Chapter 24

Ten Interesting Battlefields to Visit

In This Chapter

bullet Finding battlefields across Europe and the Middle East

bullet Exploring the variety of activities available

I n this book, I try to point out that Napoleon is far more than the sum of his battles. Still, it’s hard not to see him in terms of his many victories (and a few defeats). For many people, standing on a field and imagining a magnificent charge of heavycuirassiers

Battlefields offer other opportunities besides the chance to imagine the events of war. They are often located near interesting cities or in beautiful countryside. They may lure you into a region or country you have not yet experienced and open the door to other enjoyments. In some cases, excellent interpretive centers or museums are close at hand. In other situations, local pubs or bistros may prove of greater interest. And for many of us, the ubiquitous gift or antique shops hold endless fascination. (My wife, Barbara, will tell you it’s a battle to keep me out of them!) In short, battlefields offer something for everyone, so I encourage you to pack your bags and enjoy.

Waterloo (Belgium)

Fairly or not, Waterloo is the battle most associated with Napoleon (see Chapter 15). The battlefield is located a short drive south of Brussels. The battle of Waterloo was fought over a fairly wide area, and visitors can drive or walk to most of it. Highlights in the area include

bullet Le Caillou, which served as Napoleon’s headquarters and is now a museum. A glass case containing the bones of a French soldier now lies where Napoleon had breakfast!

bullet The church of Saint-Joseph, which was used as an infirmary and is now a monument to the battle with almost 30 commemorative plaques.

bullet The Duke of Wellington’s headquarters, now a museum as well.

bullet Belle Alliance, used as Napoleon’s vantage point and made famous by the meeting there of Wellington and Gebhardt Lebrecht von Blücher.

bullet Hougoumont, where so many of Napoleon’s troops were tied down.

bullet La Haie-Sainte, a critical farm in the center of the British defensive position that eventually fell to the French.

bullet Mont St. Jean, used as an infirmary.

bullet The Papelotte and La Haye farms, along with the Fichermont Chateau, which anchored Wellington’s left flank and gave cover to the Prussians upon their entry to the battle.

bullet Countless small monuments and plaques located throughout the area.

A real lowlight of the visit is the Lion Mound, so called because this monstrosity has a large statue of a lion at its top. It ruins the area near the center of Wellington’s lines, where some of the fiercest fighting took place, but there may be more postcards of the Lion Mound than anything else. On the plus side, if you climb the 226 steps to the top, you get a great view. And at its base is a must-see attraction: a panorama of the battlefield.

After the battlefield, a Napoleon brand beer at the nearby pub Le Bivouac may be in order, but not until you’ve checked out the many gift shops nearby.

Incidentally, if you didn’t know better, you’d think that Napoleon won the battle. Statues of him outnumber statues of Wellington (to say nothing of Blücher) by a margin of at least ten to one.

Borodino (Russia)

There aren’t many battles where both sides can rightly claim victory, but this may be one of them. Napoleon won the field and went to Moscow, but Mikhail Kutusov kept the Russian army in one piece (see Chapter 13).

Remember

Kutusov did something else as well. He insisted that the battlefield be maintained as a monument — the first in the world to be so designated.

Visitors can see the various redoubts and fleches (defensive earthwork structures) that were part of the defenses prepared by the Russians. The major positions held by Napoleon, Kutusov, and other leaders are clearly marked, and there are interpretive markers at various locations. A monument sits on top of the Great Redoubt, and countless others are located throughout the area. Don’t miss the two monuments dedicated to the Russian and French soldiers, respectively. The museum is very well done and includes many artifacts from the battle, as well as interpretive material and a panorama with lights showing the positions of the different military units. The gift shop is outside and has limited material, but you can find some real bargains.

The drawback to Borodino is its location, which is near the small town of Mojaisk, about a two-hour drive from Moscow. Moscow offers additional sights related to the battle, including an excellent panorama, Kutusov’s hut that served as his headquarters, excellent museums, and several monuments.

