Yermolov is a legend in Russia. A man who rose from obscurity to command armies and conquer provinces, he was the epitome of a military man of action. To his enemies he was a byword for brutality, but, to his homeland, a hero. His memoirs are as dramatic as his rise to fame and fortune. Disgraced and exiled by Emperor Paul he was brought back into service only to witness Russian defeat at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Honoured and advanced by his new patron, the dashing Emperor Alexander, Yermolov then made rapid progress. He witnessed firsthand Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and went on to see revenge completed when the Russians marched into Paris in April 1814. Yermolov was a talented general who captured the spirit of his times in his engaging memoirs. His acidic wit, acute powers of observation and grasp of drama make his memoirs stand out as a unique source on the Napoleonic Wars.