With Napoleon's Polish Legion, Book 1

In Spain 1808-1812

By: Heinrich von Brandt, Seth Nemec - translator

Narrated by: Seth Nemec

The vivid memoirs of Heinrich von Brandt, a young law student swept up in Napoleon's reshaping of Europe and dispatched to Spain with the Vistula Legion of the newly formed Duchy of Warsaw. Brandt becomes an officer of the voltigeurs, light infantry who were used to skirmish, patrol, screen battlefield movements, and engage the guerrilla insurgency. He fought battles at Tudela, Santa Maria, and Valencia, as well as sieges at Zaragoza and Tortosa, and participated in numerous smaller engagements, earning the French Légion d’honneur and the Polish Order of Virtuti Militari.

Brandt falls in love with a nun, fights a duel, and questions the Polish involvement in Spain. Wounded numerous times, including being shot in the head, requiring trepanation, he narrates his trials with poignancy and a dry sense of humor. The result is a soldier’s coming-of-age story set against the upheaval of the Napoleonic Wars.

Heinrich von Brandt (1789-1868) was a Prussian general and military writer. On his death, according to his wishes, his eldest son collected and edited his diaries and notes. These memoirs, titled Aus dem Leben des Generals der Infanterie z.D. Dr. Heinrich von Brandt, were published in German from 1868-1882. In an effort to bring to English for the first time the original words of Brandt’s experience in Spain, we have undertaken the translation of his 1868 text. With Napoleon’s Polish Legion. Book I: In Spain 1808-1812 covers Brandt's time in Spain. Book II covers the campaign in Russia.

©2025 Seth Nemec (P)2025 Seth Nemec