THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON /ANGLAIS

by Chandler David

A brilliant and definitive account of great military genius at work.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, France, European History

1205 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though nearly a half-century has passed since its initial publication, David Chandler's study of Napoleon Bonaparte's military campaigns remains unsurpassed -- and after reading it, it is easy to see why. Over the course of a thousand pages, Chandler charts Napoleon's military career, from his early years at the École Militaire to his final defeat in the Hundred Days campaign. Aided by a generous selection of maps, he details the maneuvers of every campaign and the course of every major battle, each of which he concludes with a convincing analysis of the factors involved in the result. While the campaigns themselves dominate the text, Chandler also analyses the armies involved, describing their organization, their weaponry, and their reputation on the battlefield. The combination provides readers with an encyclopedic account of Napoleon's wars, yet Chandler's writing reflects the flair and dash that came to be associated with his subject's battlefield exploits. The result is a work that, despite its age, remains the standard by which histories of Napoleonic warfare are judged.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro es un compendio de más de 1200 páginas de las campañas militares de Napoleón a lo largo de su vida como estratega militar. Es cierto que hay muchos detalles que no están presentes, incluso a mi parecer algunos muy importantes pero es sin duda uno de los mejores y más completos libros sobre las batallas que libró como general, cónsul y más tarde emperador.
Todas las campañas están explicadas en orden cronológico estricto y al detalle sobre las causas políticas, movimientos previos, preparación y el desarrollo de las mismas batallas, para lo cual Chandler hace uso de cartas personales, memorias, muchos documentos testimoniales de la época tanto de cabos, oficiales, mariscales o del propio Napoleón, lo que hace que la lectura sea muy amena, entretenida y realista. Obviamente la selección que hace de los testimonios es muy rigurosa, por lo que para mí este libro ha sido a pesar de su temática muy entretenido y ágil.
Después por supuesto de cada acción bélica repasa los movimientos estratégicos y hace una crítica de ambos bandos (franceses vs aliados) tanto de las órdenes que se dieron como muchos otros factores, lo que lo hace muy analítico y te permite saber qué errores o aciertos a criterio del autor tomaron los grandes personajes.
Leyendo el libro parece como si pudieras conocer la vida de Napoleón pues fue una vida dedicada al ejército en todos sus matices.

[Jud Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was part of a long-term project to read all the books I own but have never read. I've owned this book since it was newly-published (1966). When I got it I was 13 and determined to become a Napoleonic marshal. No one has ever accused me of being practical or realistic.

I'm sure I started it at some point but got bogged down like the French army between Quatre Bras and Waterloo, with page after page of place-names inadequately supported by cartography churning up a muddy prose. This time I persevered. So now I've added this finished book to my stock of knowledge, but it was more exercise than fun.

The blame is not altogether Chandler's. Military campaigns are after all a bit like death-dealing vacations, and I don't think anybody'd like me to recount the stops along the way that time I drove from Tennessee to Idaho by way of South Dakota. It's pretty dry stuff (although it did rain in the Badlands).

A bigger map budget would've helped--for more and for contemporary maps. As atmospheric as those period maps are, their small-scale, dark reproduction in this edition do not allow them to function as a reader's aide, especially when the place names vary from those used by Chandler due either to language or to lack of coordination between author and whichever editor was responsible for this kind of consistency. For some reason the biggest battles (Borodino and Leipzig) get the antiquarian map treatment, which was very frustrating.

Enough complaining, though. Chandler's Part III (of seventeen) providing an overview of Napoleon's "art of war," along with information about the armaments and military organization of the period, is excellent and establishes the interpretive framework needed to appreciate and evaluate the actions of Napoleon, his marshals (not including me), and those who opposed him.

Napoleon comes across in this book as a man with an amazing head for organizational detail, an enormous capacity for tireless effort, and singleminded devotion to his own ability--and his alone. He was unable to develop either a successful staff apparatus or to instruct his marshals (again, not including me) in his strategic thinking. This worked for him as long as the theater of war was of a size that he himself could manage, but eventually his ambitions exceeded his abilities.

