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To assist with command and control of the infantry, each soldier would wear a colourful military uniform visible from a distance, even through the black-powder clouds hovering over the Napoleonic battlefields. Napoleon himself did not underestimate the importance of morale and said once that, "Moral force rather than numbers decides victory." [5]
The central position had a weakness in that the full power of the pursuit of the enemy could not be achieved because the second army needed attention. So overall the preferred method of attack was the flank march to cut the enemy's logistics. Napoleon used the central position strategy during the Battle of Waterloo.
The strategy of the central position (French: stratégie de la position centrale) [1] was a key tactical doctrine followed by Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars. [2] It involved attacking two cooperating armies at their hinge, swinging around to fight one until it fled, then turning to face the other. The strategy allowed the use of a smaller ...
Napoleon seized power in 1799, establishing a military dictatorship. [35] There are numerous opinions on the date to use as the formal beginning of the Napoleonic Wars; 18 May 1803 is often used, when Britain and France ended the only short period of peace between 1792 and 1814. [36]
The military career of Napoleon spanned over 20 years. He led French armies in the French Revolutionary Wars and later, as emperor, in the Napoleonic Wars . Despite his rich war-winning record, Napoleon 's military career ended in defeat.
Napoleon installed his relatives in power across the expanded empire. Jérôme Bonaparte , the youngest brother, became King of Westphalia and has the reputation of a playboy. However Owen Connelly examines the financial, military, and administrative performance to conclude that he was loyal, useful, and a soldierly asset to Napoleon.
Napoleon and Francis I after the Battle of Austerlitz. Napoleon did not succeed in defeating the Allied army as thoroughly as he wanted, [3] but historians and enthusiasts alike recognize that the original plan provided a significant victory, comparable to other great tactical battles such as Cannae. [94]
What dampened the enthusiasm was a message coming from the Paris Directory in which the decision was communicated to divide the command of the Italian army between Bonaparte and Kellermann, so as to assign the former the task of destroying the Pope and the latter to maintain control of the Po valley. Napoleon responded in a displeased manner ...