Brittany Adkins
Dr. Knox
History 1301
1 January 2017
Argumentative Essay
Support or disapprove the argument that warfare in the Napoleonic era is fundamentally similar to warfare as it is practice today.
Warfare in the Napoleonic era is fundamentally similar to warfare as it is practiced today. The Napoleonic era took place towards the end of the French Revolution between the years 1803-1815. Despite occurring over 200 years ago, the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) that occurred during the French Revolution is still relevant and prevalent in modern warfare and modern armies. Features such as using conscription to create a permanent, professional national army, having an educated Officer Corps, and standardized
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It is true today as it was during the Napoleonic era that an increased number of troops that are prepared and able to fight at any given time, influence the foreign policy of a nation. During the Napoleonic era, the educated Officer Corps was created which is another operational and tactical strategy that has been implemented in modern armies. The idea was to have junior and middle level officers receive specialized training to cultivate their decision making skills and to allow them time for personal study. This change ensured that even in the absence of communication from Napoleon, there was a clear chain of command and tactical decisions could be made in real time. The process by which officers were recruited and selected also changed. France moved into an era of universal service so that anyone regardless of class would be able to enter the military and advance within its ranks. This remains true for soldiers that now serve in the United States military and in armies around the world. An individual’s ability to be promoted has more to do with their level of education, length of service, aptitude level, demonstrated skill and a soldiers ' willingness to respect their chain of command. Arm forces encourage, recruit, and compensate individuals based on their educational levels. For instance, more soldiers enter the military as
The importance of furthering education doesn’t stop there. Leaders should be enrolling in college, and counseling their subordinates to enroll in college as well. In order to become competitive within the Army’s ranks, education plays a huge role. As Major Tim Martin stated “A formal education is an important contributor to the development of leadership qualities and attributes that are crucial in the growth of a military professional (Martin, 2001).”
Since the introduction of gunpowder into Europe, it has gone on to dominate warfare into the twentieth century. With the development of the first European guns in the fourteenth century, armies were given use of a weapon which was to radically alter most of the ways of making war which had been established during the Middle Ages, and changes began to be seen within only a few years. It is, however, questionable whether the nature of these early changes constituted a revolution in the methods of war, and even more so whether guns had by 1500 made a great deal of impact on the character of war as it had existed in 1300. In assessing whether a revolution had taken place (or at least whether one was in the process of happening) by 1500, it is
Napoleonic assault tactics were still being deployed at the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the American Civil War; ultimately transitioning to trench warfare style tactics. The vehicle for this transition was superior technology of weapon systems outpacing the old tactics. Mass charges by cavalry ultimately led to enormous loss of life due
Throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century Britain and France were at war with each other. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) the United States was a neutral nation who was engaged in trading with both countries. France and Britain were trying to cut off the other’s trade with the United States, which ultimately just hurt America’s trade and economy. The factors that led to the United States declaring war on Britain were impressment of american sailors, the Warhawks,British/Native conflict on the western frontier, and acts that negatively affected the american economy such as the British Orders In Council and the Non-Intercourse Act.
On 15 January, Porter continued to be in position to provide their most massive bombardment yet in preparation for the attack. At noon, 1600 sailors and 400 marines executed the ground assault along the beach about a mile and a half north of the fort. By 1500 the marines’ new position was now unable to effectively provide cover for the ensuing assault and failed to keep the Confederate riflemen off the fort’s parapet. As 1500 passed, the sailors quickly became restless for the army’s attack signal. Not waiting for visual confirmation of the army’s attack as directed, 1600 sailors ran across the open beach, and the naval attack very quickly became a rout. The sailors with only their pistols and cutlasses were no match for the Confederate riflemen, canister, and grape. After only 20 minutes the assault was repulsed, with the men retreating in droves, leaving over three hundred dead or wounded sailors and marines. Many of the wounded were left to drown in the rising tide. This was not the outcome Admiral Porter’s had envisioned.
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.