Tip

Obviously, there are many fine hotels and restaurants in Moscow, but if you want to feel you’ve stepped back in time, stay at the Hotel Metropol, just off Red Square and across from the Bolshoi opera house. This 100-year-old hotel must be one of the most elegant in Europe.

Austerlitz (Czech Republic)

The Battle of Austerlitz is generally considered Napoleon’s greatest victory (see Chapter 9), and the battlefield is well worth a visit. It is located in the Czech Republic, east of the city of Brno, near the town of Slokov-Austerlitz. It’s about a two-hour drive from Prague, one of Europe’s greatest cities.

Tip

To tour this site, you need a car, as the battlefield is quite spread out. Unlike Borodino, not all of it is preserved on public land, but there is plenty to see. A real highlight is to stand on the Pratzen Heights and look out across the valley below. You can easily imagine the Russians’ surprise to see the French coming up out of the fog, as well as the delight of those same French as they poured fire down on the hapless Austrians (see Chapter 9). There is a stone cross marking where Napoleon stood when he took the heights.

You can also drive to other important battle sites, monuments, and museums. Among the more interesting things to see are

bullet The Stanton, Napoleon’s vantage point

bullet The 18th-century chateau where Napoleon stayed, now a museum

bullet The Peace Monument, located on the Pratzen Heights and constructed in the early 20th century

bullet A monument marking Kutusov’s headquarters, near where the Russians were defeated

bullet The Posoritz Post House, which first served as the Russian General Peter Bagration’s headquarters and then Napoleon’s. Here, Napoleon began the peace talks that concluded later in the city now called Pressburg

bullet A monument marking Napoleon’s headquarters on the morning of the battle, located on the Zuran Hill

You can find many accommodations in the area. I suggest the Stara Posta (the old post office) located just outside of Slokov-Austerlitz, but you can find many options in the village as well. And did I mention the antique shop?

Lodi (Italy)

The village of Lodi, (population about 40,000), dates to the Roman Empire and is very picturesque. Here, Napoleon claimed to have “found himself.” While the action in Lodi was light compared to most battles, it was significant in the young general’s development. On May 10, 1796, the French were on one side of the River Adda, and the Austrians on the other. To drive away the Austrians, the French attacked across a bridge (see Chapter 6).

The original bridge is no longer there, but much of the village looks just as it must have when General Bonaparte rode into town. It is easy to imagine the French soldiers in formation up and down the narrow streets, and if you ask the right person, you can go into the tower of the Church of the Madeleine that Napoleon used to direct the action.

Not surprisingly, there are a number of fine places to eat in Lodi, as well as an interesting church and several hotels. The city archives are full of interesting material related to the battle and subsequent French domination of the area. There is a commemorative plaque on a building just opposite the bridge, and others hang in several locations related to Napoleon’s visit.

Aspern-Essling, Lobau Island, and Wagram (Austria)

After indecisive action at the Battle of Aspern-Essling on May 21 and 22, 1809, Napoleon withdrew to Lobau Island. On July 5 and 6, 1809, he broke out of the island and gained a great victory against the Austrians on essentially the same ground as the earlier battle, leading to their signing an armistice shortly thereafter (see Chapter 10).

At Aspern, you can see the 17th-century church used by Marshal André Masséna as an observation point. A commemorative plaque hangs there, and other monuments are nearby. In the villages of Aspern and Essling, you can see many buildings that were standing in 1809, and many of the battle sites are as open now as they were then.

The Island of Lobau has numerous walking paths, some with informational placards, and a small museum of the battle.

The battlefield of Wagram is quite spread out; you could easily spend more than one day seeing it. Numerous buildings from the time of the battle are still standing, and each one seems to have its own commemorative plaque. There are numerous monuments to soldiers and generals of both sides, some of which designate the precise location of various actions that took place.

