Published on the occasion of Monacophil 2022
882 pp. - colour ill. - cloth-bound with gold inscriptions and colour cover - printed 2022
French and English text

This book traces the military career of the young Bonaparte from the siege of Toulon, where he received his first command to face the enemy, to the fall of the Emperor Napoleon at Waterloo, including Bonaparte successively as General Commander of various armies and then as First Consul.

Each campaign, each battle, is described with an unusual care for accuracy. Through many examples of letters, from Napoleon's correspondence in which he gives precise orders for the day-to-day running of his Empire, to those sent by soldiers in the field, the author lets us see the often very raw reality of what a battle was like in the Napoleonic Era.
All the armies in which he served or he commanded have been put into their historical context, illustrated with documents and letters from soldiers, with their contents, often full of historical information or anecdotes, which help us to understand the life of soldiers, their hopes and their fears.

However, it is not a mere work on history: it is a landmark study of all the postmarks used during the different campaigns over the years of the Consulat and the Empire. Using many tables, all the postmarks are listed, each with it's period of use.
In addition, some themes closely linked to the armies are covered such as prisoners of war, the conquered departments resulting from military victories, letters of "cantinières" as well as other topics.

Through this captivating story we see how a single man can, in a relatively short period in history, lead an entire population to the glory of ruling a large part of Europe, subsequently dragging it to it downfall.