George Shambre Marquis, French general of artillery. Date of Birth: 24.10.1783 Country: France

1. Biography of Georges Chambré
2. Military Service and Capture
3. The Publication of "Histoire de l'Expedition de Russie"
4. "Philosophie de la guerre"

Biography of Georges Chambré

Georges Chambré was a French artillery general and marquis who is known for his work on the history of the Napoleonic Wars. He came from an aristocratic family in Normandy and was the son of Marquis Jacques-François Chambré.

Military Service and Capture

Chambré entered military service as a lieutenant in the artillery in 1803. He later became captain of the Guard's horse artillery and participated in the Russian Campaign of 1812. However, he was captured by the Russians at the Battle of Berezina.

The Publication of "Histoire de l'Expedition de Russie"

In 1821, following the death of Napoleon, bulletins from the Grand Army and reports from French military leaders were republished. However, the majority of materials about the Russian Campaign were kept in the archives. Charles-François Victor, the Minister of War of France from 1821 to 1823 and a former marshal of Napoleon, recognized the importance of summarizing the experience of the Russian Campaign. He provided Colonel Chambré, an artillery marquis, with the opportunity to work with the documents in the Ministry of War's archives.

In 1823, the first edition of Chambré's work "Histoire de l'Expedition de Russie" was published in two volumes. Unlike previously published works on the same topic, Chambré's work relied on army records and is considered the most objective and free from various personal biases that veterans of Napoleon's campaigns inevitably introduced in their attempts to explain the destruction of the Grand Army in Russia. Chambré provides numerous figures on the size and composition of Napoleon's army in Russia at different stages of the campaign, and almost all later historians on the Napoleonic Wars refer to these numbers.

"Philosophie de la guerre"

Chambré also wrote the work "Philosophie de la guerre" (Philosophy of War) in 1827.