Napoleon; a history of the art of war

Front matter

THE

LIBRARY

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Preface

The laurels worn by Gustavus Adolphus fell upon the brow of Frederick the Only ; and the narrative of that great captain's campaigns, as a part of this History of the Art of War, was completed several years ago. But the publication by the Great German General Staff of the early volumes of its extensive treatise on the Prussian king has interrupted the chronological sequence of this history. The abundant fresh matter and the new point of view in the splendid monument thus erected to the German national hero have made it expedient for the author to await its completion, so that he may embody in his own work many of the new facts developed by the profound research that has for years been made in the inaccessible German archives, and may recast much of what he has already finished. It has meanwhile been deemed wise to begin the publication of the Napoleonic wars, although these should properly follow the campaigns of Frederick. It is hoped that there wiU be no unreasonable delay in the issue of the remaining volumes.

The basis of all our information about the campaigns of Napoleon exists primarily in the letters, orders and bulletins issued from the headquarters of the armies in campaign. These, checked off by the official reports of the campaigns and battles by his opponents, and compared with other accounts from more personal sources, furnish the material from which to construct an accurate and consecutive narrative. The " Correspondence of Napoleon I.," as far as obtainaviii PREFA CE.

ble, was published by Napoleon III. in thirty-two volumes. Some letters and orders could at the moment not be procured ; a few were for other reasons omitted ■; but the bulk of all Napoleon's correspondence is spread before the public in the twenty-two thousand official documents printed therein. The volumes also contain Napoleon's Memoirs and other matter dictated at St. Helena. While the latter possess marked interest, they are, like all comments in after days, less reliable than the orders issued and the letters written at the moment of action. These have a positive value. Chiefly upon this Correspondence the author has relied for his details, although the story of this great captain has been so often told that its bald facts may be gleaned from many sources.

The reader will remember that this work deals with only the military life of Napoleon. The political events of this era, or indeed his personality, althoiigh replete with interest, can be touched on only so far as they illustrate the art of war, or elucidate campaigns.

The bibliography of Napoleon is numbered by thousands of works, from Thiers' brilliant history of this period in thirty-one volumes to the simple brochure occasionally issued to-day. Most of these works contain comparatively little that can be used, although the author has made himself familiar with most of them. Some have a personal charm or a political value, but viewed from the standpoint of the art to which Napoleon contributed so much, the majority possess scant interest. Much reliance has naturally been placed on the criticisms of the well-known military historians, beginning with Jomini. It is difficult to say anything about the great warrior that may not already have been recorded. The Memoirs of some of the marshals — Victor, Marmont, St. Cyr and others — the histories and critiques of Scharnhorst,

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Clausewitz, Riistow, Lindenau, Biilow, Martens, Kausler, Woerl, de Ligne, Venturini, Massenbach and many more, are full of matter. Of later books, one of the most valuable is Wartenburg's. To this work, and to that of Prince Gallitzin, which extends up to 1801, the author is greatly indebted. Wartenburg closely follows the Correspondence, and in pursuing the same path, the author has made much use of the intelligent suggestiveness of this distinguished officer. To C. von B. K., Berndt, Odon and various French textbook writers for the present generation of soldiers, thanks are also due. A preface in which acknowledgment were made by name to all the Napoleonic students who have contributed to the author's knowledge would exceed all limits ; but he owes much to one and all his predecessors in this study.

It has been thought that quotations from Napoleon's utterances at the moment of action would be interesting to even the general reader, and such quotations have been largely indulged in. Most of them are verbatim ; a few only recite the general statement or opinion. Those not otherwise credited are from the St. Helena Memoirs. An occasional difference in dates may be due to the use of the Republican Calendar.

The same care in visiting the battlefields in person that was given to former campaigns has with few exceptions been exercised in writing these.

The portraits of the marshals and generals celebrated at that time, as weU as those of the great captain himself, will be found interesting. It has been thought better to spread upon the pages many of these, even when of scant artistic value, than to put in a few only on account of their merit as pictures. It will be noted that most of the portraits are those of middle-aged or old men, whereas many of Napoleon's lieutenants were young; but they were too busy during their

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fighting years to give sittings for painters. In many cases portraits of even celebrated men seem not to be in existence. Many of the portraits are mere sketches from old engravings, which cannot be reproduced.

The cuts of uniforms and arms help to illustrate the subject treated, even when they lack 1>he highest grade of execution. Nearly all are copied from pictures of the period, among others those of Van der Meulen, Vernet, Charlet, Lami, Bellange and those in the Versailles Museum.

The maps and charts will be found sufficient. From the maps has been omitted everything which is not needed for the matter in hand. In the charts of battles there has been no attempt to enter into great detail, the general position of the lines alone being indicated, so tha-t the battle in its larger features can be readily understood ; for it is not the fighting of the separate divisions so much as the general plan of the leader which interests us. In the charts, the blocks or lines of troops merely indicate general position, and not numbers or specific place.

More space has been given to the strategic operations of Napoleon than to the grand-tactics of his battles. Wonderful as the latter were, the strategic marches were yet more so. They are not in most histories so amply treated, whereas the key-note of Napoleon's successes was that his strategy so led up to battle that victory became decisive ; and to the military student the strategic manoeuvres are of perhaps greater interest. This has, in fact, sometimes induced the author to give the day's routes of the various corps ; but as the legends at the head of each chapter enable the general reader to skip what he cares not to read, it is hoped the prolixity will not be out of place. Much matter has also been put in small type. This matter is, as a rule, not essential to the narrative, but possesses its own interest.

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This history of Napoleon is written largely from the French standpoint, although due weight has been given to the authorities of every nation. It is not possible to describe Napoleon's brilliant lessons in the art of war from the point of view of any one of his opponents. Moreover, less space has been devoted to those campaigns in which our British cousins figured than might be natural in volumes written for Englishspeaking people ; but in the case of the Peninsular War, where so great a character as Wellington figured, and where he so often held the initiative, much has been stated from the English standpoint. The Peninsular War has, however, been so thoroughly covered by Napier, and is being again covered with so much amplitude and skill by Professor Oman, that the author has deemed it more desirable to treat these campaigns as a minor part of the great Napoleonic scheme — as indeed they were — than to seek to compete with these brilliant and laborious historians in describing the events in Spain and Portugal.

More than all are thanks owing to my collaborator for the past twenty-three years, my wife, whose patient intelligence has so often saved me from serious blunders, and whose skillful pencil has lent interest to over twenty volumes.

Table Of Contents

CHAPTEE PAGE

I. Aemy Organization at End of Eighteenth Century . 1 II. Tactics and Administration at End of Eighteenth

Century 21