A manuscript eye-witness account of the War of the Sixth Coalition, featuring detailed descriptions of the French defense of Spandau Citadel and Würzburg during 1813-1814, authored by Dutch military engineer D.L. de la Rochette (1779-1856), who served as a Captain in the French army.
 
During the war with France, Spandau Citadel, near Berlin, surrendered to the French on October 25, 1806. It remained in French hands until Prussian troops laid siege to the citadel during the War of the Sixth Coalition.
 
The Prussians struck the powder magazine of the Queen Bastion with an artillery shot, causing a massive explosion that severely damaged one of the walls. On April 26, 1813, the citadel was handed over to the Prussian general August von Thümen.
 
These events are recounted in this detailed and lively manuscript. It begins with De La Rochette receiving orders in Willemstad on January 12, 1813, to join French General Haxo in Berlin. From Berlin, De La Rochette was ordered to help fortify and defend Spandau Citadel.
 
As the author notes, the military equipment of the French was so poor that they used logs, painted to look like cannons, to scare the enemy. After the powder magazine exploded, during which Lieutenant Boitaird lost his legs, the French tried to hold the citadel for a few days but eventually signed an agreement with the Prussians.
 
After the Prussians retook the citadel, they allowed the French free passage. De la Rochette travelled to southwestern Germany. He visited Würzburg, then still under French control, where he helped defend the city. In August, he met Emperor Napoleon, who made a huge impression on him:
 
"Het was alsof een stem ons zeide: deze mens is door geen ramp te overwinnen." ("It was as if a voice spoke to us: this man cannot be conquered by any disaster."; f. 11)
 
However, in early May 1814, the French were forced to give up Würzburg as well (and were eventually driven out of Germany). De la Rochette requested discharge from French service, which was granted, and on June 1, 1814, he returned to the Netherlands.
 
The two pen and ink drawings, with blue and brown washes, show a plan of Spandau Citadel, and the heavily damaged Bastion Queen.
 
In 1842, the manuscript, without the two drawings, was published in the military journal De militaire spectator, with a short introduction by the editor. In the magazine the text is signed "D.L. d.l.R.": the initials of military engineer D.L. de la Rochette.
 
In the late 18th and early 19th century his name was featured in the so-called Offciersboekjes. In 1797, he published a Dutch translation of F.W. de Gaudi’s Instructions adressée aux officiers d'infanterie, titled Handleiding voor de Officieren der Infanterie, zo van de Staande Armee, als van de gewapende Burgermacht. On May 12, 1823, he was awarded the Military Order of William (Dutch: Militaire Willems-Orde), the oldest and highest honor of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.