In late 1807, when the Portuguese refused to close their ports and declare war on their old ally, England, Napoleon invaded Portugal. The Portuguese royal family fled, accompanied by a glittering entourage of nobles and government officials, swarms of servants and courtiers--over ten thousand people, as well as the royal treasury-sailing from Lisbon only days before Napoleon's troops arrived in the Portuguese capital. British warships were on hand to escort the royal flotilla and, most esPrince Joao (who exercised power in the name of the queen, his demented mother) to Brazil. For more than a
Victor Davis Hanson is a former classics professor, an American military historian, a scholar of ancient warfare and a columnist. He graduated from Selma High School, he also received a BA from the University of California in 1975 and later got his Ph.D. in Classics from Stanford University. His rich education background and experience, therefore, qualifies him for his work especially his book: Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power. In the book, Victor Hanson intends to shed light on the predominance of the western military as attributed to the western Hellenic culture as well as its legacies. John Lynn is a history professor at the University of Illinois; he is also an adjunct professor at Ohio State University. Born in 1943, he received his degree in Bachelor of Arts at University of Illinois. He then attained his Master’s degree in Art at the University of California and later his Ph.D. at UCLA. Like Victor Hanson, John Lynn is also a military historian focusing of the ancient western military power. The professor is well known for his book Battle: A History of Combat and Culture published in 2003. In the book, John Lynn seeks to oppose the universal approaches to interpreting warfare.
Military officers around the world still study Napoleon, but that does not mean that he and his style of warfare invented modern warfare. Napoleon is still relevant today because those that studied him such as Clausewitz and Jomni were able to distil Napoleon’s Operational Art which is very relevant to military commanders and strategists today. Napoleon also introduced to Europe and the world how to build, maneuver and effectively use large armies, corps and echelons higher, and how to motivate soldiers. (take from The Rise of Napoleon). However, Napoleon and his adversaries still fought battles, not in combat, which is continues conflict that stretches for weeks and months. No new innovations came from Napoleonic warfare. He and his rivals still used similar weapon systems and tactics. Napoleon’s genius and success lay in his ability to maneuver
Throughout The Hundred Years War, many knights continued to strive towards chivalry. Even at Agincourt many knights on both sides of the battlefield refused to dismount from their horses. This proves that there was at least some truth in what Froissart writes about. Chivalry certainly did exist at least theoretically and at the very least it was a lifestyle that at least some tried to live by. Desmond Seward went as far as to describe the French battle tactics as similar to those used in modern warfare. His description certainly gives us an idea as to the extent that warfare was changing. No longer would there be hand to hand combat on horseback. Warfare had changed and it was changing in such a way that it would not be altered into the future.
Battle and warfare in middle ages forced Transformation of warfare tactics of the cavalry and artillery.
In 1973, the Army (and the noncommissioned officer corps) was in turmoil. Of the post-Vietnam developments in American military policy, the most influential in shaping the Army was the advent of the Modern Volunteer Army. With the inception of the Noncommissioned Officer Candidate Course, many young sergeants were not the skilled trainers of the past and were only trained to perform a specific job; squad leaders in
I was interested in the Napoleonic Wars from a young age and being British and all I found studying about my country fighting Napoleon and all the different aspects of the war interesting from artillery to cav and to the common foot soldier in which I have family that took part in the war. The civil war became known to me when reading history books and the interest I developed was that this newish country heavily involved with slavery had finally turned on each other after differences had gotten to the point of no return and like the English civil war it had families turning on each other and brothers vs brother or brother vs father or brothers vs father but also the new technology that was used in terms of rifling and new advancements in cannon
Technology, Discipline, Unique System of War Finance, Highly Aggressive Military Tradition, and Emphasis on Innovation are the five principles of the Western Way of War. Having a unique system of war finance, emphasis on innovation, and discipline are the aspects of the western way of war that describe warfare in the age of Napoleon (1789-1815).
There were many things Napoleon considered a great triumph but there is one that is the greatest and this is called the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code did a lot of good for the French, the first good thing this code did for the French was it gave the country a set in stone, set of laws and it also eliminated any injustices. But this actually promoted order and authority over individual rights. An example of this is the freedom of speech, and press which was established during the revolution. This made it restricted under the code. Another good but bad thing was that the Napoleonic Code brought back slavery into the French colonies that were part of the Caribbean. There are many reasons Napoleon decided to change the current feudal system of laws and royal laws. Before the Napoleonic Code, there was no “Law” for the French to follow, and the royal and rich were very much treated better and had more privileges so during the revolution Napoleon decided that it would be the best to do away with the feudal laws. This was the set of laws he would use, and some of these laws are still in place, in france today.