Napoleon's Police: Control by Other Means

(The following article first appeared in the October-November 2022 newsletter of The Napoleonic Historical Society. I am presenting it here to in an effort to reach as many readers as possible for this little discussed topic.) The safety and security of a people is the bedrock of any successful society. To achieve this, structured governments establish laws to guide the society along with measures of policing to ensure that said laws are obeyed, be they the Constables of England to the police officers of the United States. French policing under Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) utilized various forces to not only maintain the peace and to enforce its laws, but to ensure compliance with edicts and proclamations. Policing and security in Napoleonic France and its territories was an evolved extension of governmental control to suppress and eliminate political dissent while enforcing Napoleon’s mandates. In the years preceding Napoleon’s political ascendency, law and order was maintained by…

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"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 4 of a Series of 4)

"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 4 of a Series of 4) Two years later between 16-18 June of 1815 the ultimate folly would be that which has become synonymous with defeat and failure, Waterloo. The French army was reconstituted after the death knell that was the Russian Campaign of 1812, but it would never again be the Grande Armée of old, nor would its master. Failing to stem the inexorable tide of the over 300,000 troops of the Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia at the mammoth Battle of Leipzig from 16-19 October 1813, Napoleon was forced into what would become his first exile in May of 1814 to the tiny island of Elba off from the Tuscan coast.[1]  This was a time of reflection for Napoleon, where he self-assessed some of his military choices such as the Russian invasion and push to Moscow (which he came to lament) and his assessment of the Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), the newly appointed British…

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"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 3 of a Series 4)

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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"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 2 of a Series 4)

Beginning with the saving of The Directory on 5 October 1795 with a “whiff of grapeshot,” followed by swift tightly interwoven military and political victories, Bonaparte was taking inspiration from one of historical influences, Julius Caesar as to his ascendency and his role of governance in France. “In such a state of affairs these deliberative assemblies could no longer govern; the person of Caesar was therefore the guarantee of the supremacy of Rome in the universe, and of the security of citizens of all parties. His authority was therefore legitimate.” Much like Caesar, Bonaparte saw his role as a literal savior of France, with its fortunes being inextricably melded with his own, thus making them one in the same in his mind.Having secured his position as First Consul, Napoleon resumed his military operations in 1800 with an audacious plan to defeat the Austrians in Italy that would culminate in a French victory at Marengo on 14 June of the same year. Speed of maneuver in…

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"Vive l'Empereur!: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon's Military Maxims" (Part 1 of a Series 4)

The late eighteenth and early nineteenth century bore witness to the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and his Military Maxims. The Corsican born, artillery trained military acolyte, experienced a meteoric rise in political and military fortunes during the tumult of the late Revolutionary period of France. His battlefield successes during the age, often against numerically larger forces, would become the basis for his methodology of warfare. This methodology, along with Napoleon’s thoughts on such matters, would coalesce and become known as his Military Maxims.The development of Napoleon’s Maxims are closely interwoven in the man himself. The earliest indications of the fire and defiance against the traditional establishments of the day, were evidenced early in his burgeoning career. Having been sent to the Royal School of Brienne at the age of nine on 23 April 1779, Napoleon struggled to fit in with the other more cultured cadets, being smaller of build, easy to anger,…

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The Weather at Eylau: Auguereau's Misery

The weather at Eylau was the most incessant and formidable of opponents for all the belligerents and its impact was significant throughout the field of battlefield. The numerous streams and ponds were so frozen, and snow covered that French artillery and troops were able to move across them thus affording additional tactical deployment opportunities that otherwise might not have been possible. These cold, frozen conditions were measured by the Imperial Guard surgeon, Dominque-Jean Larrey to that of 14° Fahrenheit the night of 7 February and again in the early morning of 8 February when it had dropped even further to 2° Fahrenheit. The artic and piercing cold greatly impacted the triage and efforts of the surgeons to treat the wounded of the battle as well. In this instance, the cold proved to be a double-edged sword. The catastrophic cold took many lives, be they French or Russian that literally froze to death, while others, such as Larrey would note, were saved by the cold. This was…

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Napoleon and Russia: Fated for War?

ABOVE: Napoleon witnessing the burning of Moscow after he and the Grande Armée finally reached the Russian capital on 14 September 1812. Russia's failure to adhere to Napoleon's Continental System made his invasion of them nearly inevitable. WikiCommons.   Napoleon generally held the whole of Russia in contempt from its highest official, Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825) down to the lowest peasant. Herein lies the rub. This disdain in many ways helped drive Napoleon to invade Russia, as he could not bear the embarrassment of them knowingly and willingly disobeying his edict as to the parameters of the Continental System. Even when presented with various reports and statements from his recalled ambassador to Russia as to their preparations, resolve, and improvements since their defeat at Friedland, Napoleon contemptuously replied “One good battle will put an end to all your friend Alexander’s excellent resolutions, and to all his fortifications built on sand.”[1]Therefore it was beyond…

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The Russian Red Line: Napoleon's Point of No Return

The geographically colossal Russian Empire was literally being starved to death by its participation in Napoleon’s Continental System. Being denied the ability to sell its grain to a much in need Great Britain, coupled with massive debts from various wars and a deeply devalued currency, the Russians under Tsar Alexander I felt that nearly the entirety of their woes stemmed from Napoleon, and they had to rectify that. Coincidently at the same time, Napoleon felt that the failure of his Continental System to strangle the economy of Great Britain and thus force them to the diplomatic table, was the fault of Russia’s and that they were not properly enforcing his edicts as to trade. Both sides began taking steps to prepare for war. Tsar Alexander I of Russia was scorned by Napoleon as a "shifty Byzantine." Having been a precarious ally of the French, Tsar Alexander soon realized that Napoleon's ambitions were not in the best interest of Russia by the time of his invasion in 1812. The…

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To the Bitter End: Who or What was Responsible for Ending the Battle of Eylau

The desperate struggle of the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau or more commonly known as the Battle of Eylau, was fought in some of the most abysmal conditions of any battle in history. The French, Russians and Prussians fought in temperatures of -10°C (14°F), up to 3 feet of snow on frozen ground with strong winds that intermittently whipped up the battlefield into near blizzard conditions throughout the entirety of the battle.[1] These conditions are critical to note, as they played a very important part of the battle for all sides, resulting in deaths through freezing as well as deaths through friendly fire and blind marching into the enemy’s guns such as what happened to the Augereau’s VIIth Corps.General Nicholas Dahlmann (1769-1807) leading a charge at the head of the Chasseurs á Cheval of the Imperial Guard on 8 February 1807. The snow and conditions as depicted in this painting, affected all of the beligerents in the battle. Painting by Victor Huen.  These horrible weather…

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Contested Rule: The Iberian Peninsula's Hostility to Napoleonic Leadership

The entire affair on the Iberian Peninsula from Spain and Portugal was expected to be of little note militarily to Napoleon. Bringing Portugal under French control due to their persistence in continuing to trade with Great Britain in 1807 violated Napoleon’s Continental System and he could not stand for this. This coupled with the royal intrigues of the Bourbon monarchy in Spain (which Napoleon detested) was an additional opportunity to rid his immediate neighbor of another potential threat and place those of his own choosing in charge of both countries. A simple matter of injecting some French muskets and bayonets would bring both countries to heel. It would be quite the contrary and would soon give Napoleon a “Spanish ulcer.” Charles IV of Spain. Charles was forced to abdicate the Spanish throne by Napoleon in 1808 who replaced him with his brother Joseph as king of Spain. There were two primary factors that contributed to the fanatical hostility of the Spanish and Portuguese people…

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