Napoleon: The Historical Significance of Military Genius. Part 3

Harvest of Mars: History and War

“I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.”
– Napoleon Bonaparte

This is the last of a three-part series on the Emperor of the French inspired by historian Andrew Robert’s biography, Napoleon: A Life. The book is quite good at revealing the human being behind the controversial historical figure. Focusing primarily on the military sphere, this episode examines the significance of military genius, that is, why is it that sometimes brilliance seems to have a decisive impact on history and why sometimes it is bounded by larger historical forces. Parts 1 and 2 saw how increasing responsibilities and difficulties hindered Napoleon’s ability to turn his military victories into lasting achievements. This episode picks up with his invasion of Russia and argues that with the handwriting already on the wall, genius could not overcome the various obstacles arrayed against him. It was quite an achievement to terrify a continent in 1815 with just 700 of his personal guard. But even if had had won at Waterloo, eventual defeat was unavoidable.