Historian Breaks Down Napoleon's Battle Tactics | WIRED
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- "Love him or hate him, Napoleon is a figure probably unrivaled in modern history." Today Jonathon Riley, a British General and historian, breaks down French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's most prominent battles and utilized war tactics. From the Battle of the Pyramids to the Battle of Lützen, hear directly from a war expert how Napoleon "weakened" his opponents and led his troops to victory on the battlefield.
Director: Anna O'Donohue
Director of Photography: Lloyd Willacy
Editor: Louville Moore
Expert: Jonathon Riley
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Kameryn Hamilton
Production Manager: D. Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Sound Mixer: Javier Carles
Production Assistant: Jasmine Brienburg
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
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Napoleon was so feared in europe that even after his retreat in moscow (where he lost 500000 men) and even tho the coalition was configured by 6 Nations and had a superiority of 3:2, they AVOIDED any battle with the Emperor and would only face his marshalls.
There's a reason they called him the "God Of War".
"Expect defeat whenever the Emperor attacks in person. Attack and defeat his lieutenants wherever you can." - General Moreau to the Allies, 1813.
@@Conorp77 *Battle of Dresden intensifies*
@@amygordon2716 depends on the sources, some claim 300k, others 450k, some claim as much as 500k
Yes, in the German liberation campaign
He's absolutely right! I did use all those tactics.
Long live the Emperor
mais monsieur Bonaparte, comment parlez-vous anglais ?
@@makorhonen4467 Quand j'étais en exil à Sainte-Hélène, j'avais beaucoup de temps libre alors j'ai essayé d'apprendre une nouvelle langue. J'envahirai la Russie dès la fin de mon exil, cette fois les Russes n'auront aucune chance contre mes puissantes armées car après avoir regardé cette vidéo, j'ai appris quelles erreurs j'avais commises lors de cette bataille.
Au fait, merci d'être passé nous dire bonjour. Passe une bonne journée.
Oh mon Dieu! Napolean! Salut!
@@SeaGLGaming Aidez-moi à envahir la Russie et à rejoindre mon armée, c'est un objectif glorieux.
Vous serez invités à célébrer la victoire contre la Russie.
In 2014 a French historian Mr Jean Tulard counted the books written on Napoleon and arrived at more than 80,000.
We can say what we want about him but one thing is certain: "he is somewhat responsible for deforestation"😊😊
tseyk zhat Alessandr' Amilson
@@Klimbo93Bro was on acid when he typed this 💀
This was terrific, I hope you bring this gentleman back for more.
Not napoleon, I hope 😅
@@cry2love LMFAOOO
@@cry2love Waiting for my exile to end.
Bonapartist here. Working on it, fam.
2:11 the circle is pointing to a completely wrong place and so was the pointing of the person speaking just FIY.
Yes, the circle of Austerlitz went quite south.. (hundreds of kilometers/miles)
It pointed to Croatia, but he did say Czech Republic
5:05 points at Nijmegen, Nederland, says it's Brussesl XD
Austerlitz is mostly considered as "Napoleon's masterpiece".
@@user-cq5nk7gk4n nobody asked
Unlike the movie, Napolean did not fire cannons at the pyramids. Otherwise, battle tactics and vivid cannon shots were well documented.
its Napoleon not Napolean
@@privatesale211some of the most renowned intellectuals have had atrocious spelling, FYI. I think it's because they focus on the more interesting and complicated facts, and often become bored with tedium
I think that is already pretty obvious💀
True, and I saw NONE of those tactics in the Film.
@@RichardParker2008the movie humilated Napoleon
There's a great book on Napoleon's battles and tactics by David G. Chandler. It has clear writing with great maps (showing battle formations and tactics) and pictures. As a General Napoleon was revolutionary and dogged. It's a shame he became a bit of a tyrant.
That's what I hear but Idk what made him a tyrant.
@@vailingbow1068 "tyrant" is just the name given to any authoritarian leader who's lost a war, as a result of propaganda by the winners. The winners were called "kings" and "emperors" instead. Yes he was a dictator in that he was one man with absolute power, but he wasn't oppressive or brutal towards his own people in the way that we now associate with tyrants or dictators. If you consider his conquest and waring in Europe to be brutal and violent, then nearly every single major political leader of that time and the hundreds or thousands of years that came before him are all tyrants. He was respected both by his own countrymen and foreign men alike even during his time, he was loved by his soldiers, he brought France out of the turmoil and violence of the Revolution and the Terror and stabilised them as one of the major European powers, and his Napoleonic Code would enshrine the principles of equality and liberty in the French legal system whilst abolishing hereditary nobility and class privileges, in line with the Enlightenment principles of the French Revolution.
@@kendrick6740 Lmao yes, all of those would be tyrants to. Plus he did took away rights granted by the revolution and dismantled any semblance of democracy.
