"Austerlitz or Death" is an epic historical novel by Auguste Vallois, a captain of the Imperial Guard who recounts his memories from the battlefields of Europe to the solitude of inner exile.
From his revolutionary youth in Lyon to the Egyptian campaign, the victories in Italy, the glory at Austerlitz, the frozen hell of Russia, and the final tragedy at Waterloo, Auguste tells the story of the Napoleonic Empire in first person and with painful clarity—not from the pages of history books, but from the blood, mud, and soul of those who built it… and watched it fall.
Through these pages, the reader will march alongside a man who lost everything but his honor. You will witness how a soldier is forged, how faith fades, how a sword is held even on broken knees. Each chapter is filled with emotion, introspection, fire, and silence. Every victory bears the taste of sacrifice, and every defeat, the dignity of those who never surrendered.
Vallois's prose is both elegant and raw, intimate and epic, heir to the great traditions of war and memory literature such as All Quiet on the Western Front or The Disasters of War. This is not the official history of Napoleon, nor the tale of grand strategists. It is the story of the anonymous men who believed in something greater than themselves… and paid the price.
A novel that masterfully blends epic military drama, psychological depth, and historical tragedy. Ideal for readers of war literature, historical fiction, soldier memoirs, or explorations of the human condition in times of crisis.
"I served the Emperor. And I do not regret it."
— Auguste Vallois