- 1. Always Learning The first characteristic of Napoleon is that he was diligent to always be improving himself and acquiring knowledge that would help him in future tasks. ...
- 2. Good General Napoleon entered the French army at a time when quick advancement was possible. ...
- 3. Efficient Organizer ...
- 4. Brilliance ...
- 5. Good Government ...
- 6. Convincing Propaganda ...
- 7. Popular Charisma ...
What made Napoleon such a good general?
What made Napoleon a successful commander?
- He was very popular with his troops and they trusted him completely. ...
- Organization: Napoleon was very good at organizing his armies. While most armies of the time were a huge mass of troops commanded by a central body, Napoleon split his armies ...
- Strategy: Napoleon had 2 big strategies, divide and conquer as well as misdirection. ...
Why was Napoleon a good leader?
Napoleon was a great leader because he was a shrewd and ambitious risk-taker and an exceptional military strategist. Napoleon conquered a substantial portion of Europe in the early 19th century, and he served as the emperor of France twice.
What made Napoleon's armies so good?
11 Factors That Made Napoleon's Armies Great Dedication. The men following Napoleon were dedicated to their cause. ... Manpower. France needed to defend itself against the rest of Europe. ... Napoleon. The role of Napoleon himself should never be forgotten. ... Leadership. ... Professionalism. ... Military organisation. ... Divisional Formations. ... Foreign recruits. ... Weapons Industry. ... Deep Lines. ... More items...
What made Napoleon so famous?
What Made Napoleon Bonaparte so Famous? Napoleon Bonaparte, was a French soldier and statesman, and Emperor of France (1804-1805). Born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, island of Corsica, he became an artillery officer, and put down a rising against the National Convention in Paris in 1795.
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What traits made Napoleon a great military leader?
He was talented both strategically and tactically. In campaign after campaign he defeated larger armies with a smaller force, through methods like moving boldly and quickly, defeating them in detail, cutting off their lines of retreat, and doing what his enemies least expected.
Is Napoleon Bonaparte the best general?
Napoleon Bonaparte is recognized as one of the greatest military commanders of all time. He brought Revolutionary France back from the brink of destruction with his Italian campaign in 1796 and 1797. He made a fool of Czar Alexander I at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.
Who was the greatest general ever?
1. Napoleon Bonaparte. Yes, you might have guessed by now, but the number one spot belongs to l'Empereur. Napoleon is so far ahead of the normal distribution curve created by the data for these 6,000-plus generals, it's not even close.
What was Napoleon's greatest strength?
As a leader, Napoleon first won the trust and loyalty of his men; from the lowest soldier to the highest ranking general and aristocrats. Indeed his greatest strength, he accomplished this by promising them victory and glory.
Who was a better general Alexander or Napoleon?
Alexander the Great (356 bc-323 bc). While he never officially ranked the seven commanders, Napoleon himself, along with many other historians, seemed to consider Alexander the best. "I place Alexander in the first rank," Napoleon told Bourrienne.
Who was France's greatest general?
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799).
Who is the greatest military leader of all time?
1. Alexander the Great 2. Julius Caesar 3. Genghis Khan 4. NapoleonAlexander the Great.Julius Caesar.Genghis Khan.
Was Napoleon a better general than Wellington?
Napoleon commanded far larger armies than Wellington. His Russian force was nearly ten times larger than the largest ever commanded by Wellington. But he also lost far more men- 370,000 in the Russian campaign and 200,000 horses. Wellington was proud that his losses were far fewer.
Manpower
France needed to defend itself against the rest of Europe. The revolutionary government brought in conscription for the first time in modern military history. Napoleon profited from this as General, First Consul, and eventually Emperor. He had vast armies at his disposal and the ability to raise troops quickly.
Napoleon
The role of Napoleon himself should never be forgotten. His military knowledge, his gift for tactics, his charisma, and his quick thinking were crucial to the successes. Even when his approach to warfare became less flexible and his faculties declined, he was still one of the finest commanders in Europe.
Leadership
Napoleon was not the only high-quality commander in the French armies. Far from it. He fostered a core of skilled and courageous leaders, especially his marshals, who helped lead his troops to victory. None were as gifted as Napoleon himself, but they ensured a high caliber of leadership.
Professionalism
One of the factors leading to success was the increased professionalism of the French army.
Military organisation
The army was reorganized with an increasingly sophisticated support structure. The ministry of war was divided in 1802 into the ministry of war and the ministry of war administration. The new department focused on ensuring the army was well supplied. Lead by clever men and using the skills of specialists, these ministries became more effective.
