generalship (FRW)

• What position did Napoleon have?


  He fought as an artillery officer during the FRW, and thanks to the meritocratic system he was promoted on merit to Brigadier General at just 24
• Napoleon had clever strategy and tactics- how?


  When he was badly outnumbered by 25,000 he planned to conquer the Piedmontese and Austrians separately. He concentrated his forces to shatter the Austrians and used 'strategy of the central position' by concentrating on the centre of widely deployed enemy forces
• Napoleon aimed to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible by smashing their armies and do so when?

  Battles of Montenotte & Mondovi were won in just 2 weeks
• How does Napoleon maintain a high morale in his troops as a leader?


  He rewards his men which gives him a good relationship with them so high morale and trust is maintained. He regrouped French forces to lead a huge offensive against Italy which led to the eventual surrender of the Piedmontese and Austrians
• What did Napoleon make good use of as a general?


  Successfully implemented most effective military theories and practices such as Gribeauval, Du Teil, De Saxe etc. He also successfully withheld Austrian counterattacks making good use of communication lines.
• How was Napoleon inspirational?


  He took over a neglected, ill-disciplined, largely demoralised force and inspired them to be highly motivated such as when he personally led a storming column across the Adda Bridge at Lodi to attack the Austrians. His clear strategy to lead to victory helped with this inspiration majorly.
• How might Napoleons leadership be discredited somewhat?


  The revolution allowed for key military ideas to be discussed in French military academies to be put into practice, Nap was a talented general but not an innovator- his use of the corps system & artillery reforms had been discussed by theorists many years before. However he was the one to implement this successfully which suggests his high ability as a general. The revolutionary 'nation in arms' spirit in France meant soldiers were fighting for a cause which gave leaders an enthusiastic, committed body of troops
• How can Napoleons impact on the nature of war be diminished by other factors?


  The 'nation in arms' spirit in France meant soldiers were fighting for a cause which gave leaders an enthusiastic, committed body of troops- the quality of soldiers is arguably more important. Revolution allowed for military ideas to be discussed in French military academies to be put into practice, Nap was a talented general but not an innovator- his use of the corps system & artillery reforms had been discussed by theorists many years before. The success of generalship relied on military theorists from this angle.
• How is quality of soldiers arguably more impactful than generalship?

  In the First Italian Campaign because he was able to inherit a strong force of 38,000 effective well trained troops who had over two years experience in mountain warfare this made a huge difference compared to the divided enemy forces which affected the outcome. At the crucial battle of Rivoli in Jan 1797 Napoleons men were outmanoeuvred by the Austrians and were only able to overcome their enemy due to their greater weight in numbers.
• What else could be argued to be a bigger factor than generalship?


  France's enemies needed urgent reorganisation and better control which was crucial in determining the outcome of many of the wars in the FRW
• Key arguments about Napoleon and the Italian Campaign?

  • inspirational leader= high morale + trust
  • good use of tactics/corps system= arguably QS eg able to walk 30 miles a day
  • he was inspirational= with men
• First Italian Campaign for evidence of generalships importance?

  • he was outnumbered but his clever strategic planning where he decided to conquer the Piedmontese and Austrians separately shows his great generalship
  • he's a battlefield commander and rewards his men with real money, the first many have seen in years which makes their trust and morale better