History

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Rise To Power

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On December 2, 1804, Notre Dame Cathedral echoed with the sounds of 400 musicians and singers as 35 year old Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor (crowning himself, incidentally).  “I found the crown of France in the gutter, and I picked it up.”

He would go on to conquer almost all of Europe, rule over 70 million people, wield more power than anyone since the ancient Caesars of Rome, and instill legal and social changes that are still evident today. He came to power based on his achievements and ambition alone, as did Adolf Hitler over a century later, and was driven strongly by a desire for glory and conquest, stating “I love power like a musician loves his music.” What lessons can we learn from this titan of history?

crowning

Corsican Birth

Born on the Island of Corsica, Napoleon grew up hating France, as they had invaded and conquered Corsica shortly before his birth. Napoleon held a grudge against his father for submitting to the French, which was the most advanced nation in the world at the time, and while some rebels retreated to the mountains to fight, accepting French rule was the obvious choice. Napoleon credits all his accomplishments with the training his mother gave him, explaining this saying “she has the head of a man on the body of a woman.”

French Education

Moving to France in his youth for education, he remained a proud Corsican and somewhat of a loner and outsider. He had little in common with his wealthy French classmates. At 15 he was promoted to the Royal Military Academy in Paris. Teachers described him as proud, ambitious, egotistical, quiet. At 16 he studied with the greatest artillery brigade in the French army.

glory

La Révolution

He struggled with finding himself, and wrote about having thoughts of death and having a lack of purpose. But when the French Revolution came in 1789, and the powerful French monarchy, French nobles, and clergy, were suddenly threatened with losing their power, Napoleon, at age 20, while not a revolutionary, welcomed the revolution as good news. It abolished privileges and hierarchy, and instituted justice and equality for those which had been oppressed for many years. The French Republic was proclaimed in 1792.

corsica

At age 23, now an idealistic revolutionary, Napoleon took leave from the army and returned to his Corsican homeland. The former leader of the Corsican rebels, who was now governor of Corsica, met with Bonaparte, and dismissed him as self centered and ambitious, calling him “a big, inexperienced boy.”

Napoleon, a strong believer in the French Revolution, was fully aligned with the new republic, while the governor wished for Corsican independence. Napoleon was defeated and banished from his homeland by the governor. This was a turning point for Bonaparte, who had viewed the governor as a hero.

Reign of Terror

Exiled, he returned to France with his widowed mother and brothers, finding Maximillian Robespierre in charge, the Revolution turned into The Terror. Austria, Prussia, Spain and Great Britain, completely intolerant of a free republic and deposed king, were all at war with France. The city of Toulon rebelled, opening its port to the British.

Napoleon was despatched to Toulon. He had a strategy for driving out the British. As aristocratic military officers fled the country in droves, the young Napoleon had a huge opportunity to prove himself in battle. He attacked the British, sinking 10 of their ships, and receiving a wound from a bayonet as he charged the fort. Capturing Toulon, Napoleon rose from Captain to Brigadier General in a mere 3 months.

robes2

Robespierre, executioner becomes the executed

Robespierre led a brutally merciless regime, saying “liberty cannot be secured unless criminals lose their heads” and thousands of Frenchmen did indeed.  Bonaparte was opposed to the Terror, but he despised chaos even more, and wrote a pamphlet endorsing Robespierre. In 1794, Robespierre’s government fell, and a new wave of beheadings, including Robespierre’s, followed.

Return to Paris

Napoleon returned to France and began attending court. “The women here are the center of importance. Here alone of all places on earth, they appear to hold the reins of government.” But the women could tell he was not from the aristocratic class, and his clothes and appearance belied this, leading to many of the women rejecting or ignoring him. He again became depressed, writing to his brother that if things didn’t change, the next time a horse carriage came barreling down the street, he would refrain from stepping out of the way.

