"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 3 of a Series)
Victories would follow the pinnacle that was Austerlitz; the smashing of a resurgent Prussia during the Jena Campaign of 6-12 October 1806, the long-awaited defeat of the Russians at Friedland on 14 June1807 that would cost them over 30,000 casualties, the collective victories over the still combative Austrians during the Austrian War (Wagram Campaign) of 1809 and more. Though victories were there for Napoleon post-Austerlitz, so were the signs of declining military acumen and lapses in adhering to his own maxims. The frozen winter Battle of Eylau on 7-8 February 1807 is one such an example. The desire to catch and beat the Russian army, under the command of the Hanoverian-born Levin August von Bennigsen (1745-1826), drove Napoleon to seemingly ignore several of his Maxims beginning with unit support. Just a year prior in 1806 Napoleon has espoused that “The art of placing troops is the great art de guerre. Always place your troops in such a way that, whatever the enemy does, they can…
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