In the twenty years, commonly referred to as the Napoleonic period, it was not the flamboyant uniforms of the French cavalry that made the difference on the battlefields of Europe. It was, without doubt, the infantry that interpreted the joys of revolutionary values (the spirit of the volunteers, electoral democracy in ranks, the joy of victory) and also the pains that followed (compulsory conscription, forced marches, diseases and disabilities, and finally, the defeat of Waterloo). Without claiming to be an exhaustive work, the book synthesizes all the main passages concerning the French infantry units from 1792 to 1815 and celebrates some curiosities, not always known…