The Campaigns of Napoleon: The Mind and Method of History's Greatest Soldier by

Description: FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE The Campaigns of Napoleon by David G. Chandler Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex — an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally-minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat.""The Campaigns of Napoleon" is an exhaustive analysis and critique of Napoleon's art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula "("Je n'ai jamais eu un plan d'ope rations")," but military historian David Chandler demonstrates this was at best only a half-truth. To be sure, every operation Napoleon conducted contained unique improvisatory features. But there were from the first to the last certain basic principles of strategic maneuver and battlefield planning that he almost invariably put into practice. To clarify these underlying methods, as well as the style of Napoleon's fabulous intellect, Mr. Chandler examines in detail each campaign mounted and personally conducted by Napoleon, analyzing the strategies employed, revealing wherever possible the probable sources of his subject's military ideas.The book opens with a brief account of Bonaparte's early years, his military education and formative experiences, and his meteoric rise to the rank of general in the army of the Directory. Introducing the elements of Napoleonic "grand tactics" as they developed in his Italian, Egyptian, and Syrian campaigns, Mr. Chandler shows how these principles were clearly conceived as early as the Battle of Castiglione, when Napoleon was only twenty -six. Several campaigns later, he was Emperor of France, busily constructing the "Grande Arme e." This great war machine is described in considerable detail: the composition of the armies and the "e lite" Guard; the staff system and the methods of command; the kind of artillery and firearms used; and the daily life of the "Grande Arme e" and the all-seeing and all-commanding virtuoso who presided over every aspect of its operation in the field.As the great machine sweeps into action in the campaigns along the Rhine and the Danube, in East Prussia and Poland, and in Portugal and Spain, David Chandler follows closely every move that vindicates — or challenges — the legend of Napoleon's military genius. As the major battles take their gory courses — Austerlitz, Jena, Fried-land — we see Napoleon's star reaching its zenith. Then, in the Wagram Campaign of 1809 against the Austrians — his last real success — the great man commits more errors of judgment than in all his previous wars and battles put together. As the campaigns rage on, his declining powers seem to justify his own statement: "One has but a short time for war." Then the horrors of the Russian campaign forever shatter the image of Napoleonic invincibility. It is thereafter a short, though heroic and sanguinary, road to Waterloo and St. Helena.Napoleon appears most strikingly in these pages as the brilliant applier of the ideas of others rather than as an original military thinker, his genius proving itself more practical than theoretical. Paradoxically, this was both his chief strength and his main weakness as a general. After bringing the French army a decade of victory, his methods became increasingly stereotyped and, even worse, were widely copied by his foes, who operated against him with increasing effectiveness toward the end of his career. Yet even though his enemies attempted to imitate his techniques, as have others in the last century and a half, no one ever equaled his success. As these meticulous campaign analyses testify, his multifaceted genius was unique. Even as the end approached, as David Chandler points out, his eclipse was "the failure of a giant surrounded by pygmies.""The flight of the eagle was over; the 'ogre' was safely caged at last, and an exhausted Europe settled down once more to attempt a return to former ways of life and government. But the shade of Napoleon lingered on irresistibly for many years after his death in 1821. It lingers yet." FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description In this "engrossing," (The New Yorker) vivid, and intensively researched volume, esteemed Napoleon scholar David Chandler outlines the military strategy that led the famous French emperor to his greatest victories—and to his ultimate downfall.Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex—an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat. The Campaigns of Napoleon is a masterful analysis and insightful critique of Napoleons art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula ("Je nai jamais eu un plan dopérations"), but military historian David Chandler demonstrates this was at best only a half-truth. To be sure, every operation Napoleon conducted contained unique improvisatory features. But there were from the first to the last certain basic principles of strategic maneuver and battlefield planning that he almost invariably put into practice. To clarify these underlying methods, as well as the style of Napoleons fabulous intellect, Chandler examines in detail each campaign mounted and personally conducted by Napoleon, analyzing the strategies employed, revealing wherever possible the probable sources of his subjects military ideas. "Writing clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters" (The Boston Globe) and this definitive work is "a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader" (The New York Review of Books). Author Biography David G. Chandler is Head of the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and a Fellow of both the Royal Historical and the Royal Geographical societies. He is President of the British Commission for Military History and a Vice- President of the Commission International dHistoire Militaire.During his researches for The Campaigns of Napoleon, Mr. Chandler made considerable use of primary sources -- including the thirty-two volumes of Correspondence de IEmpereur Napoleon Iier -- and consulted many contemporary memoirs and military commentaries. (This he did with some caution, for such material is often far from reliable.) He also examined many of the most revealing and interesting studies that have been written by soldiers and scholars over the past 145 years, and he incorporated extracts from recently discovered sources in the hope of illuminating still further the well- trodden paths of Napoleonic studies.The author of a dozen works on early eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century military history, David G. Chandler is a recognized authority in the Marlburian and Napoleonic periods. His other publications include A Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, 1979, Waterloo -- The Hundred Days, 1980, An Atlas of Military Strategy, 1980, and Napoleons Marshals, (editor), 1987. He has also contributed a chapter to Volume VI of the New Cambridge Modern History as well as numerous articles and reviews to magazines and journals. Chandler lives in Yately, Hampshire, England. Table of Contents ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSEXPLANATORY KEY TO MAPSLIST OF MAPSPREFACEAUTHORS NOTEGENERAL INTRODUCTIONPART ONE. APPRENTICESHIP TO ARMSNapoleons military education and formative experiences prior to 1796INTRODUCTION: FIRST EMERGENCE1. PREPARATION2. TOULON3. BRIGADIER GENERAL OF ARTILLERY4. THE "SWORD" OF PAUL BARRASPART TWO. IN SEARCH OF A REPUTATIONThe Campaign in North Italy, April 1796 to April 17975. COMMANDER IN CHIEF6. THE DEFEAT OF PIEDMONT7. THE BRIDGE OF LODI8. THE ACHIEVEMENT IN PERIL -- MANTUA9. CALDIERO AND ARCOLA10. RIVOLI11. ADVANCE TO LEOBEN12. THE MEASURE OF SUCCESSPART THREE. NAPOLEONS ART OF WARA study of Napoleons philosophy of war, an analysis of his strategic and battle methods -- and the sources of his ideasINTRODUCTION: THE MASTERS WORDS13. DOCTRINAL INHERITANCE14. THE INGREDIENTS OF NAPOLEONIC WAR15. STRATEGIC CONCEPTS16. GRAND TACTICS ON THE BATTLEFIELD17. THE EMBRYONIC SYSTEM: CASTIGLIONEPART FOUR. ORIENTAL INTERLUDE: THE SIX ACRES OF LANDThe Campaign in Egypt and Syria, May 19, 1798 to October 9, 1799INTRODUCTION: THE SANDS OF MARABOUT18. ORIENTAL OPPORTUNITIES19. MEDITERRANEAN CHASE20. THE PYRAMIDS LOOK DOWN21. EXPEDITION TO SYRIA22. THE BALANCE SHEET OF FAILUREPART FIVE. TOWARD THE SUMMIT: THE CONSPIRATOR AND PEACEMAKERThe