The French general and historian Philippe-Paul, Comte de Ségur (1780–1873) served as a member of Napoleon's personal staff during the Russian campaign. He had joined the cavalry in 1800 and had distinguished himself during earlier episodes of the European war; this led to him being chosen for several diplomatic missions. His two-volume account of the invasion of Russia, first published in French in 1824, has been through many editions and has been translated into many languages. It is both a military history and an eyewitness account. This English translation was first published in 1825 and remains immensely valuable to historians' understanding of Napoleon's ultimately disastrous Russian strategy. Volume 1 covers the invasion and the advance on Moscow. Volume 2 covers the arrival of the French army at a deserted Moscow, details the conditions endured and the lives lost in the course of the retreat.