The Battle

Partrick Rambaud

The Battle of Aspern-Essling, which was the prelude to the decisive Battle of Wagram and took place on 21–22 May 1809 near Vienna, is not one of Napoleon’s most famous battles, but it did not lack intense military drama. Perhaps that is why Honoré de Balzac intended to create a novel based on it for his series The Human Comedy. However, only our contemporary was destined to realise the idea. Th e Battle is not only a meticulously detailed canvas of troop movements and bloody clashes, the captured epic spirit of the event and the everyday life of occupied Vienna, but also carefully depicted portraits of the battle participants, from marshals Lannes, Bessières, or Masséna to ordinary voltigeurs, engineers, or cuirassiers who usually remain nameless in historical scenes. A unique and fascinating novel that was deservedly awarded the Prix de Goncourt and the Grand Prix de la Académie française in 1997.