One can't help but wonder about these ambitions--and the ambitions of nation-states--as an element of strategy. Thousands of men died in these wars, and more thousands of people were ruined by passing armies living off the land and destroying property. And in the end, Napoleon's expansionist dreams came to exactly nothing. If he had stopped with his post-revolutionary reform of the French nation, most people would consider him to have been enlightened, even if undemocratic. As it happened, the imperialistic side of his program was an utter failure. That seems to be the rule for imperialistic programs in general. This would-be member of Napoleon's marshalate advises against them as being strategic non-starters, unless you just want to break stuff.

[Rindis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chandler's massive tome on every campaign Napoleon conducted makes a great one-stop shop for a basic military history of any action you may want to look up. This is aided by lucid accounts all the way through, good maps (which are present in the Kindle version too—if a trifle small on my screen), and thoughtful brief analysis of each one.

All of this means it's still the primary reference for the period nearly sixty years after it was first published; a feat very few other books can claim. It is highly likely no other book will ever combine the relatively introductory nature and comprehensiveness of this one and do it better. This does come at a price—the individual campaigns are covered at something approaching the level of an Osprey Campaign book, and this weighs in at ~1100 pages, with a smaller proportion than normal given over to appendixes, references, bibliography, etc.

There are some limits. As this is the Campaigns of Napoleon, as opposed to 'the Napoleonic period', there's extremely little discussion of the Peninsular War, naval actions, or any campaign not directly involving the star of the show (I would like to see something on the French Revolutionary campaigns in Germany, that Napoleon's campaigns in Italy were supposed to be a sideshow to). And it's still 1100+ pages, so not losing focus in this volume is for the best.

And it's not just the campaigns either. He goes into Napoleon's background and early training at École Militaire, and spends a nice little bit of time on where his ideas on warfare came and were developed from; that is certainly a nicely informative chapter.

I'll note the Kindle version has certainly been gone over, and there's a minimum of errors, though a lot slipped through in the confusion of if a number should be a Roman numeral 'I' or an Arabic '1' (there is one rendering of "IIth"), and Blücher gets rendered as "Blöcher" twice. Outside of that, the text is in very good shape.

[Dergrossest · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are only going to buy 1 book about Napoleonic Warfare, get this. It costs a small fortune, but it's a beautiful book complete with detailed maps and accountings of all of Napoleon's many battles. It may be more than you are looking for, but this is as complete as a single volume history can get. Recommended.

[Olethros · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Ese mamporrero, ese microcirujano, ese obseso del tiempo como la dimensión más importante en su oficio-.

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Análisis general, desde el punto de vista militar y en orden estrictamente cronológico, de la concepción de la guerra y su puesta en práctica más operativa que tenía el protagonista de la obra, desde Brienne a Waterloo.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Steve]

Napoleon Bonaparte is so firmly established in Western culture that I’m long overdue in turning my attention to him. I first saw this volume in a New York City bookstore in the late 1980s. I remember leafing through in wonderment – the size, the maps . . . those wonderful maps. But the price. And the size. Who has time to read this livre massif – while even I felt drawn to the challenge, there was a limit. Well now I have time, and the size feels less daunting – summiting In Search of Lost Time, among other literary peaks, can have that effect. Those maps, though, retained their magic, a good enough reason to own this book.

This man was undeniably sui generis. In most eras, a gifted, aspiring military genius would have his potential squashed by the sclerotic bureaucracies that bulge within the inflexible frame of either a stagnant modern meritocracy or traditional aristocracy. Fate deemed Napoleon man for the moment, beneficiary of a revolution that would permit, even invite, a dynamic Corsican almost twenty years on the center stage of French history.

While his accomplishments and his impacts cross multiple dimensions, the focus here is on Napoleon’s military achievements. How incredible those were. A man of unparallelled energy, he was directly involved in battles from 1793 until 1815 with only slight pauses – the author lists more than one hundred related clashes during the Napoleonic period through thirteen campaigns, from the First Italian Campaign of 1794–1795 to the Hundred Days of 1815. The “Summary of Selected Battles” lists twenty-five. I consider four encounters most important to establishing Napoleon’s street cred: two that elevated his reputation within France, and two that created an aura of invincibility, an intangible that subsequently brought Napoleon significant battlefield advantage through feelings of respect and fear among his adversaries.

