An Unsuitable Job for a Historian: Antoine-Henri Baron De Jomini, and his Governorship of Vilna, July–August 1812
2012; Routledge; Volume: 43; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/01629778.2012.728021
ISSN1751-7877
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics
ResumoThis article discusses the less-known pages in the biography of a renowned military historian and theoretician, A.-H. Baron de Jomini, in his post as the Military Governor of the Lithuanian city of Vilna (Vilnius) during Napoléon's ill-fated 1812 Russian Campaign. It will argue that with the help of an integral approach and ‘microhistory’, there are enough data to permit us to reconstruct Jomini's activities in the region during July and August of 1812. Analysis of documents will show that Jomini failed not only because the local population became completely uninterested in the presence of French ‘liberators’, but also because in the higher echelons of the Grande Armée commanding officers in charge were more interested in personal ambition than carrying out their assigned duties.
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