£110 - £150
RED "No.50/GRANDE-ARMEE" ON COVER FROM TORUN IN CENTRAL POLAND - EN ROUTE TO RUSSIA; Fine 24 May 1812 EL from a French soldier of the "3rd Corps d'Armee en Pologne" newly arrived in "Thorn" (Torun, Poland) to Cahors charged "11" with a mainly fine red "No.50/GRANDE-ARMEE" on the front. The very interesting contents (large part translation into English) include; "It is here that we will have our General Army Corps Depot during the Campaign... if it is to this point that we evacuate the wounded, they will be less harmed there than in other parts of Poland. The Emperor [Napoleon Bonaparte] is expected here, no doubt he will inspect us himself... we want to let the land approach to the harvest before definitely starting the war, because we fear that we will lack the means to live. We have left nothing in the countryside through which we have passed. I don't know how the unhappy peasants will manage to live...". Napoleon did duly arrive in Torun on 5 June. Cross Reference: POLAND
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