Maximillian's Lieutenant

This is the diary of a young Austrian army officer who went off as a mercenary to Mexico as part of an ill-judged campaign by the European powers to impose a settlement on Mexico's internal political conflicts and to establish Maximillian as Emperor. Unlike many of his companions he escaped execution to return to Austria. The diary reveals a sympathetic and appealing character and sheds light on a disastrous campaign. The translator and editor Gordon Etherington-Smith is a descendant of the Pitner family.