From Flintlock to Rifle by Steven T. Ross

Author:Steven T. Ross [Ross, Steven T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, General, Political Science, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9781136301926
Google: TEIsBgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-10-12T01:16:32+00:00

WATEROO - LAST PHASES JUNE 18,1815

After the guard’s repulse, the entire Army of the North collapsed and fled the field. Some minor actions were fought after Waterloo, but the defeat of 18 June effectively marked the end of Napoleon’s final bid for power.

Bonaparte began his career as a royalist artillery officer and received his first important command from the revolutionary Republic. His first Italian campaign resembled in many respects campaigns on other fronts. He waged a war of movement and fought numerous engagements. No single battle was in itself decisive, but all of them served to wear down Austrian strength and will to resist. By blockading Mantua, he forced the Hapsburgs to try and relieve it, and, like Jourdan at Fleurs, Napoleon met and defeated the relief forces. Although he was better at mobile war than most of his fellow generals, Napoleon, nevertheless, followed the Republican doctrine of waging a war of attrition.

Between 1805 and 1807 Bonaparte won his most spectacular victories. With an experienced army drilled to near tactical perfection, he annihilated his enemies on the battlefield. In action he took numerous risks, weakening the right at Austerlitz, and moving his army into easily defended terrain at Jena. He did so because he knew that his troops could overcome obstacles insurmountable to an Old Regime army. Moreover, Auerstadt proved that the Grand Army, even when outnumbered, could still score decisive victories.

After 1808, however, the army’s tactical ability declined. Never again did the Grand Army destroy an enemy force in battle, and the emperor had to resort to bludgeoning tactics. Superior numbers of men and guns, rather than superior tactics, became the key to victory. After 1808, Napoleonic battles involved ever-growing numbers, produced higher casualties, and lacked decisive results.

The emperor’s rivals, meanwhile, instituted reforms to counter French tactical methods. Thus, as the French army lost its tactical edge, hostile forces were improving. Ultimately, Napoleon had to face enemies whose armies were, tactically, as good as his own. Superior French strategy could still produce victories, but by 1813 the Allies had the numbers and the tactical ability to meet Napoleon on better than even terms, thus paving the way for the emperor’s final defeat.

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