You getting hard by how hardcore he was doesn't he wasn't a tyrant.
@@kendrick6740 Ohhh. I see. Thank you.
@@DanJuegawhich country in Europe doenst have a tyrant ruler that time?
Hope he will break down that one fight where Napoleon said, "There's nothing we can do"
In portugal?
@@guga541in exile
Thats in exile so
this will help so much when watching the movie this weekend thank you
I really appreciate the expertise, particularly how detailed and accurate the battle of Toulon is described.
I assume you're being sarcastic, right?
His description of the Battle of Austerlitz at least does counter the movie's cow sheet version and do a fair job of presenting Napoleon's actual strategy there.
He Relied On Speed Just like how almost every succesful military tactic e.g blitzgrieg as its pretty much the game changer
Also the concept of defeat in detail, splitting the army and concentrating on the weakest sector of the enemy line and then rolling up the flanks.
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- yep but his superior mobility made this possible
The Blitzkrieg was powered by meth, so not really an accurate comparison.
@@jessehavlin1490it would be naive to say a tactic only relied on meth. Along with drugging the soldiers it also required air superiority, Armored attacks followed by motorized infantry etc
@@jessehavlin1490meth and insane logistical planning
Note: Czech Republic isn't in Croatia and Lutzen isn't in Bavaria. Just saying cause some can get confused with geography.
Napoleon himself said that had he not lost Marshal Berthier, he likely would have won at Waterloo. The inadequacies of Marshal Soult as his army commander showed that day.
Soult wasn't present as an army commander. He was his chief of staff. Had he been army commander, he might have won.
And I find it funny that you give so much heed to a man making excuses for his loss. Not exactly a credible source.
Napoleon himself was the one who dismissed Soult's warnings of Wellington. Blaming Soult after the fact for his own fuckup is not a credible assessment of Soult's and Berthier's competence
I think you meant ney, soult was a chief of staff. Ney took control of the army, but to be fair alot of factors went to napoleons defeat, it rained and delayed the attack, if it didnt rain the old guard would deff break through the brits and grouchy failed to rejoin which prolly wouldve won the battle
He lost also because he couldn't figure a counter to Wellington's square formations to his cavalry attack.
@@shikamarunara295 what was different to the Wellington's square formation that Napoleon hadn't dealt with before? genuinely wondering cus I've been really interested in Napoleons history recently :)
@@sorushkhalafi5089 Napoleon and commanders of the time knew how to break infantry squares. However Napoleon left many decisions to Ney as he was unwell most of the day at Waterloo. The problem was that Ney sent cavalry unsupported to face the squares.
Many thanks for this informative & precise analysis of Napoleon"s tactics- superb stuff.
He was well loved by his men because during those times Kings no longer lead men in battle not to mention putting themselves in the thickest of the battle. While the enemy troops secretly admired Napoleon and envied the French grand army for having such a leader that caused them to lose moral psychologically and emotional even before a battle has started. It was like enemy troops secretly saying to themselves "why can't we have kings like that?"
The Duke of Wellington that defeated him at Waterloo said, "His presence on the field made the difference of 40,000 men."
Thank you for this video. It is truly interesting and I would like to see the movie. However as someone who is Czech I have to admit there is one misleading information. The historian is right - Austerlitz is in the Czech republic (originally called Slavkov u Brna) but the circle in 2:11 is somewhere else than the location of the Czech republic is (it is to the north direction in the middle of Europe), the circle is pointing nowadays Croatia, a part of Slovenia and a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
I was about to comment this! Another misrepresentation: at 0:16 he points to what he claims is Toulon. However, Toulon is at right edge of the circle, not in the middle. Quite strange how he's wrong so many times?
@@julianjazz7296I see your point. Thank you for your reply. I don't know the complete French map so I had to search for Toulon on a map, here I can understand it a little bit it's just about a few kilometres but misleading the Czech republic and Croatia is creepy when they are 1000 kilometres away. However the video is available for the whole world and should be correct in every aspect.
Just started watching with my son and he couldn't watch any more after the mislocation of the Austerlitz battle.
@@zoymills9868 thank you for your reply. After Austerlitz I couldn't pay attention for the rest of the video. I was just about if I had seen it right so after watching the video I returned to that moment and had to admit that my eyes had seen it right.
Thank you for commenting this so i don't have to.
Excellent
Napoleon won something very few men achieved: Immortality
There is nobody who has achieved what napolean had achieved in his lifetime, not even to this point
Amazing narration! Perfect English
Somehow I think this guy would be a great Dungeon Master. All that's missing after his vivid description of the battlefield is a: "Roll for initiative."
Great video, thanks for making it!
Bro invented the 4-3-3 formation
Thank you for a 7 min video, concentrating on his creative tactics and reasons for his success on the battlefield.
