The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805

by Frederick W. Kagan

Perhaps no person in history has dominated his or her own era as much as Napoleon. Despite his small physical stature, the shadow of Napoleon is cast like a colossus, compelling all who would look at that epoch to chart their course by reference to him. For this reason, most historical accounts of the Napoleonic era-and there are many-tell the same Napoleon-dominated story over and over again, or focus narrowly on special aspects of it. Frederick Kagan, distinguished historian and military policy expert, has tapped hitherto unused archival materials from Austria, Prussia, France, and Russia, to present the history of these years from the balanced perspective of all of the major players of Europe. In The End of the Old Order readers encounter the rulers, ministers, citizens, and subjects of Europe in all of their political and military activity-from the desk of the prime minister to the pen of the ambassador, from the map of the general to the rifle of the soldier. With clear and lively prose, Kagan guides the reader deftly through the intriguing and complex web of international politics and war. The End of the Old Order is the first volume in a new and comprehensive four-volume study of Napoleon and Europe. Each volume in the series will surprise readers with a dramatically different tapestry of early nineteenth-century personalities and events and will revise fundamentally our ages-old understanding of the wars that created modern Europe.

Genres: History, European History, Nonfiction, War, Politics, France

774 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2006

About the author

American military historian and political scientist

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frederick Kagan's first volume of a projected four volume series covering Napoleon and Europe provides the reader with a detailed and well researched account of the events leading up to and the conclusion of Napoleon's 1805 campaign against the Third Coalition.

I was a bit worried after reading some other readers comments that this book was going to be a anti-Napoleon tirade, glad to say it wasn't as bad as that. In many cases where the audience does not have access to the material used in the research of a book we have to trust the author. It would seem that Mr Kagan has gone to some lengths in researching this book and provides numerous notes to support his research.

I may not have agreed with everything he said about Napoleon and his actions but I didn't feel that he was going over the top to destroy my vision of Napoleon as a great military commander. I sometimes felt he could have given Napoleon more credit then he did but the author always attempted to show why he made certain statements.

The book does provide a in-depth diplomatic, political and military account of the events leading up to the 1805 campaign with a lot more about the Ulm encirclement and combats after the Austrian surrender that I had not read about previously, including the Battle of Durnstein, relevant to me as I had just walked through that very small town on the Danube not aware of the battle fought there between French and Russian forces.

The author's account of the Battle of Austerlitz was detailed and he provided numerous maps to follow the various actions. He also provide notes comparing the numerous sources and issues raised within those sources. The book does not end with the close of fighting on that fateful day but follows the many political and diplomatic going-ons between the various leaders and nations.

Overall I enjoyed this book enough to say that I will be ordering the next volume in the series as soon as its published.

[Andrew Canfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The End of the Old Order qualifies as a unique work of nonfiction. Numerous books on Napoleon have focused on his personality, strategies, and certain defining battles during his reign as France's emperor. But this book both expands and contracts the focus typically brought to bear when reading about Le Petit Caporal.

Author Frederick W. Kagan instead employs a laser like focus on the machinations before, during, and immediately after the War of the Third Coalition, giving equal (and at times more) focus to the generals and diplomats making key decisions during the stretch from 1801 to 1805.

There is little in the way of biography when it comes to Napoleon or any of the End of the Old Order's key figures; it instead unfolds via the day by day decisions made by foreign policy officials and battlefield commanders. While one can expect to read a lot about the French marshals fighting Napoleon's battles-Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Auguste de Marmont, Michael Ney, Jean Lannes, Louis-Nicola Davout and especially Jean-de Dieu Soult figure prominently-there is little in the way of background information provided on each one of them. Their decisions within the context of European geopolitics as they were in 1801-1805, however, are explained about as thoroughly as possible.

To his credit, author Frederick W. Kagan manages to devote plenty of paragraph space to the role French diplomats like Charles-Maurice Talleyrand and Joachim Murat played during these critical years for Europe. The emphasis on military strategy is well-matched by analysis of the political side of the early nineteenth century equation as.

And yet the obviously unavoidable presence of French leadership does not crowd out discussion of the strategies utilized by Russian generals Pyotr Bagration and Mikhail Kutozov as well as Austrian generals Franz von Weyrother and Prince Johann Liechtenstein. A borderline starring role is given to diplomatic leaders Christian von Haugwitz (Prussia's diplomatic leader doing a delicate balancing act to avoid angering either Napoleon or the allies), Ludwig Cobenzl (Austria), and Adam Czartoryskii (Russia). Each of these military and foreign policy movers and shakers alone could have an entire book devoted to their careers.

The battles during the War of the Third Coalition do not comprise the book's main thrust. In fact, the Battles of Ulm, Durnstein, and Austerlitz are the only three battles looked at in detail. Yet Kagan must have spent quite awhile compiling the details of each, as strategy and movements are drilled down into on a minute level. It would help if readers at least had a map of Europe nearby (especially a two century old European map), as the sections on battles are full of city names and the portions on jockeying for territory are chock full of territories which no longer exist in the same form.

