The Battle: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Riveting Rollercoaster of War
Review: For a blood and guts narrative of Napoleonic war in a simply but descriptively written style, this book tops the list. There is little doubt why Rambaud won several French literary awards for this book, it is extremely colorful, brutal, emotional and telling of what one can imagine Aspern-Essling waould truly have been for one who fought there, and many times in this tale, died there as well. This may well be the best story of Napoleonic battle I have read, as not only could I feel the pulse of battle for the common voltegieur in the front, but Rambaud also manages to take you into the mind of Lannes and the emperor himself, creating vivid characters that keep you turning the pages. Though not for the feint of heart (anyone seeking anything romantic or joyful need look elsewhere) I would fully recomend this title.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Historical Novel
Review: The French novelist Patrick Rambaud has written an excellent historical novel that is based on several eyewitness memoirs. The subject is the Battle of Aspern-Essling in May 1809, which was Napoleon's first serious battlefield defeat. Napoleon attempted the most difficult military operation of all: an opposed river-crossing against an alert and resolute enemy. A hard-fought two-day battle for the villages of Aspern-Essling resulted, exposing the fact that the emperor was not infallible and that he could make mistakes. Rambaud's version of this brutal slugging match is equally brutal. Heads are blown off by roundshot, civilians are murdered and the thousands of wounded are left to suffer in the rain and mud. Numerous soldiers, including one of the fictional enlisted soldiers, commit suicide under the stress of battle. This novel is not as good a work as Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, partly because Rambaud does not attempt to interpret what the characters were thinking. The other reason is that there are no Austrian characters; in Killer Angel's, Shaara brilliantly portrayed soldiers from both sides and their efforts to prevail over the other, but that balance is lacking here.

The characters in the battle range from Napoleon on high, to Marshals Massena and Lannes, to mid-rank soldiers and even a few enlisted soldiers, although the focus tends to stay mostly on the upper ranks. Massena is probably the most interesting figure in the novel, since his battlefield performance as Aspern was incredible. Others however, like Colonel Lejeune, a general staff officer, become tedious as he spends far too much of the novel mooning of his Austrian girlfriend in captured Vienna. Rambaud also omits or alters some key aspects of the battle. The French three-division counterattack on the second day is portrayed as a success in breaking the Austrian center when in fact, the nearly-routed Austrians were personally rallied by Archduke Charles and their center held. The French attack ran out of steam, but Rambaud's account says that the French called of the attack because their bridges over the Danube had been broken. In fact, Rambaud clearly portrays the cause of this defeat as bad luck and the rising waters of the Danube River in frustrating Napoleon's efforts to get reinforcements across the river. In reality, Napoleon's slipshod river-crossing effort and gross underestimation of the enemy were prime contributors to his defeat. The fact that the Austrian army had learned something from its earlier defeats in 1796-7, 1800 and 1805 at Napoleon's hands is not even alluded to.

The strength of this novel lies in excellent battle descriptions that convey both the desperation and futility of this action. However a weakness of the novel is the addition of minor characters and sub-plots, including a dim-witted assassination attempt on Napoleon and opera performances, that distract the reader from the battle. These minor characters and sub-plots persist to the end, but without resolution or even relevance. Nevertheless, Rambaud's novel gives an excellent "feel" for what it was like to be in a Napoleonic battle.

Rating:
Summary: Unengaging
Review: Whatever else you might say about this book, you sure can't criticize it for false advertising. As you would guess, it is about a battle, and you get that, all right. If you were expecting anything more, though, forget it.

The battle in question takes place during the Napoleanic Wars and is in fact the battle of Essling, in which the Austrian and German forces under Archduke Charles defeated the armies of Napoleon. The front-piece or maybe it is the foreward--I forget--tells us that this battle was important because it was Napoleon's first major defeat. You don't get this from the novel though; no one ever really mentions it. In fact, I didn't really get that the battle WAS a defeat for Napoleon--to me it looked more like a draw.

But then, the novel doesn't really give me an idea as to why the two were fighting in the first place. Oh sure, I know that Napoleon was a French general in the early part of the 19th century, and that he conquered much of Europe, but beyond that, I'm sorry, I'm a novice. Was this Essling adventure Napoleon's first incursion into the area, or did Charles lead an uprising of those who had already been vanquished? If the former, then maybe a draw would be a tactical victory for Charles. But I was left guessing, as the novel makes no effort to put this in a historical context.

But it's a novel, right? Who cares about historical context if there's a good story to tell! Except there's no story here either. The battle is the story, that's it. It is shown through the eyes of about a dozen Frenchmen--no Austrian perspective--most of whom are Napoleon's officers, and none of whom do we get to know at all. They appear here and there and do things, but we don't know where they're from, what they did before the war, how long they've been in the army, or any other of dozens of little things that allow a reader to get to know them. More importantly, perhaps, we don't know what motivates them. Are they zealous nationalists? Napoleon worshipers? Jaded career men? Are they sick of war or thrilled by it? Who knows?

So when the battle starts and the horrific descriptions of it begin and we see soldiers getting their legs or heads blown off and dying in field hospitals, we find it hard to care. Towards the end of the novel, Napoleon spends a dying soldier's last hour with him. Again, as we never really saw what his relationship was with Napoleon to begin with, how can we possibly be interested now when we see Napoleon is seemingly touched by his death?

Ideally, historical fiction does a service to the reader in that it entertains you while you learn things. This historical fiction does neither. You're better off picking up a history book.