The comments below are complaints that you didn't spend 4 hours and describe every moment of his incredible rise and fall.
Napolean's life and genius can never be captured in a book, or in a movie. He was bigger than life, itself.
yeah that was very bad and inaccurate, also you need to disclaim that this is advertisment!!
Why does no one ever talk about Leipzig?
2:10 shows the Balkans, in the middle of the circle is modern-day Bosnia & Herzegovina, and then the rest of the circle catches modern-day Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Serbia. Czechia is more north.
High praise for: Josephine, a Napoleon Story
One thing is for sure
1-he was average height for the time
This video is already way better than the movie 😅.
You had better watch Waterloo 1970. Napoleon 2023 focuses more on the life and love of Napoleon, not on his battles, empire and achivement.
I wish there was a movie about General Dumas, who fought alongside Napoleon Bonaparte until they had a falling out in Egypt. We have so many Napoleon movies and series. It would be awesome to see the story of a mixed race military commander during the French Revolution who is also the father of one of the most famous authors of France.
He’s in the movie!
@@dmman33 Really? That's very cool! I was worried he wouldn't be.
What do you mean we have like 3 movies or series
To be honest, I would prefer making a movie about Marshal Ney.
How’d they manage to misplace nearly all the white circles for locations?
Just watched the Movie earlier, the Waterloo battle scene was epic.💪
I thought it felt a little small. And no sign of the very important buildings/farms on the battlefield
Honestly the Waterloo scene came off as a bit ridiculous to me. If you wanna see a better depiction of the battle you should watch Waterloo (1970)
@@firebird4491 I did , this one was better in my “opinion “. Each their own.
Napoleon's career was at its nadir when he left josephine, she always gave him good advice
"There is nothing we can do"
Thanks for never EXPLAINING why cavalry in the middle was so important. I feel much more knowledgeable now.
One of the biggest "ifs" I've been thinking was, if ever he brought the commanding officers and generals present in Austerlitz (let's say Lannes survived), into Waterloo, would it make a significant change in the tide of battle? Will it only allow Napoleon to win the battle but still lose the war?
Lmao, of course the only location a British historian can somewhat accurately pin point on a map is Waterloo. He was quite a bit off with like every other battle.
Which battle did he divide his forces to split the enemy's army and then covertly rejoin his forces at night to attack the divided army?
Merci. Now I know how to start the revolution!
This guy is like if Mark Corrigan's every wish came true
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was reminded of David Mitchell
What’s the movie in the background
The new Ridley Scott movie about Napoleon.
its napoleon
yeah mate say the name next time@@snakedoktor6020
Pls do a sketch like this on Russian-Austrian battle of his
Guys if you want to see what napoleon actually did go watch doug doug's stream. It's WAY more accurate
On the subject of Napoleon and war, a youtuber is not more accurate than a British General and historian.
@@sneakyalmond lil bro doesn't get it does he
@@ImPossiblyElgia nah stupid he actually does makes sense. Listening to a professional makes more sense
@@ImPossiblyElgia I'd say a British General and historian would definitely get it. I wouldn't call him 'lil bro' either.
@@sneakyalmond lil bro doesn't even realize that he's lil bro
Joaquin Phoenix is a Miscast. At 24, when Napoleon was portrayed by Phoenix, he appeared to be a 55-year-old, both in looks and, unfortunately, his performance in the movie was deemed a failure.
Lützen is not in the southern part of Germany. It is in the East in Saxony. And the Czech Republic is not Croatia
It literally took the whole of europe to beat one man. That's pretty dam impressive.
Very good video, but like most videos on Napoleon it forgets that he was much more than a the brilliant soldier he is reported to have been.
The video is focused on the battle tactics. It isn't a character analysis
Ridley Scott's Napoleon: this one I hate a lot
Now I’m well educated to play “call of duty ground war : breach”.
No battle of Jena?
Good video but the locations indicated by the circle and stick need to be taken with a 500km grain of salt.
But Napoleon said Vote For Pedro!
2:10 Definitely not what is now the Czech Republic 😲
What's wrong with a bit of artistic license, you ask?? Quite a lot, if said artistic license creates or perpetuates historical inaccuracies and misconceptions.
Case in example: Toulon. This video (we'll forgive it a bit since it's a wee bit short) and Ridley Scott's slog (what his excuse?) gas light the public by emphasizing that Napoleon's shining moment in the siege of Toulon was the charge he led. This is a gross oversimplification. greates contribution to that Siege were: 1. His energetic revamping of how artillery are maintained and used in lieu of the rest of the army. Napoleon was a workaholic -he supervised provisions, recasting and acquisitions of cannons, standardazation of cannon balls, etc. 2. Napoleon had a unique and rare eye for terrain - and was good at math/physics. This means he knew exactly where and how to place cannons. This was a big deal in all his battles, and the first time he demonstrated this was at Toulon. Of all the surrounding hill fortifications at Toulon, Napoleon knew exactly which one to storm and take that would maximize the effectiveness of cannons against the British and the Royalists.