The discord among the allies play a major role in the story. If anything can be zeroed in on as a key finding, this dysfunctionality would be it.

Czar Alexander I's decisions and the motivations behind them are key in figuring out if the coalition can hold together against the Grand Armee's might. The distrust between Prussia, Austria, and Russia (essentially the countries in the coalition actually willing to provide ground troops in the fight against Napoleon) comes about in no small part from the former countries' lack of confidence in Alexander's commitment to standing behind them if the going became tough.

Furthermore, Frederick William's determination to stand behind Prussia's policy of neutrality makes it much more difficult for the allies to gather the forces necessary to achieve victory. On the Austrian side, personal intrigue hampered efforts by Emperor Francis to coordinate strategy with Archduke Charles and Karl Mack. These difficulties-combined with the fact that the polyglot coalition forces (many of whose troops were fighting together for the first time) were facing off against a seasoned Grand Armee with ample camaraderie and sense of common purpose-doomed the allied side. Each detail of these difficulties is laid out with expert craftsmanship in this book.

The failure of the allies to overcome Napoleon was solidified when the Treaties of Pressburg and Schonbrunn brought things to an end for all intents and purposes. This left Napoleon in his strongest position to date and severely weakened the only countries that were able to provide a check on any ambitions he might have held.

This book is an awesome piece of writing. Anyone looking for a fresh take on the Napoleonic Wars that presents a nuanced picture instead of mere fawning over Napoleon's brilliance need not look any further. The End of the Older Order does not take readers' intelligence for granted, and it leaves them with a multi-faceted understanding of how the first major war Napoleon faced as emperor unfolded. It is an imminently recommendable book.

-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first work in what will be a four-volume history of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, this book examines the background and outcomes of the 1805 campaign in which Napoleon defeated the Second Coalition. I would have to say that The End of the Old Order is more of a political and diplomatic, rather than military, history, as the various manoeuvrings within and between the various governments take up most of the text and are examined in minute - indeed occasionally excruciating - detail. When combat occurs, it is described operationally, rather than tactically. So while the reader is given an excellent portrait as to why the war takes place, one doesn't really get a handle on how early 19th century wars were fought. Kagan also goes out of his way, when ever he can, to debunk conclusions reached by earlier modern Napoleonic historians, like Chandler and Duffy, which becomes a little tiresome. Nonetheless, the text proceeds in a brisk style, and I feel that Kagan tries his hardest not to take sides and is not overly worshipful of Napoleon's military prowess. The maps are barely adequate; in that sense the book isn't nearly as good as Chandler's magisterial The Campaigns of Napoleon. Still, overall, I feel that I learned a lot from this work about the general strategic situation in Europe in 1801-1805 from all the parties' points of view, and I would read the other volumes when they are published.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing account of Napoleon's War against the Third Coalition in late summer and autumn of 1805, intricately tying together considerations of grand strategic, strategic, operational, and even tactical level events and implications in the campaign that ended at Austerlitz.

[Steve Groves · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and detailed analysis of the events leading up to the war of 1805 and the impacts on Europe. The book has upended much of my previous beliefs that the French had a very detailed plan from the outset and that the Allies were forced to dance to Napoleon’s tune.

Using numerous archival sources, particularly Russian, and providing a detailed political background, the author has made an important contribution to the scholarship of the era.

A must read if you are interested in clearing up the myths about 1805 and Austerlitz.

[Napo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of New perspectives and info not available in other books that deal with this period of the NW. The description of the battle tactics is a bit meh but Scott Bowden's book is there to remedy that. The grand strategy and strategy is pretty well told though. Overall really glad I read it and I feel I've been given much interesting and refreshingly new lenses through which to view that period.

[Patrick D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally got around to finishing this. Really liked the detailed setup of the political relationships during the buildup phase. Also liked how this guy clearly has beef with a couple of other specific historians.

[Bill Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed, thoroughly researched, analytical, in-depth -- this work is a political and military study of Napoleon's negotiations and conflicts with the major European powers in the first few years of the 19th century. The culmination is a study of the land war with Austria and Russia in the second half of 1805 culminating in Napoleon's majestic victory at Austerlitz. The strengths of this long book are the treatments of the interplay between diplomacy, politics, and military actions of each of the major participants in the 1805 war. The author provides insightful analysis and critiques of the actions and avoids the traps of delving too much in the minutiae of military maneuvers.

[Craig Bolton]

"The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805 by Frederick Kagan (2007)"

[Bruce Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little long but definitely worth the read. For all of those military aficionado's who want to understand how Europe became so divided in the 19th century, this book will answer your questions.

[Stevenglinert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after War and Peace. It felt like a long list of names and didn't give me a structure to understand the events.

[Brenden]

The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805 (v. 1) by Frederick Kagan (2006)

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully detailed yet concise account of Napoleon and Europe at the time. Thrilled this is a series and will be reading more!