In 1795, a Parisian mob assembled to restore the monarchy. Bonaparte was put in charge of the defense of Paris, and using a tactic never before attempted on citizens–he attacked the mobs with cannons, obliterating them. He was promoted to general at the age of 26.

paris

Grapeshot to the face will stop a protest

Marriage

He met Josephine, a creole aristocrat from the French colony of Martinique, and a 32 year old widow with 2 children and lots of debt. Her husband had been guillotined, and she had been known to have had multiple affairs with men in French society.

She was a woman of influence, and well connected. Napoleon fell in love with her, but she was not attracted to him. She told a friend he was too young, too skinny, too serious, and when he proposed she hesitated. Recognizing that her looks were fading and her debts mounting, she finally accepted his proposal.

jo

Older, single mom, debt-ridden, scandalous past–what could go wrong?

General Bonaparte

Napoleon’s first assignment as general and commander of all French forces in Italy, he was charged with defeating the Austrian forces. The French troops had struggled for two years in the Alps without progress. The French generals expected little from him, ridiculing and laughing at him, but upon his arrival in Italy, they immediately revised their opinions. One general stated “I don’t know why, but the little bastard scares me.”

He inspired the troops, promising them victory and riches. In his first battle against the Austrians and Piedmontese, who greatly outnumbered him, he divided and destroyed their armies. He could mobilize and control the battlefield before the enemy had time to react. “They sent a young madman, who attacks right, left, and to the rear. It’s an intolerable way of making war,” wrote one of the Piedmont generals. Napoleon soon accepted their surrender, and demanded gold to reward his troops.

Frustration at Home

Away from his wife, and still in his 20s, Bonaparte wrote daily to Josephine. Bonaparte did not have much experience yet with women, and had yet to learn their ways.

Not a day goes by without my loving you.  Not a night without holding you in my arms.  I curse the glory and ambition which keeps me from the soul of my life.  Whenever I am troubled as to how things will turn out, I put my hand to my heart where throbs your likeness.  I have but to look at it, and my love is perfect happiness.

Josephine would often laugh and read his letters aloud to her friends, saying “Bonaparte is so amusing!” My, how little women have changed. Josephine would go on to cause him great heartache and wasted time and resources. And Bonaparte would go on to achieve even greater victory and glory. Some observations on Napoleon:

Man of order

slaves

A hard lesson Bonaparte won’t learn for years to come

He believed order must serve ideals. Robespierre and Napoleon agreed on this, feeling it is necessary to suspend liberties to preserve liberties during the Reign of Terror.

Strategy

mistake

Be bold, be unpredictable, always surprise your enemy.  Do not play by the rules.

Napoleon attacks every day. He attacks when it snows, he attacks at night, he attacks when it’s cold. It’s not the way the game is played. He looks for the enemy, fights it, and when they assume he will stop, he continues. And the next day he fights again.  It surprises them. – Jacques Garnier, historian.

Motivation

hope
Napoleon was a master at motivating his soldiers, and the more they won, the harder they were to stop. Garnier:

There are no tactics at all.  The troops come in so enthusiastically and quickly it surprises the enemy.  It’s just a question of enthusiasm.  Everyone throws themselves into it.  Everyone risks death.

Be courageous and fearless

lion

Napoleon often took physical risks, and never showed fear. He would fight amongst his men, load cannons, lead charges, and won the respect and devotion of his men. He learned to impose his will on his own side and the enemy both. General Bonaparte earned the nickname “Our Little Corporal” because he took on the duties of a lower ranked corporal while commanding his troops. To be continued…

Read More: 5 Reasons Why Classical Opera Should Be Your New Masculine Hobby

120 thoughts on “Napoleon Bonaparte’s Rise To Power”

  2. I know I’m jumping the gun a bit here, but I believe Napoleon did dump Josephine for a younger gal.

    1. Yes he did and had many affairs and a few bastards from them. But his love for the disloyal Josephine seemed to be real. He was a man of great passion, it is hard to be in total control of your passions.

