Coignet fought hard at the battle of Marengo, constantly in the thick of the action, in which he and his fellow soldiers had to hold out until French reserves arrived.

After being promoted to corporal he took part in the invasion of Spain and the battle of Somosierra and the pursuit of the British army.

Surviving cossacks and the Russian winter, Coignet was a witness to the horrors of the retreat and later on provided a vivid depiction of conditions facing him and his comrades in his memoirs.

Coignet's memoirs however, were written in rough French, as he had not learned to read and write until late in life.

The Notebooks from then on were constantly republished, but the first integral edition was published only in 1968 by the writer Jean Mistler, who adds an important foreword.

The French national public broadcasting agency ORTF aired seven one-hour episodes from 23 December 1969 to 3 January 1970.