Yves Martin was born in 1959 and has been passionate about history and the military ever since he can remember. Like so many others of his generation, Napoleon’s birth centennial in 1969 ignited his fascination for the 1792-1815 period. For the last 20 or so years, he has turned what used to be a simple hobby into a more serious endeavour. Amassing a collection of period prints and books - and digging through archives - he has become a regular contributor to French periodicals like Tradition and Gloire et Empire, and was one of the founders of the now-defunct Soldats Napoleoniens magazine. He is not focused only on the French Army, but also enjoys researching the allies and foes of France - especially the British and the Poles. Born into a family which had settled in Algeria in 1848, the French presence in Egypt became an obvious pet topic for him, as that very experience provided a blueprint for the later conquest and colonisation of Algeria. He currently resides in Paris, where he works as an executive for a large US high-tech corporation.
