"Few military epics rival the fascination of Napoleon's 1812 campaign. More than a third of a million men of his central army set out on that midsummer day of 1812. None can have imagined the terrors and hardships in store for them; that they would be lured all the way to Moscow without having achieved the decisive battle Napoleon sought; and that only one hundred thousand of them would reach this city. One of the greatest disasters of military history was in the making." -- From the book jacket.

List of maps : Strength of the army ; Russia ; Smolensk to Moscow ; Battle of Borodino ; Smolensko & Valteuna.

Overture to 1812 -- The rape of Poland -- Midsummer at the Niemen -- 'Get into Vilna!' -- With the advancing columns -- First clashes -- Battle at Ostrowno -- What Fézensac heard on mission -- An army vanishes -- Worries at Witebsk -- The great manoeuvre -- The Walls of Smolensk -- Smolensk : the first shock -- Death in the Sacred Valley -- Stragglers and prisoners -- Dust, heat and thirst -- The gathering storm -- The mouths of the guns -- Holocaust at Borodino -- The butcher's bill -- The last lap -- 'Moscow! Moscow!'