An authoritative English translation of Goethe’s classic autobiographical account of war and conquest in the age of revolution

In August 1792, Goethe accompanied Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, during the unsuccessful Prusso-Austrian invasion of revolutionary France to restore Louis XVI as king. The French subsequently invaded the Rhineland and captured the city of Mainz, claiming it for the French Republic. When German armies besieged Mainz, Goethe witnessed the capture of the city at the close of 1793. His narrative of these events has become a classic text for the history of Franco-German relations during the revolutionary period. A product of recollection, historical hindsight, and considerable study of other published sources, it is a fascinating document of the military catastrophe exposing the decline of Prussian power since the death of Frederick II, which eventually culminated in Napoleon’s devastating 1806 victory at Jena and Auerstedt.

The Collected Works of Goethe presents modern translations of a representative portion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s vast body of work. Selected from more than 140 volumes in German, this twelve-volume series remains the standard collection in English and features poetry, drama, fiction, memoir, criticism, and scientific writing.

Edited by Thomas P. Saine and Jeffrey L. Sammons
From My Life: Poetry and Truth (Part Four), translated by Robert R. Heitner, notes by Thomas P. Saine
Campaign in France 1792 / Siege of Mainz, translated with an introduction and notes by Thomas P. Saine