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Date Posted: 03:18:06 10/30/05 Sun
Author: Celebaelin
Subject: Empires
In reply to: Celebaelin 's message, "Beyond you!" on 14:25:52 10/29/05 Sat

Napoleon's reputation is built largely on Austerlitz, at first Borodino he commented at dawn "There rises the sun of Austerlitz" and he was to no small extent correct but not, I suspect, in the way it is usually interpreted.

At Austerlitz the Russians made a political decision; confident of their ability to defeat Napoleon through a combination of the effects of the Russian1808 re-organisation of the army, a steady supply of muskets from the British through the port of Archangel, massively superior numbers of infantry and irregular light cavally (cossaks, kalmuks etc.), terrain and generals 'Janvier and Fevrier' they elected to allow the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a defeat from which they never truly recovered.

The Allied decision to abandon the Pratzen Plateau was bitterly resisted by Kutusov but he was overuled by the Tzars' political advisors and the die of History was cast. Kutusov himself lost an eye in the defeat at Austerlitz , it says much that Napoleon observed the French victory from his newly established command post at the peak of the Pratzen Plateau.

At first Borodino the Russian political decision to fight a war of attrition (depending on which account you read both side lost 30-50,000 men from their respective forces of ~450,000 the difference being that Napoleon could not afford this level of casualties the Grande Armee was the sum of his available men, the Russians had easily as many men again already in arms. The problem they faced was that the had cobbled together enough artillery to out-gun Napoleon numerically for Borodino (although much of it was very old) but this was all the artillery they had. Obliterating a full regiment of Curassier on the French right was a significant blow to the French but 'bloody-minded' persistance in attacking the Grand Redout eventually paid territorial dividends for Napoleon. I say territorial dividends only because despite having to abandon their guns as the redout was overun the Russians counter-attacked (indeed they had to) with Grand Duke Constantines 5th (Guard) Brigade re-took the Grand Redout, secured the guns and then withdrew to Moscow. This action defines the Russian defeat and resulted in the approximate equivalence of casualties. If the politically dictated plan had not been to allow Napoleon to advance and then attack his over-stretched supply lines Borodino might (and I must concede might) have been a very different story. As it was the political plan was devastating, 98% of the Grand Armee did not leave Russia, well, not as part of the army anyway (attrition and desertion).

All of your accolades to Welington are true but those are not the sum of his talents. Since we're comparing Napoleon and Wellington I guess we have to talk about Waterloo. Napoleon wasted an entire division at Waterloo by becoming obsessed with his initial gambit of attacking Hougoumont, the secure position on the British and Allied right. The move was intended to draw in British reserves but instead occupied 10,000 French infantry with the use of 2,000 British (who would, in essence, have remained inside Hougoumont securing the right for the duration of the battle proper anyway). There is a saying that the first casualty of any battle is the plan, it seems that Napoleon never heard it.

Whilst Napoleon was superior to his sub-ordinates there remains a question over his utilisation of the Old Guard at Waterloo. If Ney's cavalry attack had been backed by the Old Guard (or infantry of any kind for that matter) it might well have lead to a British and Allied defeat but Napoleon was reluctant to commit his veterans until much later in the battle. This refusal to gamble at an early stage is understandable but the result was that the risk-taking was merely delayed and when Napoleon did eventually 'see a gap' which he sent his previously undefeated elite to exploit it was a trap, sprung by Wellington in person giving the order, famously quoted as "Up, Guards, and at 'em" as the Brithish Guard infantry that occupied that position had previously been ordered to lie down to conceal their presence. The firepower that confronted them dictated that the Old Guard were forced to retreat back down the hill.

Grouchy, well, Napoleon appointed him. Ney was equally as inept really but if the art of leadership is (at least partially) in delegation...There is a tendency to see Napoleons Successes as his his own and his defeats as those of his sub-ordinates and this is clearly a fallacy.

Prior to Waterloo Welington spoke of Napoleon only with respect, admiration even, in the years following as the internal events of the French unfolded under the Army of Occupation his opinion shifted. In 1835 he wrote

"Bonaparte's whole life, civil, political and military, was a fraud. There was not a transaction, great or small, in which lying and fraud were not introduced"

Strong stuff!

In contrast the Times Obituary of Arthur Wellesley read

"The Duke of Wellington has exhausted nature and exhausted glory. His career was one unclouded longest day."

In truth this is not entirely true of his political career but he was not often given credit for his manouvering in that sphere.

I don't know what effect these men will have on the enemy, but by God they frighten me.

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