The Practice of Military History in France from 1989 to 1992

The practice of military history in France from 1989 to 1992

The period involved corresponds to the one covered in volume XIV of the Bibliographie internationale d'histoire militaire, (International Bibliography of Military History). To make the introductory text easier to read the lists of publications, lectures, conferences etc. have been placed in the appendices. These lists are not exhaustive.

RESEARCH

The research tools and the published texts which assist research and often shape it are produced by the Archives Nationales (National Archives) and the Archives of the Departements (Tr: approximately equivalent to counties), the Archives of Ministere des Affaires etrangeres (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Archives of the three historic services: the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.

LES ARCHIVES NATIONALES (The National Archives) To complete the Etat general des fonds (General Guide to Archival Collec- tions)', an Etat general des inventaires, (General Guide to Inventories) has been published, which presents «a complete picture of all the documentary resources in the Archives nationales ». Volume II, published in 1991 z, covers the French Revolution, the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War. The description of the holdings is preceded by a general bibliographic guide to the period 1789-1940 (p. 20)3. The inventory of the Rapports du ministre de la guerre de 1'an VIII a 1814 (Reports of the Minister of War from the Year VIII to 1814)4 - the reports are lYanslator's general note This text is, to a large extent, a series of references to archives and publications in France, and for that reason it appears necessary to retain the original titles of institutions, collections and publications. For that reason the French titles have been kept in the English translation, followed, however, on their first occurrence, by a translation in brackets (). In order to maintain reasonnable consistency this practice has been followed even in cases when an institution (e.g. le Ministere des Affaires étrangères) has an obvious English translation. The original titles of books and theses have as a rule been italici-zed. Translations of titles sometimes present difficulties, since the content of the work in question is unknown. The translation of De la doctrine au combat: ddgradation et redressement has been selected by the translator in consultation with the Terminology Section of the DND Translation Unit. The terminology relating to bibliographic sources has been established for this translation after consultation with the reference room at the University of Ottawa. The translator has selected the following equivalents: etat = guid(s) repertoire = directory fonds = collection(s) inventaire = inventory collection = collection catalogue catalogue 1 5 volumes published from 1978 to 1988: cf. Bibliographie vol. 3 p.ll, nos 10,11; vol. 4 pp. 6,7 nos. 5 and 6 2 Archives Nationales - Etat des inventaires, published under the direction of Jean FAVIER, Paris, Vol. II, Archives Nationales, 1991, 300 p. 3 See Appendix no. I - List of inventories of the various series on military history 4 Archives Nationales - Secrétairerie d'etat impériale - Rapports du ministre de la guerre an VIII-1814 - inventory of items AF IV 1090 to 1173 by Nicole Gotteri, Senior Archivist at the Archives Nationales, Paris; Archives Nationales, 1992, 96 p. frequently accompanied by large numbers of attached papers (returns, letters, documents, diagrams) - provides a great quantity of information which is directly linked to the exercise of the executive power and is intended, in princi- ple, to serve as a basis and a guide for the Sovereign's decisions. All this material is a remarkable source for the study of matters relating to the military history of the Consulate and Empire. The Archives Nationales played an active role in the celebration of the bicentennial of the Revolution.

In 1982, with a view to «assisting understanding which will at the proper time enrich the events celebrating this anniversary», two rooms in the Musee de 1'Histoire de France (Museum of French History) had already been reserved for this theme and a catalogue had been published 5. In 1987 the Guide des papiers prives d'epoque r6volutionnaire (Guide to private papers of the Revolutionary Era)6was published for the purpose of presenting contemporary documents preserved in the collections of private origin in the Archives Nationales and the Archives of the Departements, the communes and the hospitals. This was a preparation for the celebration of the bicentennial: «The French Revolution is still subject to divergent or even opposing interpreta- tions. The use of the archival sources which it has left us is therefore more than ever the indispensable method». In 1989 an exhibition was held to celebrate La Naissance de la souverainete nationale (The Birth of National Sovereignty)'. The catalogue, a real work of scholarship, enshrined the findings of this exhibition for all time. In the same year a collection of documents was published under the title Des Etats generaux au 18 brumaire (From the States General to the 18 Brumaire)8, summarizing in 15 chapters the different aspects of the Revolution. Chapters 5 and 6 : « Des premieres insurrections a la Vendee, la guerre interieure, la guerre exterieure et les armees de la revolution (From the First Uprisings to la Vendee, the Internal War, the War Abroad and the Armies of the Revolution) are espe- cially welcome. In continuatin of the celebrations the Archives Nationales, in 1992, organized an exhibition entitled Vive la R6publique (Long Live the Republic), the subjects of which were the soldiers of the Year II, conscription and the defence of the Republic. The catalogue is both a work of art and a valuable research instrument9.

5 Musée de I'Histoire de France. La Revolution française, Catalogue by Martin Garrigues, Archivist at the Archives Nationales, Paris, Archives Nationales, 1982. 100 p. 6 Guide des papiers privés d'epoque révolutionnaire, Paris, Archives Nationales, 1987, 302 p. 7a Naissance de la souveraineté nationale. Exhibition organized by the Direction des Archives de France (Direc- torate of the French Archives) - Ministere de la Culture, de la Communication, du Bicentenaire et des Grands Travaux (Ministry of Culture, Communication, the Bicentenary and Major Public Works), with the participation of the Soci6t6 des Amis des Archives (Society of Friends of the Archives) - Archives Nationales - Hotel de Rohan, February-April 1989 - 255 p. 8 Archives de France (The French Archives), Des Etats génémux au 18 brumaire - La revolution francaise a havers les archives (From the States Generals to the 18 Brumaire - The French Revolution seen through the Archives). Archives Nationales. La documentation française - Paris 1988 - 440 p. cf. Bibliographie vol. 11, p. 27 no. 73. 9 Vive In Ripublique 1792- 1992 - Exhibition organized by the Ministère de I'Education Nationale et de la Cul- ture (Ministry of National Education and Culture) - Direction des Archives de France, with the support of Line-Data and the participation of the Soci6t� des Amis des archives - Archives Nationales - Hotel de Rohan - September 1992-January 1993 - 200 p.