The siege of Toulon was Napoleon’s first audition toward greatness. The British fleet entered the harbor of Toulon in support of a local uprising against Paris, part of the Revolt of the Midi. Captain Buonaparte, age twenty-four, played a leading role as an artillery commander in the British defeat, the restoration of order, and the merciless mass executions conducted in retaliation against many surviving rebels. In a matter of less than four months, Napoleon was promoted from captain to major and then brigadier general. Napoleon was noticed.

On the thirteenth Vendémiaire, 5 October 1795, Napoleon, then stationed in Paris, rallied to the defense of the Directory at the request of Paul Barras. A mob from the communes and sections, and led by 20,000 National Guardsmen, rose in anger against the announcement of constitutional changes that, in effect, perpetuated the controversial Convention. Napoleon led an artillery barrage against the crowd, killing and wounding hundreds. The stunned protesters fled. As order was restored, he earned important political favor.

While Napoleon fought many battles in Italy through the 1790s, the Battle of Marengo in June 1800 first secured his reputation among rival nations. With approximately 24,000 troops under his command, up against an Austrian army of nearly 31,000, Napoleon demonstrated his superior skills, gaining victory under ominous circumstances. The Austrians formed for battle on the Marengo side of the River Bormida in Piedmont. The French stood their ground centered at Marengo but incurred significant losses. An air of French defeat formed. Napoleon pulled his troops back to the east and made a second stand before the town of San Giuliano. It was here that General Louis Desaix’s troop fortuitously arrived late in the afternoon in answer to Napoleon’s dire summons, with yet another division in trail. Napoleon rallied his troops to a rout of his opponents, who lost 6,000 dead and 8,000 captured. He long remembered this glorious day.

The Battle of the Three Emperors on 2 December 1805 may be Napoleon’s crowning single military achievement. Lured onto a field of Napoleon’s choice with a seductive illusion provided for the allies, the combined armies of the Emperor of Austria and the Tsar met an outnumbered Napoleon just to the west of Austerlitz, and lost spectacularly. In total, 73,200 French soldiers faced 85,400 men under allied banners, a superiority that actually caused an important degree of confusion in Napoleon’s favor. Napoleon at first employed defense, feigning weakness on his right wing to trick the Austrians off their commanding center on the Pratzen Heights. Bait taken, Napoleon brought up reinforcements to meet the oncoming attack to his right, and simultaneously counterattacked the weakened Heights, which was nevertheless contested heavily. After fierce fighting on all corners, Napoleon engaged a masse de décision. Allied defeat resulted, with casualties equal to one third of their starting number. Future opponents now had good reason to fear the Grande Armée. The battle forged a permanent bond between the words “great” and “Napoleon.”

For all his victories, there was one consistent burr under Napoleon’s saddle: the British. They defied the French at sea, at land, and were a persistent economic adversary. Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington earned rightful and lasting respect, to cite two luminaries that frustrated French ambitions. It’s difficult to tell, however, whether the British were as psychologically significant in shaping Napoleon’s grand strategy as this author, being of those fair isles, suggests.

What were the elements of Napoleon’s military success? Given his complexities, that answer could easily fill a volume. From this author, I gathered that speed, luck, communication, deception, envelopment (la manoeuvre sur les derrières), concentrated force, discipline, information, and the combined tactical effect of coordinated infantry, cavalry, and artillery always balanced in Napoleon’s favor, until the day when they no longer did. It is also important to acknowledge the role of Napoleon’s person to the outcome of any contest. He often made the day. Without Napoleon’s vision and direct intervention – today we might say micro-management – his commanders often appeared as equally inept as their foes. I’ve long thought that leadership by example is the most impactful teaching method. But if so, why were Napoleon’s subordinates so mediocre when left to their own independent commands? Why were they unable to replicate Napoleon’s style when they had long apprenticed under their vaunted master?

I’m mildly puzzled how a leader could be so revered who was also so despotic. I’ve previously noted his brutalities in San Domingo. Here we read of the massacre in Toulon, the summary execution of a French officer who imprudently surrendered at Pavia, the mass murders at Jaffa, where three thousand Turks who yielded under a pledge of safety were put to death along with another 1,400 prisoners, to name just a few reprehensible events. Yet even in loss at Waterloo, loud shouts of “Vive l’Empereur !” were recorded. Napoleon was a visible leader. He evaded death in battle on a number of occasions. Whatever his flaws as a person, he continued to earn the fierce loyalty of those who served under his command with an inspiring and intimidating presence on the field.

