This is a charming read. One does get a feel for the army life, if not an exact date for every incident. Blaze's style makes it feel more authentic. Blaze was 6 when the French Revolution began, and very little of the book concerns that. Only when he is telling about how things used to be in those days, as recounted from others, is it mentioned, and not very often. I can certainly appreciate his accounts of what battles are like; one never takes notes, but it does justice to the chaos without lingering too much on the carnage. Well worth looking into, and the Greenhill edition does have illustrations.