Arcola (Italy)

Legend

Located a few miles southeast of Verona, Italy, the bridge at Arcola has entered the highest ranks of the Napoleonic legend. On November 15, 1796, Napoleon, seeing that his men were not advancing, grabbed a battle flag and led them across the bridge (see Chapter 6). For his effort, he accidentally was pushed into the river and had to be dragged out. But his bravery, and that of other generals, carried the day. Countless prints and other images promote this example of his early heroism.

The original bridge is gone, but its replacement is on pretty much the same spot. Near one end of the bridge, an obelisk erected in 1810 commemorates the event. In the town, a small chapel serves as a museum to the action.

Acre/Jaffa (Israel)

Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and the Holy Land (see Chapter 7) captures the imagination as much as any of his European adventures. Monuments and plaques are scattered throughout the region, but my favorite is the area around Jaffa and Acre (Yafo and Akko in Hebrew).

Jaffa has no battlefield to visit, but you can see the hospital where, in 1799, Napoleon visited his soldiers who had the plague. Just down the road at Acre, you can see the original walls of the town. Napoleon laid siege to the town from March 21 to May 20, 1799 but never took the city.

Thanks to the efforts of the Israeli Society for Napoleonic Research, there are numerous explanatory guideposts in key locations.

Eylau (Russia)

Also sometimes referred to as Prussian-Eylau, this battlefield of February 7 and 8, 1807 is located in and around the 14th-century town of Bagrationovsk in the area of Russia known as Kaliningrad. It is not the easiest place to get to, but the effort is worthwhile. In the town, there is a large statue of Russian General Peter Bagration. A fine museum sits nearby, as well as a cemetery that features a touching tribute to the unknown French and Russian soldiers buried there.

The various fields of battle are all around. Most notable is the church that served as Napoleon’s headquarters and the grounds by the church where he was almost captured (see Chapter 10). The church survived by being converted into a refrigerator factory, and the original bishop’s house is there as well. Just down the street, you can see the large open field where several major cavalry charges took place. Just outside of town near the Polish border, a large monument (erected in 1857) commemorates the battle and has bas relief busts of some of the generals. Some of the battlefield is located in neighboring Poland, but I advise you not to stray close to the border.

Friedland (Russia)

If you’ve made it to Eylau, then by all means go about 25 kilometers east to the town of Pravdinsk to see the battlefield of Friedland. This battle, which took place on June 14, 1807, was one of Napoleon’s better victories (see Chapter 10). In the village, you can see a small museum, several monuments, and the house where Napoleon stayed. The best way to see the battlefield is to arrange to see it as Napoleon did, from the steeple of the local church. There, armed with a map, you can follow virtually all of the action.

Tip

There are no hotels in either small village, and few of the residents speak English. The Kaliningrad Hotel in the city of Kaliningrad offers decent accommodations and at least some English-speaking staff. Inquire there about getting a car, driver, and translator for what would be a full day trip to see these two sites, which are over an hour’s drive from Kaliningrad.

Marengo (Italy)

Few battles have a greater role in the legend of Napoleon than that of Marengo, fought in Italy on June 14, 1800 (see Chapter 6). The site is located just outside the delightful village of Alessandria, about 80 kilometers east of Turin. There are plenty of excellent places to stay and to eat and a few plaques related to the battle.

As you enter Marengo, visit the chateau located at the edge of town. There you will find a large statue of First Consul Bonaparte in the front yard. Notice the trompe-l’oeil (“fool the eye”) façade of the building, which houses a nice museum. In the back, in a small park, is a fine statue of General Louis Charles Desaix, the real hero of the battle, who was fatally wounded in the action. Across the street is a column with an eagle commemorating the battle.

The battlefield is still largely open farmland, but little has been done to mark the area for tourists. A short drive from the column, toward Tortona, you find the farm that served as Napoleon’s headquarters, complete with the mandatory commemorative plaque and, in this case, some cats that locals insist descended from some that were present for the battle!