With Napoleon in Russia cover

With Napoleon in Russia

by Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt duc de Vicence

"In 1807, Napoleon had sent him as an ambassador to St. Petersburg, where Caulaincourt tried to maintain the alliance of Tilsit. His tasks were more those of a spy than an ambassador, and although Napoleon's ambition made the task a difficult one, Caulaincourt succeeded in it for some years. In 1810, Caulaincourt strongly advised Napoleon to renounce his proposed expedition to Russia. During the war he accompanied the emperor and was one of those whom Napoleon took along with him when he suddenly left his army in Poland to return to Paris in December 1812. At the beginning of 1813, following the death of general Duroc, Caulaincourt took up the position of Grand Marshal of the Palace. He was charged with all diplomatic negotiations and signed the armistice of Pleswitz, June 1813, represented France at the congress of Prague in August 1813, and at the Treaty of Fontainebleau on 10 April 1814. During the first Bourbon Restoration, Caulaincourt lived in obscure retirement. When Napoleon returned from Elba (the Hundred Days), he became his minister of foreign affairs, and tried to persuade Europe of the emperor's peaceful intentions. After the second Restoration, Caulaincourt's name was on the list of those proscribed, but it was erased on the personal intervention of Alexander I with Louis XVIII. Caulaincourt's famous memoir, "With Napoleon in Russia" was lost for years and finally unearthed after World War I. Many years of restoration followed and it was finally published for the first time in 1933."--Wikipedia.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?