      1. I don’t condone infidelity. However, a man in Napoleon’s position couldn’t be bothered with nonsense, so he had to do what he had to do and take the lesser of two evils.

    2. Yeah, she was a young Polish princess. Even Napoleon was ditching western chicks to get with EE hotties. (it was really to secure an alliance)

      1. She ruined him eventually.
        Western, Eastern, or wherever you come from, if you’re a sucker, you’re done for.

  3. So did Napoleon use any of Sun Tzu’s tactics? Making a parallel between the two would be interesting. How about a comparison between the 48 laws of power?
    This article makes me want to read more about Napoleon. A trip to the used book store may be order. Any suggestions for a Napoleon 101 book?

    1. I remember reading (sorry no citation) that Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” was translated to french in the 1780’s and it was rumored Napoleon had an interest in literature from the far east.

      1. “Never interrupt the enemy while hes making a mistake” sounds very Sun Tzu-eeee

        1. So does the huge bluffing operations he set up against Alexander II. before Austerlitz.
          Appearing weak to convince the enemy to attack where and when you want him to … that’s so Sun-Tzu.

    2. “Napoleon Bonaparte” by Alan Schom. This biography is different from all the other Napoleon biographies in that instead of focusing on “Le Gloire” and reading like a monday morning football summary of battles in the newspaper, it deals with the reality of Napoleon and his mafia family empire (he appointed many of his incompetent relatives and friends to positions as sovereigns over many of the countries he conquered, so imagine your very own, dumb brother, asleep in your mothers’ basement, ruling a European Kingdom). Sort of like Napoleon as Don Corleone (after all, he was Italian and not French). The book shows the real reason behind various occurences. For example it would explain that the reason Nappy might attack a certain principality at a certain time would be the need for robbing their wealth in order to fund other military operations, while other books might simply portray such a move as part of a grand military chess strategy. In a sense one might say that this book takes a kind of Red Pill/Reality approach to the methods and motives of it’s subject. This book cites numerous off handed comments by the “little corporal” showing his true thoughts on human nature and his rationale for manipulating people and situations for his own benefit. This book reads less like a military history book and more like Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” and the well known author received a lot of flak from more tradional biographers and academics for his portrayal of “Le Empereur”. Which was just another reason for me to like it even more.

  4. a hero that france needs badly in these times (not to conquer, but just to defend the country. how pitiful we are)

  5. “What lessons can we learn from this titan of history?”
    What we can learn from him and many like him is that no one fucks with Russia. Too bad that some of us will have to be reminded this the hard way yet again.

      1. The Chinese are using Russia as a wedge to keep Europe and to a lesser extent the U.S. on their toes. An increasingly isolated Russia turns more and more towards China for trade and diplomatic support, essentially becoming their ally and serving their strategic interests whether Putin likes it or not.

        1. Russia’s current difficulties with the West are the product of Russian nationalism and Western arrogance/stupidity. China will certainly use that to its advantage, but it isn’t really the shot-caller…more the opportunist.
          The Russians describe the period b/w 1991 and, well, the present as the ‘humiliation’–Russia was forced to watch while the US & UK did…whatever they wanted in to former Soviet client states (Iraq, Libya and now Syria).
          What Putin can do is interfere with former Soviet Republics (Georgia, Ukraine, maybe Kazakhstan), b/c he knows the West isn’t going to do much about it. The Ukrainians finally cut off electricity to Crimea, but eventually the Russians will solve that problem with an undersea cable.
          Recall that Putin once said that the biggest tragedy of the 20th Century was the dissolution of the Soviet Union (one imagines that the tens of millions of dead from WWII might disagree, but they are unavailable fore comment). I think he plans to re-construct as much of it as he can, and also die “in the saddle”, like the Tsars.
          We will see.
          There is more danger to Russia from China, in my view, than from the West. Again, we will see.

