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M. de la Colonie
It is reasonable to suppose that this work has been overlooked, at all events in this country; the translation now offers it in the hope that it may be found worthy to be included as an addition to the material bearing upon the war of the Spanish succession. The memoirs were originally published in 1737, and more than one edition appeared at Brussels and Utrecht between that year and 1748, and there are probably now many general readers, besides expert soldiers, who will appreciate an old soldier's account of his personal experiences in the campaigns of France against those distinguished brothers-in-arms, Marlborough and Eugene, and in Prince Eugene's defeat of the last Turkish effort to invade Europe proper at Belgrade. M. de la Colonie, a French dragoon officer, was seconded for service with the Bavarian army to organise the regiment formed from roving French soldiers and deserters of the same nation from the Imperial service. He throws a picturesque light, not only upon the details of military life and the conditions of war of two hundred years ago, but on the social and political condition of the countries to which his varied service led him, and his southern origin seems to exhibit itself in his narrative and the energy with which he carried out his duty. The soldier will find many an incident recalling his own work of to-day, while the first-hand descriptions of the old-time sieges give us real pictures of a departed phase in the science of war. From the preface by Walter C. Horsley
Published by John Murray, London 1904 Text and Illustration © 1904 John Murray |
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