[Andrew Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was recommended to me as the most authoritative and comprehensive single volume to find detailed discussions on all of the military campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte. And it sure did deliver. David Chandler makes it clear up front that he focused solely on campaigns and battles Napoleon personally participated and any underlying military science as practiced by him. With such focus it still managed to clock in at an 1100 page hardcover book with extensive narration and discussion of events precipitating each campaign and then with helpful and detailed analysis that covers pitfalls and shortfalls of each battle.

Chandler starts the book with an analysis of Napoleon's expert employment of previously developed strategy but applied in his own unique manner to his campaigns. Although there was minimum focus on non-battle events, he would take me through the development of the events preceding the battles and the aftermaths with just the right amount of context. If you're looking for something that offers further analysis of the geopolitical surrounding these campaigns, you're in the wrong place with this but you trade it in for a very in-depth analysis of the deployment of all resources, overall strategy, actual application, and then after-action reviews of what went wrong with each one. Although this precedes the US Army's AAR review methodology, its nonetheless a great review of the pros and cons of each battle and I cannot recommend this further for anyone looking to get a purely military science focused look at each battle. I imagine there are better resources for further analysis of each battle but if you're looking to review all the campaigns Napoleon personally acted on, you've come to the right place.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magisterial. Authoritative. Exhaustive. Yep, all the adjectives are true. If you want to really learn about Napoleon's way of war, and war in general in this era, one always comes back to David Chandler's Campaigns (Chandler died aged 70 in 2004). The narrative covers Bonaparte's military education onward and there are helpful chapters on how Napoleon maneuvered large units to achieve his strategic goals (what we would now call "operations" or "grand tactics") and on his battlefield tactics, as well as those of his enemies. Not least of the many treats this tome (over 1000 pages) has to offer is that it is lavishly and lovingly illustrated with well-drawn multi-colored maps and charts. Best of all, perhaps is Chandler's tirelessly excellent prose to keep the campaigns and battles rolling. It's unlikely ever to be surpassed as source for the wars, battles and campaigns of the Great Corsican. On a personal note, back when I was an impecunious student, this book was very high on my want-to-own list but beyond my means. A friend gifted me the book for my birthday and I have treasured it ever since.

[Panu-Petteri Väänänen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's keep this brief (unlike the book itself). This has to be the best book about the subject. My only complaint was the use of period maps on some of the battles, which made them somewhat harder to follow, allthough they were beautiful to look at. The book certainly is not dry old school war history, being filled with period accounts of the events and still being clear on it's descriptions of the tactical and strategic events of the campaigns. I learned a lot about Napoleonic tactics, grand strategies and the composition of the armies, the way cavalry, infantry and artillery was used together and the weapons of the age. A must read, for sure, and a perfect companion for the excellent Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts.

[Anubis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

Do you want to know EVERYTHING about the Napoleonic wars? You know, battle formations, logistics, army compositions, campaings, battle analysis? Do you need a lot of detailed maps? Do you have place on your shelf for such a thick book?

If so, this is the book for you. It is not too easy of a read, but it literally tells you EVERYTHING about the Napoleonic wars.

Well ok, not everything, but you get the point. The book really is huge, and i haven't really found any comparable book for pre WWI era that goes into such depth on campaigns and battles. You also don't need to read it entire at once, you can just read the chapters that interest you, and always go back to the book for more.

[Walt O'Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those epochal works that becomes a game changer in its field. I know of few history writers specializing in Napoleon that don't reference this book at some point.

[José Nebreda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una maravilla, a pesar de sus lógicas limitaciones.

[James Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding level of detail makes this book an essential read for anyone seriously interested in Napoleon and his military genius. Chandler covers all of Napoleon’s campaigns with impressive depth, offering clear insights into not just what happened, but why battles unfolded the way they did.