        2. The opportunist eventually calls the shots if he stays in the game long enough. China is doing this right now.
          Here’s my reasoning: Russia isn’t going to stop being nationalist, and the West isn’t going to stop being arrogant and thinking of Russia as an evil empire of drunkards and KGB men. As long as this situation persists, the Russians and the West aren’t going to be friendly, let alone cooperate on anything.
          The Russian nationalist ideal would be to carve out as much of the former USSR as possible and incorporate it into Russia. But even then it would suffer from a sharp economic and demographic disadvantage against the West, which opposes Russia’s empire-building. As long as the West remains the West and Russia remains Russia, this conflict will persist.
          China, on the other hand, does not generally make aggressive moves toward other countries. It is content to use its economic weight to slowly persuade foreign powers and their firms to do business. That is what it does with the United States and a variety of smaller developing nations. With the increasing agreements and economic cooperation between China and Russia, the same thing is happening on that front too.
          In short, Chinese business will back up Putin’s empire-building and anti-Western posturing by giving Russia some protection against sanctions. Unable to solve its differences with the West (Putin’s continued domination of Russia relies on him NOT introducing Western-style democratic politics or liberal culture), Russia can only look to China for its economic needs. Even if it doesn’t ally with China outright, it will still end up in the PRC’s economic sphere.
          Despite this, China does have a potentially fatal Achilles’s heel: Its own politics and economics are very corrupt and full of inefficiencies that have caused the economy to slow over the last few years. Despite attempts at strengthening rule of law and enforcing regulations, the Communist Party still holds itself above the law, which means that it will be impossible to root out the associated corrupt practices and poorly-thought-out polices (e.g. one child policy) that damage the nation’s competitive ability.

      2. Yes. Does the west really believe that certain sanctions have any real effect on Russia? Ok financial etc can only go so far. But most other commodities can be imported through China. This is commerce. Sanctions never really get in the way of making a buck. All Russia has to do is turn the other way and all of a sudden your iPod is being manufactured in a factory run on Russian gas….

        1. ” This is commerce. Sanctions never really get in the way of making a buck.”
          I wish the drug war supporters will get this in their heads. Drugs are here to stay. Legalize and tax the shit out of it.

        1. If you have a Russian Uncle, then yes, you have. My username here was not available there, so I needed a new one. It’s a bit more aligned with reality anyway.

    3. What I can conclude from, at least, Hitler, if you take Russian territory, take as much before winter sets and hold it.

      2. Check out Viktor Surovov’s The Chief Culprit. An eye-opener look at WW2 from the Soviet perception. Hitler attacked USSR because he really have no choice. The entire sources of his war materials were in Finland and Romania and the Red Army positioned themselves within a striking distance. Lose them and he lose the war. The Soviet spies were counting all kinds of materials in the German factories and not a single winter coat was ordered for the army prior to the invasion. That tell us that he knew he was trapped and chose to make a last gambler’s gambit to get out of the trap he had blindly walked into by attacking Poland while Stalin waited long enough for the world to blame his partner before moving to Poland.

        1. The Germans did pretty well at doing just that. If only Hitler wasn’t too bent on going after Moscow. If anything, he could have at least shut down Leningrad and secured the Ukraine, with its supply of grain and it’s ample German minority. Plus he already had Romania and Finland on his side. Even if the Soviets were rebuilding, they were at one point far behind. Plus, the purges of the 30s decimated the Red Army.

    4. The first rule from the book of war: never start a war with Russia.
      The second rule: never put a land army in China.
      -Field Marshal Montgomery

      1. Different but still valid. At this point, I think everyone has realized proxy wars and Ideological subversion are more effective than an armed invasion.

        2. Really depends on the situation. You gotta be adaptive. But power will always shift. Unless you are god. And nobody is god. Everyone will eventually lose. But is that an excuse not to go all out and try to be the best. No its not. Because the ones who accept that commit suicide either literally ending their lives or deciding to give up their hopes and ambitions.

