to which we still live with the reality, the eternal possibility, of war.
June 10, 2023
With the destruction of the bridge shown in the previous volume, Napoleon's forces are facing a full rout. The French retreat and the lead-up to the Battle of Wagram is set into motion. This volume mostly focuses on the aftermath of the battle, and while I appreciate the insight into the losses taken by the main characters, I also don't feel like I ever connected to anyone in this book. As a depiction of a lesser known historical battle, this series is pretty good. But as a comic dealing with a broader story, there could have been a bit more polish to it. Nonetheless, I do plan on reading the sequel series, Berezina, since I am completely taken by Ivan Gil's artwork.
October 14, 2021
The last installment of The Battle offers a rather quiet closure to the trilogy and I felt it was fast and something lacked. Idk, certainly it's the weakest part of the story and expected more. However the graphic novel as a whole is an entertaining and educative read.
I can't recommend this enough to any fan of graphic novels.
I can't recommend this enough to any fan of graphic novels.
May 7, 2017
Final part of the graphic novel translation of Patrick Rambaud's 'The Battle' (after The Battle - Book 1/3: Based on the novel by Patrick Rambaud and The Battle - Volume 2), which deals primarily with the close of the Battle of the title: that of Aspern-Essling, where Napoleon's forces were forced to retreat back across the Danube.
Part 1 of the trilogy thus dealt primarily with the build-up to the battle proper (including the pontoon bridges over the Danube), with part 2 then dealing mostly with the events of the Battle of Wagram, including the Austrian's destruction of the pontoon bridge.
With said bridge mostly destroyed, part 3 (this one) then deals with the retreat from Essling, ending with the approach to the (arguable more famous) Battle of Wagram.
Part 1 of the trilogy thus dealt primarily with the build-up to the battle proper (including the pontoon bridges over the Danube), with part 2 then dealing mostly with the events of the Battle of Wagram, including the Austrian's destruction of the pontoon bridge.
With said bridge mostly destroyed, part 3 (this one) then deals with the retreat from Essling, ending with the approach to the (arguable more famous) Battle of Wagram.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews