Decorated for valor by France and Poland, made one of Napoleon's inner circle, Dezydery Chlapowski's "Memoirs of a Polish Lancer" describes life at the heart of the action. A young Polish cavalry officer, he served in the trenches of Danzig in 1807 with the newly raised army of a liberated Poland. He served as an Aide de Camp for Napoleon in the Spanish Campaign of 1808 and the Danube Campaign of 1809. Napoleon granted Chlapowski the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Polish Lancers of the Imperial Guard for his outstanding performance on numerous confidential missions. Afterward, Chlapowski served in the terrible 1812 campaign and in the battles of 1813 with the outnumbered French Cavalry.
In his "Memoirs", Chlapowski wrote for the education of young Polish gentlemen and describes how to conduct a successful charge, how to make a patrol, and the various intrigues of the Imperial Househol that would force him to leave service in favor of his homeland. Illustrated.