        2. How complimentary that Jews, who total a tiny fraction of 1% of world population, “fucks” with Mother Russia.
          Thank You.

        4. You’re welcome I guess? I suppose this is why there is so much animosity toward the Jew; Only a Jew would consider it a compliment to be accredited with the mass murder of millions of Russian Christians, as well as the destruction of Orthodox churches.

        5. Personally I know of the only times I’ve been angry enough to war with a neighbor or acquaintence is when my woman was underhandedly pulling some shit. At times she wasn’t even conscious she was starting a war between men but it was just her nature to drive a wedge against the fraternity. Eighteenth century Europe full of distinguished ladies, madames, madamezingos, queen bitch heinesses, loud mouthed jewesses with big teth and hair, cackling society hens and so forth became an open pandora’s tinderbox of hypergamy. The women manipulated and effectively ruled without the official vote. It’s no wonder the European brethren constantly fought amongst themselves.
          Most men sitting in jail when probed will admit they’re there because of involvement with some woman. Most wars are instigated by the women of the sexually beta leaders. Note how Clinton out foxed war and bitches hands down but BUSH with sweet Barbara stamps any shit to please a fucking cuck queen. If only RP were preached and taught in old France, the feifdoms would have reached an optimum level of fidelity and achievement unseen in the surrounding bitch groveling nations. RP is potentially more energizing and powerful for a people than feminism or marxism. RP is highly potent for any culture. No pussifying religion can survive in the vicinity of RP. And only the good patriarchal parts of the acceptable religions survive and can pass through the sieve of RED PILL.

        6. I honestly don’t understand anything you just said.
          Did you get a rectal exam or something?

      1. Looking throughout history, the more we approach modern times, the less likely it was for Russia to lose a war/conflict. I doubt that this trend is going to change today.

    7. Well it is possible, you just should never, ever underestimate them. And their winters. And their huge size which makes any invasion put immense pressure on supply lines and communication.
      1) In 1612 the Poles occupied the Kremlin and the Russian tsar gave homage to the Polish king.
      2) Genghis Khan destroyed Russia to the core.
      3) Germans really destroyed Russia in World War 1, even without the Bolshevik revolution they were pretty much done for anyway (imagine how it would’ve been without the Western Front to keep the Germans occupied).

  8. In his personal life he was a White Knight – he married a widow with two children and with lots of debt.
    In his political life he was a lefty, quoting:
    ‘We must have a European legal system, a European appeal court, a common currency, the same weights and measures the same laws,’
    He once said to Joseph Fouché: I must make of all the peoples of Europe one people, and of Paris, the capital of the world.

    1. Krum, it could be argued that he married her for his own advancement to use her for her political connections and less as a White Knight. After all he did dump her later on for a royal marraige for his own benefit. As far as being a “lefty”, he was more a totalitarian, granted which, “lefty” and “totalitarian” could well be considered interchangeable terms in a historical context.

    1. Did Napoleon ever set foot on Haiti?….also the majority of French losses(as was usual among European combatants) was due to disease.

      1. Ok , I guess the losses only count if general shows up for battle. So by your HIS-STory he wasn’t present. Doesnt that make him a coward?

        1. The general did turn up…and they still lost(although vastly outnumbered). Napoleon couldn’t be everywhere at once…especially as Haiti was a sideshow.

        3. Who’s ”ass’?’….Napoleon wasn’t there. They ‘suffer’ because they’re incompetent.

        4. oh , i see. his army wasn’t good enough without his presence. looks like someone didn’t know how to follow the generals orders. Some great army ,eh!!?!

        5. You know its ok to admit that you don’t know the history. But thank goodness for the internet ,right?!! Hint: try a research library. Ilearned about them in high school.

