Men want to be him, women want to be with him

No, not James Bond, but Antoine-Charles-Louis Lasalle!

 

Second-hand delights, newly arrived from Librarie Le Vieux Livre: biography of Lasalle, Tranie's first and second Italian campaigns and two, bonus, issues of Soldats Napoléoniens.

Since late 2019, my purchases have been directed (in the main) at 'resource gathering' for a structured approach to my self-paced reading-wargaming 'study' of the Napoleonic wars (and some other, specific conflicts). My planning moves to implementation this year with the quasquibicentennial—a made-up, latin-derived word for the 225th anniversary—of the 1796 Italian campaign. The long-term plan being to move through 1797–1815 over the next 14 years, switching to the 'vigbicentennial' (220th) from 1805. (So, a clear gamble on longevity!).

I have quite a few books and e-books (pdf files) about Napoleon's first Italian campaign. I was made aware of a book about the campaign by Tranie and Carmigniani by a marvellous write-up of the Battle of Voltri by Michael, aka Wargamerabbit, circa 2012 (along with the resultant game, one of many that he did of battles from the early stages of the Italian campaign). I already have Tranie and Carmigniani's books of the 1805/07 and 1809 campaigns, so was keen to try to find a copy. After a few searches I 'unearthed' a copy at Librarie Le Vieux Livre and got in contact with the proprietor (whom I now know as Luc). In the process I also found that he had Tranie's book about the second Italian campaign. Then I noticed Hourtoulle's biography of Lasalle in his on-line catalogue.

I have been keeping my eye out for a copy of this biography, ever since I saw it mentioned in Hourtoulle, Girbal and Courcelle's "Soldiers and Uniforms of Napoleonic Wars". If you do not have a copy of their book, published by Histoire et Collections and available in English 'from a good book store near you', do yourself a favour! Amongst the glorious illustrations are several of Lasalle (and troops) in Italy, Egypt, Germany, Poland, Spain and, finally, at Wagram. I realise now that these were taken from Hourtoulle and Girbal's biography of the beau sabreur.

I am in a long line of admirers of Lasalle, the 'hussar's hussar'. Famous for his dering-do, bravado, bravery and supposed casual attitude to death. He was, by all accounts a fine, upstanding family man, if one discounts the mistresses. Of course, by the standards of the day, having mistresses did not affect one's association with such an epithet, especially for a military man and extra-especially a light cavalryman.

Hourtoulle begins the book with the famous quote attributed to Lasalle:

Tout hussard qui n'est pas mort à trent ans et un jean-foutre 

Which can be translated as:
"Any hussar who is not dead by the age of 30 is a good-for-nothing"

I have seen the 'jean foutre' in this quote translated as 'malingerer' or 'blackguard', but I am sure that one of our French bloggers will be able to provide a more colourful translation!

This book only arrived today, but on first impressions I am not going to be disappointed. Along with Girbal's beautiful colour plates, there are several black and white drawings, photos of letters, many clear maps and some general orders of battle. The first chapter 'Les origines' is followed by a chapter for each of the campaigns in which Lasalle was involved. I look forward to reading it and to thumbing through it often.

Change in weather brings more opportunities for painting and basing

We had a big change in the weather last week, after many 35ºC+ days in November, December and January, plenty of them 40ºC plus. A cyclone that began off the coast of Broome, threatened but never made land-fall, instead turning into a tropical low. So, while, unfortunately, a large fire was the order of the day just west-north-west of us (which headed close to the north eastern outskirts of Perth, destroying bush, houses and buildings in its wake), the Pilbara coastal areas have been flooded. The low continued down the coast, drawing air from the south which has headed our way, so it has turned freezing. I am talking sub-30ºC, some days barely over 20ºC and minima as low as 11ºC. I threatened to light the fire. This is, of course, all a bit cheeky for northerners in the depths of winter. You can get me back in July. Besides, I thought that the sight of a blue sky in the photo below would cheer you all up.

Pelican's at the permanent pool a little way from us. At this time of year we often walk our dogs along the river bed to this spot. After the rain, the water is looking particularly lovely, not the 'bog of eternal stench' that it can be after hot days. The photo is a bit blurry as I did not want to get any closer and scare them off.

Anyway, while I have done some painting over early summer, the cooler conditions have made it easier to do so. It is especially good not to have to struggle with moths and Rutherglen bugs being attracted by the light! We are forecast to return to mid to high 30s from the weekend, which I love, but it may slow down progress with painting and related activities.

List of books mentioned above

Burgaleta, P (Ed.) (2008) Soldats Napoleoniens: Les troupes françaises, alliées et coalisées: L’Espagne en 1808 (1er partie) Numero 18 - Juin 2008. 'Soldats Napoleoniens' Series (Ed. R Pawly). Éditions de la Revue Napéon, Chaparon, France. 80 pp.

Burgaleta, P (Ed.) (2008) Soldats Napoleoniens: Les troupes françaises, alliées et coalisées: L’Espagne en 1808 (2e partie) Numero 20 - Décembre 2008. 'Soldats Napoleoniens' Series (Ed. R Pawly). Éditions de la Revue Napéon, Chaparon, France. 80 pp.

Hourtoulle, F-G and Girbal, J (1979) Le Général Comte Charles Lasalle, 1775-1809. Copernic, Paris, France. 260 pp.

Hourtoulle, F-G, Girbal, J and Courcelle, P (2004) Soldiers and Uniforms of Napoleonic Wars. Translated by A McKay. Histoire & Collections, Paris, France. 208 pp.

Tranie, J and Carmigniani, JC (1990) Napoléon Bonaparte, 1ère Campagne d'Italie. Éditions Pygmalion, Paris. 265 pp.

Tranie, J and Carmigniani, JC (1991) Napoléon Bonaparte : la deuxième campagne d'Italie, 1800. Éditions Pygmalion, Paris. 266 pp.