Napoleon's Maxims: Saisir Le Moment

Although his armies enjoyed unprecedented successes and expanded the French Empire from Spain to the steppes of Russia, the Napoleonic way of war was fraught with deficiencies. Due to the Napoleon's genius and mastery of this period of military manoeuvres, he was able to forestall the affects of the inherent limitations of his system until the war of the Sixth Coalition (1813) and eventually the fateful battle of Waterloo (1815). One the most significant, intrinsic flaws in Napoleon's system was related to issues of command. During the beginnings of Napoleon's career, he commanded armies of sizes up to 60 000 troops. In Italy in 1796, he commanded a force of just 38 000. With the increasing sizes of forces in the later empire, due to concepts such as levee en masse and recruitment legislation of 1792, the inability of a single commander to control such vast forces was becoming apparent. The sheer immensity of the forces now mustered was unprecedented. In 1812 the Grande Armee, consisted of a staggering 611 000 soldiers. Much to the hindrance of the later empire, few, if any officers in the Grande Armee, besides Napoleon himself, could command forces

The French Revolution was a period of social and political turmoil in France from 1789 to 1799 that greatly affected modern and French history. It marked the decline of powerful monarchies and the rise of democracy, individual rights and nationalism. This revolution came with many consequences because of the strive for power and wealth, but also had many influential leaders attempting to initiate change in the French government and the economy. In 1789 the people of France dismissed King Louis XVI of his title, took apart his monarchy and executed him, his wife Marie Antoinette and thousands of nobles. The French set up a new system of government with specific revolutionary ideals, including liberty, equality and fraternity. This was a

Few humans have ever come as close to ruling over the entirety of Europe as Napoleon Bonaparte did. As the end of the French Revolution drew near, Napoleon Bonaparte did not hesitate long to create policies that kept him in power. With such power, it was certain that Napoleon would use it to influence to people all over Europe. Napoleon’s impact on the people of France and Europe, who he affected through propaganda, his ideas of nationalism and patriotism, and a codification of laws, was a very long-standing and resilient ideology that was mostly prevalent during the French Revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte is seen by historians in a variety of lights. Some judge him for his lack of mercy for those in his warpath along with his unmatched air of confidence. Others choose to see him for the leadership abilities and keen mind that fueled his remarkable triumphs as a general, commander, First Consul of France, and even emperor. Owen Connelly uses his work, The Epoch of Napoleon, to bridge the gap that other historians and authors have skimmed over, giving the reader an inside look at not only Napoleon’s military life, but also his political and personal life. Furthermore, Connelly achieves this by showing both the ruthless and heroic sides of Napoleon, including non-military details from the life of Napoleon, and lastly, including quotes from Napoleon and those that interacted with him.

In 1796 as a young officer of 27 years old, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. In his proclamation to his troops, Napoleon said, 'The two armies which but recently attacked you with audacity are fleeing before you in terror; the wicked men who laughed at your misery and rejoiced at the thought of the triumphs of your enemies are confounded and trembling.' Acts like this display the strong personality that Napoleon possessed and how his endearing nature captivated his troops. The control and support of the army was effective in enabling Bonaparte to eventually seize power.

Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the heart of many French nationals as one of the greatest military leaders that the nation has had when it comes to warfare history. In 1799, Napoleon launched a series of wars, which historian call, “Napoleonic wars” in a bid to extend the territory of France in Europe. Many historians argue that the Napoleonic wars were a continuation of the earlier war under the tag, French revolution in 1789. The French revolution in itself had so many influences in Europe, especially with the armies who felt the greatest impact of the revolution. The revolution brought with it many changes, especially in the production of modern mass weapons with the conscription in place. The new improvements in weaponry made Napoleon seek hegemony in the entire Europe sparking his quest to expand and increase the revolutionary and territorial borders of France. Napoleon, Corsican aristocrat, who was a minor, rose to the position of emperor in France because of the revolution and his idea was to sweep the entire Europe with the reforms brought about by the revolution (Dwyer 32). The idea was to liberate the continent so that all citizens had a chance to take the helm of leadership and do away with the issue of kinship rule. Napoleon was a symbol of change, and although at some point, he comes out as a dictator, he was progressive and created rationalization of governance and all the social

“Napoleon practiced extreme centralization of authority. The Emperor was his own operations officer and made all decisions” (Rothenberg, 66-67). Clausewitz pronounced Napoleon as the ‘god of war’ and his tactical and operational successes, particularly between 1805-1807, are described as that of a military genius (Clausewitz, 583, 648). The command and control system he had in place was adequate when he was present, but “when his armies operated in widely separated theaters of war, or over an extended front, his attempts to maintain strategic control failed” (Rothenberg, 67). The strategic overreach of the Grand Army coupled with an increasing inability to trust his senior army and naval flag officers during decisive battles exploited the weakness of his system of centralized command and control. This manifested itself in 1812 when the Grand Army was fighting on two fronts at opposite ends of the continent, as evidenced by unsuccessful operational outcomes and significant battlefield

Napoleon reached power through rising during a wartime because of his military successes. During a time of war promotions are made frequently and Napoleon became a general at a young age. Napoleon was able to move his troops much faster than any other country was able to move their troops. Napoleon’s troops were also much larger than any of the others. These advantages led to Napoleon becoming one of the greatest military leaders ever.