        8. The incompetents have an embargo placed upon them by the US and their allies since 1806. Coincidently when Napolean’s superior army got their collective arrests kicked. (yeah I know, the loss doesn’t count because at the time, Napoleon was in France woofing down crossaints.) Haiti was the first Cuba. Its especially offensive to “great” white nations to have their butts kicked in by uppity negros.

        12. ”The word negrophilia is derived from the French négrophilie that literally means love of the negro”
          Do you mean phallic? I bet you do – dunski

        13. OK you got me , but what does this have to do with wanting to have sex with a dead black person( negrophiliac)

  10. “The bullet that kills me is yet to be cast.” With that philosophy, nothing can stop you from your ambitions. This is a good salute to one of history’s greatest leaders.

  11. “Give me enough medals and I’ll win any war.” Men you lead are thirsty for recognition. If you give it to them, they will perform.

  13. If for Napoleon’s Army, there were no Alps strong enough
    For Me, there shall be no fear.
    And so must it be for you.

  14. Josephine would often laugh and read his letters aloud to her friends, saying “Bonaparte is so amusing!” My, how little women have changed. Josephine would go on to cause him great heartache and wasted time and resources.

    Funny. The thought crossed my mind that male nature is naive and loyal while female is controlling and shaming. I feel ashamed of admitting that this makes for a good matriarchal arrangement. If there were not the voice in me that cries out: BULLSHIT!

  15. Hitler should have studied his military campaigns in much greater detail. The Russian winters are harsh, long and cruel, and no amount of German might or French strategy can outwit such a relentless foe.

    1. Charles the twelfth and his carolinian army did the exact same mistake in the eighteenth century.

        2. Well, except he doesn’t have blond hair or is that just a myth, like all the Irish having red hair!

        3. Well he is often depicted as dark blond, this particular painting looks more brown. I believe scandinavia is the countries with the most dense populations of blonde people, we do also have alot of redheads, now we are steadily turning in to eurabia though along with the rest of europe but thats another story.

        4. Interesting. It’s unusual the way your neighbors, the Finns have become so much more right wing and very nationalistic unlike the Swedes. The Finns, I know from visiting there have a very different language and indeed history to Sweden, especially with its close neighbor Russia. I wonder has this anything to do with the divergence between both of your Scandinavian countries?

        5. Finns are scandinavians only geographically, ethnically and also culturally they differ, they actually belong to the same tribe of people as the hungarians, you can probably hear their similarity of language if you compare it. swedes, norwegians, danes and icelandics are pretty much one people, i can speak with danes and norwegians in “scandinavian” but icelandic is to difficult. The difference in they being more rightwing is not culturally, but more due to having been in war recently and not having leftist brainwashing shoved down their throat for decades.

        7. You are correct about their draft, two years obligatory military training for all young men. Their gun laws im not that familiar with, finns drink a lot of vodka so it could be problematic with to liberal gun laws combined with the finnish temperament, still good if they are armed, many swedes are moving to our neighbour nations these days.

    2. Don’t forget that the an aliance of French, British and Ottomans barely achieved anything in Crimea against the Russians.

      1. Never forget that the Russians are not an offensive (unlike the Americans) but a defensive nation. They generally don’t attack or invade other nations. However, if attacked or invaded they’ll fight to the last, hence, no foreign power has ever successfully taken Russian territory.

        5. South Oesstia. It’s disputed, so hardly an invasion if the ethnicity is almost the same between both countries, besides they left…..unlike the US who’ve gone into so many countries who’ve nothing in common with it.

        8. I could really give a fuck about Afghanistan. From what I’ve seen they’re a bunch of savages, permanently stuck in the past.

        9. You should’ve seen it pre-soviet invasion. The people were far from savage and were revered by nations across Europe and the Middle East.

        13. No dumbass, Russia invaded Afghanistan in the late 1970s. Please don’t comment on these topics if you know nothing about them.

  16. Word of advice, you should take down that Getty image as they mercilessly pursue copyright infringement. Unless you actually did pay to use it.
    Other than that, enjoyed the article.

