Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne: 1812-1813 by Adrien BourgogneMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is an amazing tale of privation and arduous travel that has something akin to Sufferings in Africa: The Incredible True Story of a Shipwreck, Enslavement, and Survival on the Sahara for me. It is the story of the sergeant's travels as part of the Imperial Guard, which for much of the time meant a rear guard action out of Russia and suffering among dying stragglers nearly alone. When the remnants of Napoleon's army crossed the Berezina River in November 1812, only 27,000 effective soldiers remained; the Grand Armée had lost some 380,000 men dead and 100,000 captured. This crossing is a significant episode in the book aligned with the outline of the French invasion of Russia, but the personal tales of grim basement suffering and the sometime travelling companions of fellow soldiers is what makes this recollection alive.
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