Product Description

Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex -- an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally-minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat."

The Campaigns of Napoleon is an exhaustive analysis and critique of Napoleon's art of war as he himself developed and perfected it in the major military campaigns of his career. Napoleon disavowed any suggestion that he worked from formula ("Je n'ai jamais eu un plan d'opérations"), but military historian David Chandler demonstrates this was at best only a half-truth. To be sure, every operation Napoleon conducted contained unique improvisatory features. But there were from the first to the last certain basic principles of strategic maneuver and battlefield planning that he almost invariably put into practice. To clarify these underlying methods, as well as the style of Napoleon's fabulous intellect, Mr. Chandler examines in detail each campaign mounted and personally conducted by Napoleon, analyzing the strategies employed, revealing wherever possible the probable sources of his subject's military ideas.

The book opens with a brief account of Bonaparte's early years, his military education and formative experiences, and his meteoric rise to the rank of general in the army of the Directory. Introducing the elements of Napoleonic "grand tactics" as they developed in his Italian, Egyptian, and Syrian campaigns, Mr. Chandler shows how these principles were clearly conceived as early as the Battle of Castiglione, when Napoleon was only twenty -six. Several campaigns later, he was Emperor of France, busily constructing the Grande Armée. This great war machine is described in considerable detail: the composition of the armies and the élite Guard; the staff system and the methods of command; the kind of artillery and firearms used; and the daily life of the Grande Armée and the all-seeing and all-commanding virtuoso who presided over every aspect of its operation in the field.

As the great machine sweeps into action in the campaigns along the Rhine and the Danube, in East Prussia and Poland, and in Portugal and Spain, David Chandler follows closely every move that vindicates -- or challenges -- the legend of Napoleon's military genius. As the major battles take their gory courses -- Austerlitz, Jena, Fried-land -- we see Napoleon's star reaching its zenith. Then, in the Wagram Campaign of 1809 against the Austrians -- his last real success -- the great man commits more errors of judgment than in all his previous wars and battles put together. As the campaigns rage on, his declining powers seem to justify his own statement: "One has but a short time for war." Then the horrors of the Russian campaign forever shatter the image of Napoleonic invincibility. It is thereafter a short, though heroic and sanguinary, road to Waterloo and St. Helena.

Napoleon appears most strikingly in these pages as the brilliant applier of the ideas of others rather than as an original military thinker, his genius proving itself more practical than theoretical. Paradoxically, this was both his chief strength and his main weakness as a general. After bringing the French army a decade of victory, his methods became increasingly stereotyped and, even worse, were widely copied by his foes, who operated against him with increasing effectiveness toward the end of his career. Yet even though his enemies attempted to imitate his techniques, as have others in the last century and a half, no one ever equaled his success. As these meticulous campaign analyses testify, his multifaceted genius was unique. Even as the end approached, as David Chandler points out, his eclipse was "the failure of a giant surrounded by pygmies."

"The flight of the eagle was over; the 'ogre' was safely caged at last, and an exhausted Europe settled down once more to attempt a return to former ways of life and government. But the shade of Napoleon lingered on irresistibly for many years after his death in 1821. It lingers yet."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #227205 in Books
• Published on: 1973-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1172 pages

Review
The Boston Globe Writing clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters. -- Review

Review
Eliot Fremont-SmithBooks of the TimesA massive and absorbing -- one is tempted to say definitive -- account and detailed analysis of the military career of Napoleon....The descriptions of the battles -- all the important ones, and all augmented by superb position maps -- have perhaps never been done with greater clarity.

The New York Review of BooksChandler can hold up his head with the best of them. His prose is as clear as his intellect....his scholarship is excellent...this is a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader.

Los Angeles TimesChandler's analysis is so thorough that there is hardly an area untouched.

The New YorkerThe book is engrossing, and...amounts to a first-rate general account of Europe in the Napoleonic era....brilliant, unremittingly attentive to detail and sparkling with insights into a man, a nation, and an epoch.

The Boston GlobeWriting clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters.

John BarkhamBook WeekIn every way...a pleasure to read...a remarkable work which comes as close to dissecting the ingredients of Napoleon's military genius as any I have read...[it is] that rare combination -- a book impeccable in its expertise, penetrating in its analysis, and attractive in its presentation. No matter how numerous your books on Napoleon, make room for this one.

St. Louis Post-DispatchFew works equal the scope and scholarship of Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon...a masterpiece in the truest sense of what military history ought to be.

About the Author
David G. Chandler is Head of the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and a Fellow of both the Royal Historical and the Royal Geographical societies. He is President of the British Commission for Military History and a Vice- President of the Commission International d'Histoire Militaire.

During his researches for The Campaigns of Napoleon, Mr. Chandler made considerable use of primary sources -- including the thirty-two volumes of Correspondence de I'Empereur Napoleon Iier -- and consulted many contemporary memoirs and military commentaries. (This he did with some caution, for such material is often far from reliable.) He also examined many of the most revealing and interesting studies that have been written by soldiers and scholars over the past 145 years, and he incorporated extracts from recently discovered sources in the hope of illuminating still further the well- trodden paths of Napoleonic studies.

