Reddit reviews The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier: A Unique Eyewitness Account of the Face of Battle from Inside the Ranks of Bonaparte's Grand Army

The Diary of A Napoleonic Foot Soldier is probably the best first hand account I know. The tales of unimaginable cold and human suffering (and survival) are amazing. If I recall, it was common for soldiers to sleep inside dead horses when they found them. http://www.amazon.com/The-Diary-Napoleonic-Foot-Soldier/dp/0140165592

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet, so "Diary of a Napoleonic foot Soldier": ->

This is, as the name suggests, a book written by a German who participated in the French attack.

It's not well known, but in many cases Napoleon's armies consisted of soldiers from the various countries he'd either allied with or conquered. In this case, the author (Jakob Walter): -> was a German who served in Napoleon's "Grande Armee". He survived the campaign and devastating retreat and left on one of the few contemporary accounts of what it was to serve as a soldier in the Napoleonic wars.

Highly recommended...

Edit: Fixed tpyo..

Diary of a Napoleonic Footsoldier is interesting, but more about the years following the French Revolution.