  18. Amazing how alpha he was in war, and beta in love. Anyone have any theories why he was so unable to choose a suitable woman? His mother didn’t love him enough?

    1. Lolol. It is like Napoleon’s love life was made just for an ROK article. He was like Napoleon Dynamite at love. There are in fact a lot of betas and worse who have achieved power in politics or the church. They’re dangerous with power and lack of understanding of the true nature of women, something you can only learn with a crash course and sometimes many crash courses before you beat or control the game. Churches are full of old gold diggers who smell out the beta clergy. Most churches have a mob of white knights to beware of.
      On the other hand, those in power who posess pimp game like Clinton don’t go around flaunting it, they just use it without scruples.

      2. I know one super rich guy (70 millionish wealth). And he confided that one of the things that drove him was a super critical mother..I wonder if Napoleon had something similar..desperately trying to fill a hole a crappy mother created..and always failing.

        1. Having a perfectionist mother indicates that dad allows her to run the gamut. How many eyes behind burkas are stealthily ‘manbrained’? But out in the open, no burka, Napoleon’s mom dragged him by the nuts far past weaning when she should have stopped. Some intelligent old birds just got the bug up their ass to do that. Does a perfectionist mom ever teach game to her cucked sons? Hmmm? No she snaps at Junior with the lethal peck of a psychotic rooster whenever his curiosity strays to the carnal knowledges. How confusing for a boy. The few genius cuck boys that luckily survive a crazy eyed mother never learn to grasp the true nature of women and the white knights they become will inflict and draft the death knell puritan laws that choked the Shakers out of existence. Josephina was a cuck approved hen peck face just like Camilla. The old bitch mother couldn’t approve concubines or virgin eye candy for Charles? OUT to the ‘unclean’ shed old cuckbitch. No man or son can thrive under an old queen cuckbitch.
          AND HOW do the bright eyed femme mothers become so uncaged and out of their place? Simple . . they weren’t PUT OUT during menstruation. Lev15:19-20. The smell of carnal blood as house aroma alongside the baked cookies will stir the mind to chop heads of their bretheren even.
          PUT YE WOMEN OUT for seven days when they’re ragging. Do not touch them or speak with them until they’re clean. Honor the father. Hail the patriarchy!!

    2. Yes it would’ve been a much better and focused article by looking at leaders who are beta in love/alpha in war with full analysis instead of a dick-riding history lesson.

  19. I think if Napoleon knew what the future of being a general would inevitably hold, he would have the sense to decline becoming France’s disposable pawn and spend his time getting laid and enjoying nature.
    Just like Josephine, France probably saw the guy as a useful plaything to fulfill prophecy or something. Oh Napoleon, you would have been much better off going your own way. France needs you? What did France ever do for you, or to you for that matter?
    Fuck the war. Leave such business to France and enjoy the rest of your life, Napoleon, I would have said.
    I’m no pacifist, but in war there are only bad prospects for those who serve, while the rich enjoy the spoils. Not my kind of life, and not my path that’s for sure.

  20. We can learn that when you create a cult of personality behind the “republican who became an absolute monarch” (republican in terms of the French Revolution), you get a failed French state based on an unsustainable economic model (conquering neighbors to plunder their coffers). As the Grande Armee was retreating after the failed invasion of Russia, Napoleon, certainly not leading from the front, fled to Paris while his army of 650,000 starved to death, only 50,000 men returning.
    Napoleon’s ego destroyed him. After his victory at Austerlitz, French foreign policy became Napoleon’s personal policy: it was more about him than France, and only poor leaders make it personal.
    A better example of a man would have been Otto von Bismarck or the Duke of Wellington. ROK still follows “pop culture history”; an objective analysis of the Napoleonic Era reveals a petty man so infatuated with his own ego he failed the France he claimed to love.