Divisional Formations
The reorganization of the army into self-contained divisions, while less glamorous than tactical changes or battlefield courage, was one of the crucial elements in French success.
Foreign recruits
Not everyone fighting in the armies of revolutionary France was French. As the empire expanded, men from all over Europe joined Napoleon’s forces. The army that marched to Russia in 1812 was truly international. Some of the elite Imperial Guard troops within it were drawn from outside France’s old borders.
The Method
Inspired by baseball sabermetrics, I opted to use a s y stem of Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR is often used as an estimate of a baseball player’s contributions to his team. It calculates the total wins added (or subtracted) by the player compared to a replacement-level player.
The Data
My first challenge was constructing a reliable dataset. Since I was unable to find a comprehensive dataset of historical battles, I decided to build my own. I used Wikipedia’s lists of battles as a starting point.
The Results
Among all generals, Napoleon had the highest WAR (16.679) by a large margin. In fact, the next highest performer, Julius Caesar (7.445 WAR), had less than half the WAR accumulated by Napoleon across his battles. Napoleon benefited from the large number of battles in which he led forces. Among his 43 listed battles, he won 38 and lost only 5.
The Coup of 18 Brumaire
In November 1799, in an event known as the coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon was part of a group that successfully overthrew the French Directory.
The Reign of Napoleon I
From 1803 to 1815, France was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts with various coalitions of European nations.
Hundred Days Campaign and Battle of Waterloo
On February 26, 1815, after less than a year in exile, Napoleon escaped Elba and sailed to the French mainland with a group of more than 1,000 supporters. On March 20, he returned to Paris, where he was welcomed by cheering crowds. The new king, Louis XVIII (1755-1824), fled, and Napoleon began what came to be known as his Hundred Days campaign.
Dedication
Manpower
- France needed to defend itself against the rest of Europe. The revolutionary government brought in conscription for the first time in modern military history. Napoleon profited from this as General, First Consul, and eventually Emperor. He had vast armies at his disposal and the ability to raise troops quickly.
Napoleon
- The role of Napoleon himself should never be forgotten. His military knowledge, his gift for tactics, his charisma, and his quick thinking were crucial to the successes. Even when his approach to warfare became less flexible and his faculties declined, he was still one of the finest commanders in Europe.
Leadership
- Napoleon was not the only high-quality commander in the French armies. Far from it. He fostered a core of skilled and courageous leaders, especially his marshals, who helped lead his troops to victory. None were as gifted as Napoleon himself, but they ensured a high caliber of leadership.
Professionalism
- One of the factors leading to success was the increased professionalism of the French army. Before the revolution, military command had been dominated by the traditional aristocracy. Promotion was less about skill and more about who you were. After the revolution, promotion to military rank was earned through merit. Skilled men from the middle classes could take comma…
Military Organisation
- The army was reorganized with an increasingly sophisticated support structure. The ministry of war was divided in 1802 into the ministry of war and the ministry of war administration. The new department focused on ensuring the army was well supplied. Lead by clever men and using the skills of specialists, these ministries became more effective. They also gained staff to support t…
Divisional Formations
- The reorganization of the army into self-contained divisions, while less glamorous than tactical changes or battlefield courage, was one of the crucial elements in French success. By creating formations within the army that could effectively function on their own, the French gained greater flexibility in their maneuvers. Napoleon frequently marched his troops not as a single massed ar…
Foreign Recruits
- Not everyone fighting in the armies of revolutionary France was French. As the empire expanded, men from all over Europe joined Napoleon’s forces. The army that marched to Russia in 1812 was truly international. Some of the elite Imperial Guard troops within it were drawn from outside France’s old borders. It gave Napoleon access to a large number of skilled specialists from othe…
Weapons Industry
- The French armaments industry grew and advanced at an incredible rate to keep up with the army’s needs. At the beginning of Napoleon’s rise to power, French producers made 125,000 weapons a year, most of them handcrafted. To support the growing armies more were needed. The achievements of Gaspard Monge as chief of artillery production in 1793 was especially fitti…
Deep Lines
- After the revolution, French armies embraced a reform that had begun under the old regime but had never been fully implemented; the shift in infantry tactics towards deep lines. There had been considerable debate among the French military as to the merits of the traditional thin line of infantry and the newly developed deep line. The deep line allowed columns to break through ene…