coup détat of Brumaire and the Italian Campaign of 180023. THE RIPENED FRUIT24. FIRST CONSUL25. PLANS OF CAMPAIGN26. THE PASSAGE OF THE ALPS27. MARENGO28. PEACE RESTOREDPART SIX. THE WORKS OF PEACE AND THE ROAD TO WARNapoleons reconstruction of France and the renewed struggle with England to the formation of the Third Coalition. The creation of La Grande Armée29. RULER AND LAWGIVER30. THE CAMP OF BOULOGNE31. PROSPECTS OF WIDER WAR32. LA GRANDE ARMÉE33. IMPERIAL HEADQUARTERSPART SEVEN. FROM THE RHINE TO THE DANUBENapoleons destruction of the Third CoalitionINTRODUCTION: THE EVE OF AUSTERLITZ34. PLANS AND PREPARATIONS35. STRATEGIC TRIUMPH -- ULM36. THE WARRIORS OF HOLY RUSSIA37. THE BATTLE OF THE THREE EMPERORS -- AUSTERLITZ38. THE INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESSPART EIGHT. ROSSBACH AVENGEDThe Campaign of 1806 against Prussia39. HOHENZOLLERN HYPOCRITE40. PLANS FOR WAR41. "LE BATAILLON CARRÉ"42. JENA -- AUERSTADT43. THE TRIUMPH ANALYZEDPART NINE. WINTER WARNapoleons Campaigns in East Prussia and Poland, October 1806 to February 180744. THE ADVANCE TO WARSAW45. MEN AND MAT201;RIEL46. THE MANEUVER ON THE NAREW47. INTERLUDE IN WARSAW48. THE TRAP THAT FAILED -- IONKOVO49. THE BATTLE OF EYLAU50. CONCLUSIONS: THE FIRST CHECKVOLUME IIPART TEN. SPRING RECOVERYThe renewed Campaign against Russia, culminating in the Battle of Friedland and the Treaty of Tilsit51. RECONSTRUCTION52. THE BATTLE OF HEILSBERG53. THE BATTLE OF FRIEDLAND54. THE MEETING OF THE EMPERORSPART ELEVEN. PENINSULAR INTRIGUESThe Campaigns in Portugal and Spain, 1807-180955. THE ROAD TO LISBON56. AN ENGINEERED CRISIS57. BAILEN AND VIMIERO58. HARD BARGAINING AT ERFURT59. IMPERIAL INTERVENTION60. THE PURSUIT OF MOORE61. INCOMPLETE ACHIEVEMENTPART TWELVE. HAPSBURGS RESURGENT: THE LAST SUCCESSThe Danube Campaign of 1809, culminating in the Battle of Wagram and the Peace of Schönbrunn62. THE NEW CHALLENGE63. CRISIS ON THE DANUBE64. ASPERN-ESSLING65. THE SECOND ATTEMPT: WAGRAM66. THE ILLUSION OF SUCCESSPART THIRTEEN. THE ROAD TO MOSCOWThe first part of Napoleons Russian Campaign, June 22 to September 15, 181267. THE BREAKDOWN OF THE FRANCO-RUSSIAN ENTENTE68. WAR PLANS AND PREPARATIONS69. THE INVASION OF RUSSIA70. BORODINOPART FOURTEEN. RETREATThe second part of Napoleons Russian Campaign, September 16, 1812 to January 181371. PRECARIOUS POSITION72. COLLAPSE OF AN ARMY73. THE BEREZINA74. BACK TO THE ELBE75. FAILURE OF A GIANTPART FIFTEEN. TWILIGHT: THE STRUGGLE OF THE NATIONSNapoleons attempts to hold Germany and destroy the Allies, culminating in the heavy defeat sustained at the Battle of Leipzig76. NEW ARMIES77. LÜTZEN AND BAUTZEN78. THE ARMISTICE79. DRESDEN80. THE BATTLE OF THE NATIONS81. BACK TO THE NATURAL FRONTIERSPART SIXTEEN. "LA PATRIE EN DANGER"The Campaign of 1814, culminating in Napoleons abdication82. PLAYING FOR TIME83. A PARLOUS OPENING84. RAPID RECOVERY85. THE ECLIPSE OF SCHWARZENBERG86. CHECK IN THE NORTH -- LAON87. THE LAST GAMBLE: ARCIS AND ABDICATIONPART SEVENTEEN. THE CAMPAIGN OF THE HUNDRED DAYSNapoleons return from exile and the events leading to his final abdicationINTRODUCTION: MEETING AT LE CAILLOU88. RETURN OF THE EMPEROR89. A POUNDING FOR BLÜCHER90. THE ERRORS OF MARSHAL NEY91. THE FINAL MOVES92. WATERLOO93. POSTSCRIPTAPPENDICESA. ORDER OF BATTLE OF THE ARMY OF ITALY, APRIL 12, 1796B. EXAMPLES OF NAPOLEONS CHIEF Manoeuvres sur les DerrièresC. THE STRENGTH AND POSITIONS OF LArmée de Réserve, JUNE 14, 1800D. THE FORMATIONS OF La Grande Armée, AUGUST 29, 1805E. THE ORGANIZATION OF LArmée dEspagne IN NOVEMBER 1808F. THE FORMATIONS OF THE RE-FORMED Grande Armée ON MARCH 30, 1809G. ORGANIZATION OF La Grande Armée FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1812H. ORGANIZATION OF LArmé du Nord FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815I. SUMMARY OF SELECTED BATTLESJ. THE IMPERIAL NOBILITYREFERENCESBIBLIOGRAPHYGLOSSARY OF MILITARY TERMSINDEXES Review Eliot Fremont-Smith Books of the Times A massive and absorbing -- one is tempted to say definitive -- account and detailed analysis of the military career of Napoleon....The descriptions of the battles -- all the important ones, and all augmented by superb position