C'mon, the fact that Toulon was ground down to a long, lethargic, and ineffective siege (Napoleon's commanding officer was unimaginative) before Napoleon was assigned there and that he was able to energize the siege to bring it to such decisive end is proof that there IS more to Napoleon than leading charges and getting wounded in battle. The man was a genius.
So yeah, quite something wrong with a bit of artistic license.
It is said that Napolean read a translated version of The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Weather this is true or not is up for debate
however it is likely that he studied and understood Sun Tzu's principles and used them in his battles
which is why he was so successful and overall very dangerous as he is ambitious
its Napoleon not Napolean
Non European generals were never mentioned in Napoleons greats, however the principles of warfare sun tzu describes in his book are universal and you find them in any description of tactics and strategy, whether it be in the battles of Frederick the Great, Alexander , Napoleon himself, or even that of Shaka Zulu and the Vietcong. War always shares the same color, and has no shape.
there is absolutely no evidence napolean ever read Sun Tzu I doubt he had ever even heard of him. Napoleon had two major historical influences, Alexander the Great and Julius Cesaer. There is some convincing evidence that one of napoleons main motivators for his Egypt expedition with replicated the glory Cesaer and Alexander won in the orient.
Basically the man had balls of steel
Bro I made an appointment battle in the game and it was about Napoleon and the British I didn't know what true
my boy hasnt watch waterloo 1970s when he sees that he will laugh at ridley scott.
Ladders were not used in the battle of Toulon...
There is nothing we can do...
Points at Croatia
"It's Czech Republic"
Please break down Wellington battle tactics and Britain overall strategy against napoleon🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
*[marker plunking]*
2:08 whats now czech repuplic shows us coratia/bosnia XD
Haven’t seen one
2:11 not the modern Czech Republic; Croatia
There is nothing we can do
I like the part where Napoleon said "There's nothing we can do" and then did completely nothing.
one of the historical moments of all time
Wait I don’t get the joke, please explain
@@nameunknown007He is describing about Napoleon's exile at Saint Helena. When his generals onboard asked Napoleon about his plan he concluded" There is nothing we can do".
Excellent academic czsaire , scholar presenter here ( name )
Aclade
You have the Austerlitz position completely wrong
Oh.
neither Austerlitz nor Lützen are correctly indicated
I didn't know he was italian, not it all makes sense.
*Quick History: Napoleon’s most famous battles*
There, I fixed the title for you
THERE IS?
How would I know
what was curcked was most def. not the Czech R., more like Croatia
"But what's wrong with a bit of artistic licence" my dude the whole movie was made of artistic licence
On the map there is Dutchy of Warsaw on 1793 but it was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807. Big mistake
Get a grip
Just a detail, but you Show the circle at the wrong Place when talking about czech Republic
I never knew he spoke in a American accent until watching the film. Also strangley most of the frenchmen and even a few Russians spoke with english accents. Weird times.
you scratched the military capabilities of Napoleon. ah... 'Defense of the center position"?
2:10 seriously?! Not even knowing where Czech Republic is…
Sorry excuse me, where is the italy campaign?
It happened between toulon and egypt....
He's discussing the battles depicted in the new movie only. Chill out.
It's in Vogue now to downplay his genius😂😂.. FOH HE WAS A GOD OF WAR
What about boridino
What kind of historian does not know that Napoleon lost 600 thousand by marching on Russia, but he said some unimportant battles
What happened with Napoleon’s son?
Who edited this? It seems like there may have been great explanations during filming, then the footage was chopped down to something almost nonsensical to appease short attention spans.
This Wired video was great except for dudes in charge of the map and placing circles on the map
I’m here cause I watched the movie Napoleon and learned how little I know about this era.
Disapointingly light on actual tactics.
He kept mentioning the movie, well, the movie was crap historically. Nearly every clip I have seen on UA-cam shows history was not followed in this movie.
his description of Waterloo is terrible. Napoleon did crush the Prussians and then a hard battle started with the english until the Prussians came back after having ran away (I oversimplify here oc)
Mr. Jonathon isnt really a proper historian with all respect. He was commander, also he didnt even noticed many wrong "interpretations" in this film, for example that river crossing, 200 people died there, not really thousands as is portrayed in the film. there are many more tho.
Why this guy let himself caught is such poor quality promotional content…
I had to switch off the video after he got Austerlitz and Lützen completely wrong on the map.
"If you want to see his tactics, don't watch napoleon (2023)"
Whether it's the greatest conquerors such as Napoleon or Genghis Khan or a list of many others, the result is always the same. Eventually, they bite off more than they can chew
No Borodino? Lame
lol what battle tactics? Not in this one!