  21. I studied Napoleon’s Military genius at 6th form. He became something of an inspiration for me, at the time when I was pursuing a military career as an officer. Although I didn’t achieve that ambition, if I’d been able to join at 16-18 with a potential fast track and coaching system in place I’m sure I would have done well. The current extended adolescence of extending schooling demanding a degree and spending the time as a civilian does not do justice to young men. So many great military leaders started young, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Nelson, I could go on.
    In the west we have lost respect for the martial values, which are inherent within men. It needs to be channelled and developed. I’m not surprised at the high number of mental health issues in young men these days. In days gone by noblemen would train their sons, and then send them out to friends and family to continue their training in the arts of war. This needs to be rediscovered in the West, in order to save it.

    1. The thing you failed to connect is all those men you mention were connected up the wazoo with high society movers and shakers.

      1. You mention this as if this has any substantial consequence aside from the occasional annoyance

      2. Not all – Many knights were poor and not connected. A few rose up through the ranks. The basis is a pride in a martial society. Take the English longbowman for example, a commoner but trained from boyhood and instilled with martial virtues.

  22. France led the world at the time culturally (but in a decadent manner) with regards to harnessing the power of the state. That is, widespread military conscription. If Napolean had succeeded, we would all be French.
    But economic power is ultimately more powerful than the state. So the next power was the anglo-saxons who were the first to truly master economic power. And rule the world through finance.
    Even the industrial machine of Hitler fell to the anglo-saxon spider web of using finance and economics to muster new allies against the industrial powerhouse Germany.
    World government will be acheived by something along these lines. By finaincial olligrarchs spinning unseeen webs that tie down less nimble nation states. States that in theory possess the raw power to come out on top but which are like Gulliver tied down by the Litliputians.
    A well placed bribe here, a corrupt “charitable foundation” there, a Rotchild financed “think tank”, and the ability of a democratic state to represent the people is neutralized.
    Nowhere is this more visible than in the USA republic where financiers have found ways to circumvent the systems of checks and balances imagined by Jefferson and Washington. Or the EU where the euro and Brussels have found ways to override democcratically elected governments.

  23. Interesting how most of you attribute Russian victories to the winter, as if the attacking European armies were originally from Sub-Saharan Africa. Russians won and will always win because of the undestructible spirit, Orthodox faith, attachment to their land and strength that Europeans lack.

  24. Any discussion of Napoleon which omits the all-important secret-societal intrigues all around him and including him is a carefully sanitized, superficial history of Napoleon. A real history of Napoleon would include a tracking of Jesuitical intrigue, would note Napoleon’s famous quotation about the Jesuits (look it up), would emphasize Napoleon’s abduction of the Pope, and would explain why Nappy always had his hand in his coat, over his breast, whenever he posed for portraits.
    Any history omitting these most important Napoleonic intrigues is merely “cowboys and indians” history.

  26. Bonaparte, after a rough start with her, had his best imperial glorious days when married and living with Josephine. However, he divorced her and traded her in for Mary-Louise, the daughter of the Habsburg emperor, in hopes of aligning the two empires, building a front against Russia and Prussia. This was vain hope as Mary-Louise’s father chose against him nevertheless and all went downhill from there. One could even say that Napoleon’s demise came with him betraying Josephine, or, at the least, that it was a major factor in his unfortunate final fate. A lesson to be learned.
    Recommended: Vincent Cronin’s account of Napoleon, wonderfully written and full of additional insights, also as to Bonaparte’s views on women (e.g. “Women have no rank”, a profound one;)

  27. Quote: Born on the Island of Corsica, Napoleon grew up hating France, as they
    had invaded and conquered Corsica shortly before his birth.
    Correction… Corsica was a penal colony of Genoa & was giving trouble to the Republic of Genoa… So they decided to get rid of it by selling it to the French King Louis XV….Of course the Corsican didn’t like the Genoese & they didn’t like the French at that time, but its’ all water under the bridge today…
    BTW today Corsica still has a privileged status in France……

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