Everyone knows that Napoleon was a great leader and commander but it is not as cut and dry as popular history makes it out to be. His great victory at Austerlitz cemented him as one of the greatest commanders in history. This battle is was a tactical masterpiece up there with Gaugamela and Cannae. However, there is more to analyze here than just the battle itself. Many aspects of war include mobilization, supply, training, moral, army structure etc. and all play a part in Napoleon’s victories and the creation of the French Empire. Another variable to consider is the quality of the armies led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of Austria. The focus here is to look at how these aspects played a role in

Napoleon had a lot on his plate, he had to keep Order and people under control within the French Empire, but along with that he had to keep order outside of it also. These are both very important to have a successful and powerful empire, but in my opinion keeping order within the empire is the most important. There are many reasons I

How have historians tried to evaluate the ultimate goal of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French? With such a variety of perspectives, there is no single theory that can fully answer the breadth of the question. Instead, kaleidoscopes of opinions that span centuries from Napoleon’s reign to contemporary research give us the best analysis of his ambitions. No matter the era, historian’s opinions of Napoleon shift between admiring his achievements, in varying contexts of establishing order or reorganizing governmental systems, to criticizing his personal lust for power. This essay will discuss the varying opinions by which historians view Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his fundamental objective as ruler.

He depended on speed, mass, and maneuverability in his battles and it served him well, during the course of his career these tactics were used to form a great empire lead by a genius leader. Napoleon studied the strategies of past great generals and read the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, and Fredrick the Great, each assessing the mistakes they did and the disadvantages and advantages of their position in each hour of war, from then he went on and created strategies that militaries learnt from. The majority of Napoleon’s campaigns began, not on the battlefield but first, he collected all the information he could on his potential enemy and studied every aspect of his opponent’s country, history, and military forces. His tactics came from a shotgun mirage of revolutionary

Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with being a great military tactician as well as a military genius during his era. He played a significant role in world history and the art of war. The man’s genius was fundamentally practical, and all the military concepts he used were attributed to his close study that he did of his earlier commanders, predominantly Fredrick the Great. He did not trust any novel idea and thus by no means used other people’s concepts. He made the fullest utilization of the notions of his predecessors, which he breathed life into them making them successful. Napoleon had to be strategic in order to be victorious in his conquests. The skills, strategies and tactics he used in the battlegrounds were desired and thus copied by many during his era and up today. Warfare especially during the Napoleonic era fundamentally changed modern warfare and continues to be the main reason the military studies Napoleon today. It impacted the battles of today. This essay’s main purpose is to point out the impacts of Napoleon’s warfare strategies and tactics on modern day warfare. It will analyze the principles Napoleon used during his era, and they include the theory of nationalism, creation of the corps’ system and leading disciplined and professional armies.

Napoleon seemed to have been seen as a man chosen and destined by god to find victory, though in reality he was a workaholic, and spent long nights carefully drafting his plans for battle. He was careful to maximize his manpower where it counted most. That said, Napoleon saw a value in remaining unpredictable, always maintaining an aggressive stance to force his opponent to respond to his moves. He often determined that the “moment” was more important than manpower. Often, after maneuvering for some time, Napoleon would order his men to charge towards the enemy’s approximate location. Sometimes he himself recalls that the approximation was weak, but it was more important to move quickly and definitely, than to wait for complete intelligence to reveal the true nature of the enemy’s whereabouts. Napoleon did not hold many rules on his troops when on the march, only that they move at a steady pace and stay close together so that they could get into formation quickly. Ultimately, it is clear that Napoleon had a natural gift for choosing the right moves, and furthermore seemed to be at his best when under the pressure of an intense battle, while the commanders of other armies tended to mishap.

Amongst him were other great military leaders and political thinkers who shared the same doctrine, for example, Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821, a French military and political leader who was erroneously believed to have coined the ‘Principles of War'. Another is J.C.F Fuller 1878-1966, a British military officer who came up with six principles in 1912, eight in 1915, and nineteen in 1923 and later came down to nine in 1925. These nine principles are as follows: Direction- (objectives/aim), Concentration- (focusing of effort), Distribution- (positioning of troops), Determination- (the ability to fight, persevere and win), Surprise- (demoralization of the opponent's force), Endurance- (resistance to pressure), Mobility- (outflank the opponent's force), Offensive Action- (disorganization of the opponent's force) and Security- (protection of threats). Carl von Clausewitz 1780-1831, a German general and military theorist who wrote on the "morale" and