What really sets this book apart is Chandler’s balanced approach, he gives Napoleon full credit for his extraordinary achievements, but doesn’t shy away from pointing out flaws, missteps or overreach where it’s due. This fair treatment adds a lot to the book’s credibility.

My favorite aspect, though, is the sheer richness of detail surrounding the campaigns: from the impact of troop morale, weather, and geography to the influence of politics, the competence (or incompetence) of his Marshals and opposing generals, and the evolution of tactics, whether cutting-edge or outdated, that shaped each battle’s outcome.

The book also comes with a great set of maps. Though fairly simple, they’re clear and easy to follow, and they do a fantastic job of helping you visualize the often complex and overwhelming lines of troop movements described in the text.

It’s a massive book, and I won’t pretend it’s an easy read, it took me about two years of on-and-off reading to finish. I wouldn’t recommend this as your first book on Napoleon, but if you have a genuine interest in the Napoleonic era, this is absolutely a must read.

[Mario Zecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am generally a pacifist, idealistically, but somehow, perhaps through the so-called male "war gene," I find military history, when it is insightfully well written, fascinating. Chandler, whose painstaking research sometimes overwhelms, makes references to names and events I admit I don't bother to look up. But the meat of the text is straight forward. I find good history books shed light on my understanding of the world we live in.

This is no sugar-coated ode to Napoleon and his era, all the dirt of corruption, primal human drives and in Napoleons case, megalomania are elucidated with clear examples. But the glory of victory, the genius and scope of the brilliant corsican are equally demonstrated. Chandler goes into detail about the political and economic currents driving the actions of the principle characters and nations.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted and I would not recommend it for those whose interest do not lie in the direction generalized above, but I love this book and find it highly enjoyable reading.

Because of personal health issues, I have changed my reading habits and stopped my morning ritual and the several books associated with it. I will finish this fine tome and give it the attention it deserves another time. I made it up to the Russian Campaign. Viva La Napoleon, Vive la Emperor!

There was about twenty years between my first and second foray into Chandler's "The Campaigns of Napoleon." If my curiosity of the Napoleonic wars is piqued again, I will return to finish off the tome. For the time being my interests draw me in other directions.

[Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there a 19 star option? This is the third time I have read this book, and I will continue to go back to it. Chandler's brilliance in making Napoleon human is unmatched in the countless other books I have read on the subject. There really is no reason to hate this book, even if you hate Napoleon. Theme of the book? "There is too much Napoleon in Napoleon."

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good god. It's like reading an 1100 page transcript of a game of Risk. I did not read this with great élan....(more detailed review when I have time.)

[Ansgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have now read this book for over a year and must admit that it was quite a journey. It has been a friendly companion to many boring university lectures and has truly been amazing. The book is perhaps the most detailed and well researched books on Napoleon's Campaigns from Italy to Waterloo, and I would suggest that anyone who is interested in European/Military history should read this masterpiece!

[Isaac McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes clear what often feels undeniable: Napoleon sits atop the pantheon of military generals; a true battlefield genius who learned from all that had come before, redefining what it meant to wage war and how to win. Cornerstone Napoleonic literature. Will 100% re-read soon.

[Justin Echols · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive single volume account of the Napoleonic wars. An absolutely magnificent work. Napoloen... je vous aime.... call me...

[Hunter Choy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campaign Napoleon did.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I've ever read. This book is not for everyone, though. I took a couple of military and strategy classes in grad school, and still struggled to understand the strategic and tactical battlefield maneuvers. But the grand strategy and high politics of the Napoleonic Wars are fairly easy to understand, so even if you can't follow the battles, this book is worth it just for the grand strategy.

Napoleon was surely a genius. This book is incredible at analyzing his strategies and style of statesmanship, the role of his early education and apprenticeship, and his psychology and decision-making processes. The chapters on his Art of War, the major victories at Jena, Ulm, and Austerlitz, and on his invasion of Russia are some of the best in history.

However, despite his genius, Napoleon must be judged on the results of his actions. He wrought untold damage on Europe. Millions of people died and Europe was engulfed in carnage for 20 years. And all for what? Because Napoleon, Mars incarnate, lusted after conquest, after the glory of victory in the battlefield. Chandler does an excellent job of being honest, fair, and not adulating over his subject. His tone and objectivity make for a fantastic narrative of a man who was simultaneously one of the greatest geniuses and a villains of all-time.

