Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (1842-1904) was not only one of the most famous Russian battle artists, but also a talented writer who left memories of "At War in Asia and Europe" (1893) and historical notes about the Napoleonic campaign in Russia, which were included in this book. As the author himself writes in the preface: "Having the need to familiarize myself, for my paintings, with the personality and manner of Napoleon's actions, in 1812, I wrote out from the testimonies of eyewitnesses and contemporaries what seemed to me the most characteristic, in confidence that these notes will be interesting for society."