The author of a dozen works on early eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century military history, David G. Chandler is a recognized authority in the Marlburian and Napoleonic periods. His other publications include A Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, 1979, Waterloo -- The Hundred Days, 1980, An Atlas of Military Strategy, 1980, and Napoleon's Marshals, (editor), 1987. He has also contributed a chapter to Volume VI of the New Cambridge Modern History as well as numerous articles and reviews to magazines and journals. Chandler lives in Yately, Hampshire, England.

Customer Reviews

The best single reference on the campaigns of Napoleon
This is, without question, the best single volume reference in English on the campaigns of Napoleon. This book is not perfect, and I would agree with some of the negative points made by other reviewers, but I cannot understand how anyone would give this less than five stars. There is simply no other book that is even comparable to this one. This book is to the Napoleonic Wars what Shelby Foote's series is to the American Civil War, absolutely indispensible for any serious (amateur or professional) historian or student of the era.

This book is really three books in one: it is partly a biography of Napoleon, partly an analysis of his art of war, and partly a history of his campaigns. It covers NBs youth, his meteoric rise to prominance after the French Revolution, and every campaign that he participated in. I've read this book cover to cover three times, and individual chapters so many times that I've lost count. Chandler's writing style is engrossing and easy to read, not dry summaries of facts and events and dates. He is both a great writer and a great historian.

My (or others') disagreements with Chandler on individual points simply do not detract from this masterly work. I would agree, however, that this book is very Anglo-centric, probably its biggest drawback. Historians are often looking for `balance' in their assessments, and it is in this area that Chandler is weakest. I think he overplays the role of the English in ultimately defeating Napoleon, although this is a problem with virtually everthing that has been written about Napoleon by the English. Oddly, I would also agree that Chandler treats Napoleon with almost hero worship. Too much hyperbole perhaps, but this is more of a literary criticism of the text rather than historical. One negative comment that other reviewers have made regarding this book is that it is either factually incorrect or incomplete/not sufficiently detailed, etc. These are insignificant criticisms in my view. There are no gross historical errors in this book, either in facts or in interpretation, to my knowledge. If you want a balanced, broad view of any historical era, you must read a variety of primary and secondary sources. In the case of the Napoleonic wars, you must read French, German, and Russian sources as well. This book is not the only word on the subject, but the best written in English. This is the BEST book on the subject, this is one of the best histories ever written, even if neither perfect nor exhaustive.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is WELL worth the money to purchase it and the time spent to read it. If I had to throw out all but ten of my books, this is one of the ten I would keep. I would recommend this book to someone who is not particularly interested in the era, much as I would Foote's series. Don't pay any attention to the reviewers who have given this book less than five stars, they are niggling over trifles. This is an outstanding book.

The Best Starting Point
For anybody wanting just one book to discover the Napoleonic Wars, this has to be the one. It is comprehensive, well written and has many useful maps. As such, it is a most useful purchase.

Although it was first written over thirty years ago and is a little dated, no attempts to supercede it have ever been successful. I suspect this work will remain a standard text for at least the next thirty years as well.

Like all books, it has it faults. There are those that complain about it being anglocentric. Well, Chandler is British by birth and a graduate of Oxford, so it would be surprising if it wasn't. Would the book have been any better if it had been francocentric or sinocentric? Probably not.

There are those that complain that Chandler sees Napoleon as a 'great man, but a great bad man'. It is suprising how many people admire grabbing, egocentric dictators that bring enormous suffering to the world. (I know, he left so many legacies to the world, like a legal system, roads, etc. but did so many people have to die for that?) The fact that Chandler devotes such a massive tome to the man surely indicates a little more than dislike?

There are those that whine about minor errors of fact and typrographic errors in this book. Well, if they can do better, they should try.

There are also those who complain about a lack of original research. Well, I challenge anybody to write such a massive tome based on primary sources only and complete it in one lifetime. That criticism is banal, to say the least.

In all, a great classic, the best place to start for beginners to this period, a work that is not likely to be surpassed for some time, but not without a few minor faults.

A thorough survey of the Napoleon's campaigns
David Chandler provides a thorough review of Napoleon's 60 battles. He demonstrates that Napoleon, while not an innovator in tactics, was nonetheless a master of innovations developed by others and was capable of great innovation. The subject, of course, is extremely broad, and as long as this book is, it could have been much longer. Chandler omits a great deal of biographical detail about Napoleon to concentrate on his development as a military leader. Indeed, if you find this book too long to read or expensive to buy, I suggest getting a copy from the library and just reading the chapter that gives an overview for how Napoleon went about conducting his campaigns.

I do not agree with those who say that Chandler exhibits a British bias. He clearly sees Napoleon as the greatest military leader of his time, and perhaps of all time. In other writings, he has soundly rejected comparisons made by other historians between Hitler and Napoleon. Moreover, he makes clear that, at least in the early years of his leadership, Napoleon was not to blame for the wars that engulfed Europe.

Finally, despite the length of the book, I found it to be extremely readable, and not hard to finish at all.