maps -- have perhaps never been done with greater clarity.The New York Review of Books Chandler can hold up his head with the best of them. His prose is as clear as his intellect....his scholarship is excellent...this is a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader.Los Angeles Times Chandlers analysis is so thorough that there is hardly an area untouched.The New Yorker The book is engrossing, and...amounts to a first-rate general account of Europe in the Napoleonic era....brilliant, unremittingly attentive to detail and sparkling with insights into a man, a nation, and an epoch.The Boston Globe Writing clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters.John Barkham Book Week In every way...a pleasure to read...a remarkable work which comes as close to dissecting the ingredients of Napoleons military genius as any I have read...[it is] that rare combination -- a book impeccable in its expertise, penetrating in its analysis, and attractive in its presentation. No matter how numerous your books on Napoleon, make room for this one.St. Louis Post-Dispatch Few works equal the scope and scholarship of Chandlers The Campaigns of Napoleon...a masterpiece in the truest sense of what military history ought to be. Long Description Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex -- an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally-minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat."The Campaigns of Napoleonis an exhaustive analysis and critique of Napoleons art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula("Je nai jamais eu un plan dop Review Quote The New York Review of BooksChandler can hold up his head with the best of them. His prose is as clear as his intellect....his scholarship is excellent...this is a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader. Excerpt from Book Chapter 1 PREPARATION Almost nine years of commissioned service already lay behind Citoyen-capitaine di Buonaparte when he penned Le Souper de Beaucaire. A great deal happened to the young Corsican during this considerable period of time, and many of his early experiences were destined to have important repercussions on his later career. Above all, most of his notions on the art of war and military affairs in general were formulated during this period, and it is important to study the early influences if we are to acquire any real insight into his future greatness and ultimate fall. Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, at Ajaccio in Corsica, the second surviving son of Carlo and Marie-Letizia Buonaparte. Many generations back the family was of Italian extraction, but by the 1760s the Buonapartes had found a patrician niche in Corsican life and had become regarded as an important and influential -- if not very wealthy -- pillar of local society. Several ancestors had played a part in the chaotic history of the island. His father was rather a restless and extravagant lawyer, with a penchant for poetry, constantly embarrassed for money and forever seeking social advancement, besides being closely associated with the rebel-patriot, Paoli. His mother was a natural beauty with a character of granite, who never forsook the simple ways of her upbringing and took good fortune and bad with the same calm detachment. To the very end of her life Madame M Details ISBN0025236601 Author David G. Chandler Short Title CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON V01 Pages 1216 Language English ISBN-10 0025236601 ISBN-13 9780025236608 Media Book Format Hardcover Illustrations Yes Year 1973 Place of Publication Hemel Hempstead Residence Yately, 65, ENK Imprint Prentice Hall & IBD Subtitle The Mind and Method of Historys Greatest Soldier Country of Publication United Kingdom DOI 10.1604/9780025236608 AU Release Date 1973-03-01 NZ Release Date 1973-03-01 UK Release Date 1973-03-01 Publisher Prentice Hall (a Pearson Education company) Publication Date 1973-03-01 DEWEY 940.270924 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! 30 DAY RETURN POLICY No questions asked, 30 day returns! FREE DELIVERY No matter where you are in the UK, delivery is free. 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