In Delderfield's book, The Retreat from Moscow (See Bibliography), Napoleon's headquarters are described as a place "where a curious lassitude, so uncharacteristic of Napoleon in action, continued to clog the workings of the Imperial brain."
During the campaign, Napoleon's health deteriorated "to a degree that clouded his judgement." He was suffering from dysuria and a dry cough and loss of voice. His personal physician, Mestivier, described Napoleon as having a "persistant dry cough, difficult irregular breathing, his urine came only in drops and with pain and was thick with sediment." In addition, "his legs and feet were oedematous, the pulse febrile in type and intermittent every twelve beats or so," and there were indications of oedema of the chest and fevers. (Delderfield p. 62) (See Bibliography)
Following Borodino, Napoleon continued to have throat and cough problems, leaving him speechless, His urinary problems also continued throughout the campaign.
Submitted for LIS 385T by Kathy Scott, October 1996
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