I wish he would have written a little more on Josephine, his coquettish wife, and her influences on his thinking and actions. And perhaps a little more on Metternich, who was so devilishly clever and interested, would have been great. However, this is a book on Napoleon and his campaigns, so that may have been out of place.

Nonetheless, if you happen to come across this out-of-print book, do yourself a favor a pick it up!

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monumental and complete assessment of the strengths and also the weaknesses of Napoleon with enough coverage of the civil & character sides to do justice - but let's face it - the military side of things is what really matters. Chandler does not hesitate to heap on the praise, but unlike the all too many hagiographic treatments is equally willing to apportion blame and criticism. It is a huge book covering a huge amount of material and appropriately fully incorporates analysis of the theoretical and methodology of Napoleon, where in the spirit of the book he is generous that intent was always there rather than questioning how much opportunism, fortune, or how much it was all due to the superior tools at his disposal (the best soldiers usually win regardless of the general's skill). At times also, despite abundant maps (although more terrain info would be helpful and choosing a couple of times to use facsimiles of old maps rather than redrawn maps is a slight problem) the clarity of what is actually occurring isn't always present, but considering the scope of study that is surely inevitable. Overall it is hard to imagine a better one volume work!

[Binston Birchill · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you lack knowledge of The Napoleanic Wars and don't mind spending a good chunk of money to rectify that problem then this is the book to get. Chandler does an amazing job of describing both Napoleon and his campaigns. The focus is obviously on the French but the opposing side is described and analysed in each campaign to give a better picture of what Napoleon did or didn't accomplish and how. In depth looks at strategy and to a lesser extent tactics make this book a must read for anyone interested in the subject. There were occasionally a few wasted pages that summarized what was already said in the previous chapter(s) but instances of that were minimal.

[AskHistorians]

If there must be a Bible about the Napoleonic Wars, it is this. Well written, easy to read, and balanced around a difficult figure, Chandler gives a campaign history of Napoleon as a commander as well as giving the understanding of the tactics and style of war during the time period. Writing in the 70s, Chandler gives a proper history of Napoleon as a commander that has yet to be matched. Note: This is a campaign history of Napoleon as a commander, so wars such as the Peninsular Wars get only a light detailing during Napoleon's involvement due to the focus on Napoleon.

[Sebastian Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this one really is an essential classic. And I'm lucky enough to own the very handsome Folio Editions trilogy, in hardback, in a nice slipcase. Lovely!

Vol I

In the first volume one of this superb trilogy, Chandler sets the scene, telling us about Napoleon's rise, from the petit noblesse of Corsica, thought the turbulent waters of the French Revolution, to military fame in Italy. We see Bonaparte adventuring in the near 'Orient' of Egypt and Syria, before returning and assuming power in the coup of Brumaire. 

Chandler's narrative conveys his enthusiasm for his exciting and colourful subject admirably, balancing a clear passion with lucid objectivity and judicious critical insights. A good deal of space is given over to an analysis of Napoleon's early ideas, and how they evolved; where they came from, and how he put them into practice and developed them. 

And this all happens surprisingly early, both before, during and following on from his Italian campaigns, showing, as Chandler notes, a precociousness and audacity that would see Napoleon's star rapidly ascend. This first part of the story/trilogy is tremendously exciting, charting the improbable but seemingly inexorable rise of the young Napoleon. It has the colour and grandeur of Greco-Roman myth, which Napoleon would've liked and appreciated.

Vol II

In broad brushstroke terms this second volume starts with Ulm/Asterlitz, and ends at Borodino, thus running from late 1805 to late 1812. Here Chandler covers the 1805 campaign against Austria and Russia, culminating in Austerlitz, the 1806 war with Prussia (Jena-Auerstadt), on into the 1807 campaign in Poland against Russia (Eylau and Friedland). 

He then takes a Peninsular diversion, focussing mostly, in keeping with his title, on Napoleon's part in this theatre; from his 'ill considered decision to intervene in Spanish affairs', deputising to oft-incompetent subordinates, to his brief but effective personal intervention in the war itself, before returning to more central-European affairs, with the campaign against Austria in 1809.

