Letter 099 — XCIX
Original French
Le 14 juin 1807.
Mon amie, je ne t’écris qu’un mot, car je suis bien fatigué; voilà bien des jours que je bivouaque. Mes enfants ont dignement célébré l’anniversaire de la bataille de Marengo. La bataille de Friedland sera aussi célèbre et est aussi glorieuse pour mon peuple. Toute l’armée russe mise en route, 80 pièces de canon, 30 000 hommes pris ou tués, 25 généraux russes tués, blessés ou pris, la garde russe écrasée; c’est une digne sœur de Marengo, Austerlitz, Iéna. Le bulletin te dira le reste. Ma perte n’est pas considérable; j’ai manœuvré l’ennemi avec succès. Sois sans inquiétude et contente. Adieu, mon amie, je monte à cheval.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean English translated from the French of the 172 Napoleon letters selected from Tancrède Martel, ed., Œuvres littéraires de Napoléon Bonaparte, tome 1 (Albert Savine, Paris, 1888). French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The transcription is CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/; this adapted text and translations are shared under the same license. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes; selected transcription repairs were checked against print images.
June 14, 1807.
My dear friend, I write only a word, for I am very tired; I have been bivouacking for many days now. My children have fittingly celebrated the anniversary of the battle of Marengo. The battle of Friedland will be just as famous and is just as glorious for my people. The whole Russian army routed, 80 cannon, 30,000 men taken or killed, 25 Russian generals killed, wounded, or taken, the Russian Guard crushed: it is a worthy sister to Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena. The bulletin will tell you the rest. My losses are not considerable; I maneuvered successfully against the enemy. Be free from anxiety and content. Farewell, my dear friend, I am mounting my horse.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted Plain English translation from the 1888 Martel French edition, not a historical English translation. French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The adapted transcription and translation are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes and makes documented transcription repairs. French-source model review is not human specialist certification or a complete scan collation.
June 14, 1807.
My friend, I am only writing a word, as I am very tired; I have spent many days bivouacking. My children have marked the anniversary of the battle of Marengo in worthy fashion. Friedland will be no less renowned, nor any less glorious for my people. The entire Russian army has been put to flight; 80 guns, 30,000 men killed or taken prisoner, 25 Russian generals dead, wounded or captive, and the Russian Guard shattered: it is a worthy sister to Marengo, Austerlitz and Jena. You will find the rest in the bulletin. My losses are slight; my maneuvers against the enemy succeeded. Don't worry, and be happy. Goodbye, my friend; I am mounting my horse.
About this section
Letter 099 — XCIX is part of Letters to Josephine by Napoléon Bonaparte. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 99 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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