Book Review - Fighting With Napoleon's Light Infantry by Dr Neil Sanghvi

If you've seen my previous book reviews, you'll know I have a liking for reading memoires from the Napoleonic period, and particularly those from the French perspective.

Memoires suffer from the imperfections of the authors wanting to paint themselves in the best light possible, and often from faulty memories of events that often took place years before pen was put to paper. But as a first-hand account they are still immensely valuable, with details that ordinary historians writing second-hand won't pick up on.

It's fair that I declare an interest in this particular book. I am lucky enough to count the author as a friend, and he was kind enough to give me this copy of the book for free - not because he wanted a review (he didn't ask, I'm doing this because I want to !), but just as a gesture of friendship. But I'll still aim to be honest with my review !

This book is the memoires of Captain Vincent Bernard, who served in the 7eme Regiment D'Infanterie Leger (7th Light Infantry) from 1805 until 1815. Although he was referred to as a captain, the reality is that it's an honorific, gained from service later in life. For most of the Napoleonic Wars, he was in the 7eme Leger, which was an elite regiment that had an important role in numerous historic battles.

Bertrand joined the army in 1805, just in time to join his regiment for the Jena campaign of 1806. He was finally promoted to sergeant in 1812, in a carabinier company of the 7eme (the carabiniers were the equivalent of the grenadiers in the line regiments, with each battalion having four chasseur companies, one voltigeur and one carabinier company). I suspect he'd have gained the rank earlier if his exploits had only been on the field of battle !

Many of the adventures he recounts revolved around what might be called Bertrand's "extra-curricular" activities. He seems to have frequently joined marauding expeditions looking to find supplies.

While many of these were organised and approved (and notionally gave receipts for items taken to feed the army), he also seems to have joined a number of less official ones, which earned his several spells of time in the guardroom. I get the impression from the memoires that these expeditions never crossed the line into brigandry, but some came close, and definitely aroused ire and even resistance from local populations.

Bertrand's other favourite pastime was attending dances whenever the opportunity arose. Although he always describes these as civilised affairs, it's pretty obvious that reading between the lines he and his comrades were heavy womanisers. Again, the locals sometimes took issue with these rakishly dressed and glamorous young warriors taking an interest in their sisters and daughters.

A notable theme of the book is the strong contrast between the carefree party life during the height of Empire, and the descent into difficult campaigning and bitter hardship later on.

The 1809 campaign was difficult but victorious, but Bertrand's description of the 1812 campaign and Retreat from Moscow are harrowing. He was present at the Battle of Borodino, and in an assault on the Great Redoubt ended up commanding his company as every officer and more senior NCO had been killed or wounded. It was a bloodbath of a battle.

The Retreat from Moscow was a nightmare, but it's clear (even though he doesn't explicitly say it) that Bertrand's courage enabled him to keep fighting as part of the rearguard when so many had given up. The 7eme had entered Russia 3342 strong; Bertrand was one of the 192 who survived.

After the 1812 campaign came the 1813 campaign in Germany. Bertrand survived the disaster of Kulm, but was badly wounded two weeks later at Peterswald and taken prisoner.

His description of the way POW's were treated is fascinating. This was before the era of things like the Geneva Conventions. It is clear that the treatment of prisoners was entirely down to the temperament of their local captors and the civilians in the town where they were kept. Bertrand was frequently moved around at first, but once in Prague it seems that prisoners weren't closely guarded and could wander around the town if they had a permit. Medical care, however, was limited and inconsistent, and in Bertrand's case was down to the generosity of a local family he was housed with and the help of French army surgeons who had also been captured.

As a prisoner, Bertrand missed the 1814 campaign, and in 1815 was part of the garrison of Strasbourg where he was a witness to the Dalouzy incident, where a sergeant led a disciplined mutiny to ensure the troops received the pay which had been denied them.

All in all, the book is fast-paced and highly readable, giving a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary soldiers. Bertrand comes across as a very human sort of person; courageous and kind, but with a definite weakness for fine food and pretty girls and a slightly relaxed attitude towards military discipline where his stomach was concerned.

This is it's first translation into English, and the text has been turned into easily read natural English - so many translations are a bit too literal and come across as stilted or dated-feeling. The book includes copious useful notes and a chapter covering the history and organisation of the 7eme Leger.

The plates are in colour and good as background illustrations, particularly of the uniforms worn. It's a bit of a shame that there isn't an image of Bertrand himself, but it is quite possible that one just doesn't exist.

It is most definitely worth reading !

Published in 2024 by Pen & Sword Books Ltd. 207 pages with 10 plates. ISBN 1399080224