A unit in the uniforms of infantry of the Kingdom of Saxony marches over a field at Wartenburg, Germany during a re-enactment of an 1813 battle.

By Franziska Hoehnl


Two hundred years ago war was raging between Napoleon’s troops and allied armies from all over Europe. The bicentennial has been an inspiration to re-enactment enthusiasts dressed up as soldiers to meet in places like Leipzig, Germany to turn back the clock and experience the life and death struggle for themselves.
On one big day, it was as if the small town of Wartenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt had gone back in time. Tents made of white fabric and wooden poles were put up side by side.
In front of several of the tents, camp fires were burning, heating old-fashioned coffee pots and pot-bellied cauldrons.
Here life from two centuries ago was being recreated peacefully. Yet a great clash of arms was imminent.
On the roadside, cannons with wooden wheels were lined up and a marching band with pipes and drums provided the perfect soundtrack to this picture from the past.
Banners in front of the tents revealed the nationalities present — the French and their foes: the Prussians, Russians, Saxons, Austrians and Swedes.
The hundreds of hobby soldiers camped out in the recreation of a 19th-century bivouac were preparing to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, a clash that became Napoleon’s first decisive defeat and led to his abdication the following year. With over half a million troops engaged, it was the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.
At the high point of the battle re-enactment, 30,000 to 35,000 spectators were at hand on the historic battlefield south of Leipzig.
For the re-enactors, trying to live like a soldier of the Napoleonic era is an engaging hobby. They wear authentic uniforms from the period and meet up for several weekends every year in an effort to bring the past back to life.
Not only are the battles recreated but also the details of everyday life. The camp is a realistic reconstruction, complete with a hospital tent where surgical instruments are laid out. The use of electricity is banned, as are mobile phones, wrist watches and all items of modern clothing.
The uniforms are tailored for each individual — Napoleonic clothing isn’t available off the shelf after all — but standard items of equipment are distributed to the hobbyists. For example, the clunky wooden shoes worn by Yvonne Forssbohm and Diane Lange.
The two women made their white aprons themselves. When the men march off to battle the women stay behind, wrapped in animal skins, to watch over the camp. Forssbohm and Lange have been doing this for a good 10 years. What’s the appeal?
 “It’s nice to show the kids what life was like before,” says Forssbohm, 43. “And for me it’s a big, beautiful family.”
The two women are not alone. Many reenactment clubs are 40% women, estimates organiser Michel Kothe. Some women march as soldiers but most work as outfitters, medical assistants or are involved in preparing food.
Forssbohm and Lange cook for their club colleagues, an artillery unit. Food is cooked on an open fire and is generally a simple dish like soup or goulash.
The Napoleonic era is a popular one for make-believe soldiers and Kothe estimates that around 2,000 people in Germany regularly participate in reenacting the war-torn epoch. The 38-year-old has been involved himself for the past 22 years.
Other popular periods in Germany are the Middle Ages and battles between the Romans and the Germans.
In Wartenburg, Peter Mechler, wearing a red-blue Prussian uniform, stands under the tent roof of the “Prussian Field Post.” He holds a replica of an original newspaper about the Battle of Leipzig.
These publications by printers accompanying the army were the only way to inform people at home about events in the war.
A nine-man Napoleonic troop marches by, singing loudly and with rifles slung over their shoulders. “I think 200 years ago they wouldn’t have been singing so happily,” the 57-year-old Mechler says. “They knew what was coming.”
The reenactments are a multi-national endeavour and take place in a variety of European locations. For example Mechler’s troop has been in Waterloo in Belgium, the scene of Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815. There they once camped in a muddy field for a week.
 “With cow dung and constant rain,” he says.
Nevertheless they still marched. It’s a hobby that doesn’t attract whingers and complainers, he adds. The Battle of Leipzig reenactment attracted 6,000 participants from 24 nations for a three-hour battle presentation, far short of the original half a million.
Most participated as foot soldiers but 300 were on horseback — including a re-enactor playing Napoleon himself.
Somewhat surprisingly, “the individual re-enactors don’t know what exactly happened in the battle,” says organiser Kothe. Except, of course, that the French lose in the end.
Individuals receive commands from group commanders and these marching orders are then implemented. Who falls to the next enemy salvo is decided by the commander at short notice and is communicated by hand signal.
Pacifist critics question whether commemorating the event needs to be a week-long spectacle with cannon fire and dying soldiers. Should a battle which cost 90,000 lives serve as weekend entertainment?
Kothe disagrees.
He argues that what the re-enactors do is not a glorification of war but rather a living history presentation that fully shows the horror of those times. He believes that this way of presenting historical events is a way of reaching people who would never pick up a history book. – DPA