One thing that struck me in all this was, well... no, two things really, were: firstly how minor the Spanish business seems in the larger picture, even though it would ultimately prove, as the suppurating 'Spanish Ulcer', a decisive contributory factor in Napoleon's downfall (a fact not so easily appreciated from the British perspective, with our tendency to obsess over our part in these wars).  And secondly, that for all the talk of continual or 'total' war [1], there are large periods of relative peace within the bulk of the territories under the Imperial jurisdiction. 

For example, between the end of volume one, and the start of volume two, or roughly 1802-1805 [2]. And, excepting the ongoing rumblings of the Peninsular, between 1809 and 1812 [3], when the narrative jumps from Wagram and the treaty Pressburg to the invasion of Russia. The latter debacle ends part two, and marks a foreboding and decisive end to the period of Napoleon's almost unassailable ascendency, and, in consequence, makes for a narrative that continues to be both gripping and dramatic.

Vol III

Napoleon's regrouping and rebuilding of the French and Allied armies, and his waging of the defensive campaigns of 1813, clearly excite Chandler. And he communicates his enthusiasm for this period both ably and contagiously. And then of course there's the audacious return from exile and the Hundred Days. 

This is factual history with excitement levels to eclipse all but the very best fiction. Indeed, history like this is better than practically all fiction, in my opinion. If someone made up a story like this, who would believe it? Napoleon returns from Elba with barely 1,000 men. And within days he's back in Paris - this whole story is the subject of the excellent 1815, The Return of Napoleon, by Paul Britten Austin - a whirlwind of activity, as he seeks peace whilst preparing for war. Encroyable!

As you'd expect, Chandler's coverage of this whole exiting episode, set within the equally exciting larger epoch, strikes a perfect balance between the big picture and the smaller interesting details. Who needs or wants to read fiction, with history as exciting as this? And in how many stories -  especially 'real life' stories - is the final act a rather disappointing damp squib? Not so here. Commensurate with Napoleons own rather grandiose estimate of himself, this is a story that remains hugely exciting right to the end. And what a tragic yet epic ending it is!

Conclusion

Although Chandler is hardly a rank radical of the Jacobin variety, being in sober fact - as a professional military academic - far more likely to be on the conservative side of the spectrum, nevertheless, like Andrew Roberts in his turn (a more blatantly politically Conservative historian), one clearly senses the admiration, perhaps even the affection, Chandler has for his subject. And yet, again like Roberts, his excitement and awe don't cloud his judgement. We still get a balanced and critical view that gives both credit and finds fault where they are due.

All told, as I previously said in a post on my military history blog, about a few of my favourite trilogies - of which this is most certainly one - this an epic account in every way. Being both hugely informative and great fun to read. For my money, this has to be amongst the very best and most essential writing on Napoleon's military career, a career which defined the story of Europe in the days that bear his name.

[Lorenzo Cracchiolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chandler è perfetto nella narrazione dell'epopea napoleonica.
Questo libro è una bibbia sugli eventi militari di Napoleone dal 1796 al 1815.

La narrazione scorre fluida, l'autore guida il lettore attraverso una storia complicata in modo sorprendentemente agevole. Chandler combina bene la narrazione biografa dei generali, lo scorrere degli eventi e azioni miliari e le nozioni strategiche e politiche necessarie a comprendere cosa sta accadendo.

Non bastano le parole a descrivere questo capolavoro.

[Francis X DuFour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over a year in the reading! A magnificent account of Napoleon's military actions. Not bogged down by too much detail, the author provides vivid dissections of each of the campaigns and battles, as well as information on the political situation and analysis of Napoleon's decisions in each battle. A book by which all other military histories will be measured, this a true classic.

[John Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes brilliant light reading on the kindle app. Ebooks were invented for books of this size. Chandler does a brilliant job of outlining the fundamental maxims of Napoloenic warfare. And he isn't afraid to hold Napoleon to his own standards at Wagram, Borodino and Waterloo.

[MR GEOFFREY W FABRON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although over 50 years since first published this is still the definitive work on the subject. A constant reference work I use regularly and good for dipping into for specific campaigns.
Everyone interested in the Napoleonic era should have this on their bookshelf