NAPOLEON'S FINEST: Marshall Davout's 3rd Corps

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This is the first English translation of the 'Journal of Operations, 1805-1807' and includes 30+ color maps, OOBs, primary source, and commentary.

Napoleon's Grande Armee of 1805-1807 was one of history's greatest armies, and the 3rd Corps under the command of Marshal Louis Davout achieved feats of arms seldom if ever equaled in the annals of Napoleonic history. Davout's command reached its apogee of glory on 14 October 1806 at the celebrated Battle of Auerstadt. Outnumbered by more than two to one by the Prussians, Marshal Davout's superb 26,000-man corps defeated and put to flight the proud descendants of the army of Frederick the Great.

Marshal Davout's military papers, presented to the French Ministry for War in 1874 by his heirs, represent an invaluable primary source to the study of the first campaigns of Emperor Napoleon's new Grande Armee. These include the actual after-action reports filed by Davout's brigade, division, and other commanders and they detail the marches and combat these officers personally directed. They provide an amazing historical window on the campaigns in Germany and Poland.

The original book, titled Operations du 3e Corps, was published by Davout's nephew in 1896. It has never been available in the English language - until now. Our new book, the first translation of the original into English by award-winning author and historian Scott Bowden, features additional analysis, color maps, color orders of battle, officer biographies, and other material designed to supplement the original work and place it in context.