“I, Franz Seraph Bedall, with the authorization and concurrence of my dear parents enlisted for service as a volunteer into the Royal Bavarian Infantry Lifeguards Regiment on July 20th 1800, at the age of 19, and was stationed at Amberg in the Upper Palatinate.” These are the opening lines of the war diary that not only captivates the reader due to its age, but also due to its dense and meticulous account. Aside from military campaigns, battles and combat actions that have imprinted in the European memory, from Napoleon’s expedition against Russia in 1812 to the suppression of the March agitation of 1848, Franz Seraph Bedall’s diary also documents the daily life of a regular soldier and his strive for honors and advancement and comradery. The diary’s text is added to by images of medals, printed facsimile of present-day newspaper articles and pages of the diary itself as well as illustrations of poems paying homage to his officer corps. Franz Seraph Bedall manages to work his way up from a regular officer to a highly decorated major general. He personally meets Napoleon and dines with his most “supreme patron” King Max II at Nymphenburg. His records are not only an impressive read, but a very special historical document.

Bedall, Franz-Seraph: Diary, recorded since 20th July 1800 along with list of all combat, meetings and battles participated in.
ISBN: 978-3-937772-16-5, Hardcover, 248 pages with numerous images and family tree, 18,90 Euro

“The confusion knew no limits, the army dissolved and I find no words to describe the misery of the drawback. Without rest, plagued by frost and hunger, granted lodgings by no one, every single one was left to themselves. Villages were abandoned, blight and devastation everywhere and we often gathered around burning houses to escape death from exposure. In this desolate state we arrived at the Neman River during the night of December 10th. Both feet were frozen, I had no footwear anymore, and in order to continue my journey I had to wrap them in coarse canvas, tie them with cord and stagger through the deepest of snow.”