Napoleon as a General: Command from the Battlefield to Grand Strategy

(Hardback)

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'In war, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or peril...' (Sun Tzu The Art of War). We speak of Caesar who conquered Gaul, not the legions; MacArthur who landed at Inchon, not the Marines - and we speak of Napoleon, one of history's most successful generals. Major General Jonathon Riley is supremely well qualified to write on Napoleon's generalship and has written an informed and insightful account. He opens with a short treatise on generalship in order to define Napoleon's achievement before moving on to the man himself. He examines Napoleon as a strategist; as a coalition commander; Napoleon's campaigns and Napoleon on the battlefield. Areas often ignored in the context of pre-industrial warfare - logistics and counter-insurgency - are also examined. Riley proceeds to three specific case studies beginning with Napoleon's first essay in generalship and the conquest of Piedmont; Napoleon at the height of his powers at the conquest of Prussia, to Napoleon's final defeats and the Battle of the Nations in 1813.

Reviews

"Napoleon as a General is a readable addition to existing studies of its subject." -David Longfellow, The Historian, Vol. 71
"As stated in its introduction, this book is neither a biography nor a chronological history of Napolon. It is an insightful treatise on the emperor's generalship, written by an officer in the British army...The author's assessment is fairly objective: in summary, that Napolon was an innovative general and the best in the field until the attrition of over a decade of conflict caught up with him. Recommended." -David Lee, Library Journal, December 2007 -- David Lee
"Jonathan Riley is ideally placed, as a soldier and an historian, to write this definitive book on Napoleon as one of history's most renowned commanders." --International Napoleonic Society
"a superb study...Napoleon as a Generalis not another biography, but a detailed treatise on the many and varied demands made on top commanders throughout history." Reviewed by John Ure in Times Literary Supplement, January 2008
"a superb study of Napoleon's qualities as a commander...finishes with an excellent and well-balanced conclusion." Reviewed by Jon Latimer in Times Literary Supplement, 2008
"A welcome and worthwhile interpretation of Napoleonic campaigns with an highly unusual perspective" BBC History Magazine -- Mark Urban * B'nai B'rith International Jewish Monthly *
"An insightful treatise on the emperor's generalship, written by an officer in the British army." -David Lee Poremba, Library Journal, December 2007 -- David Lee Poremba * Library Journal *

Author Bio

Jonathon Riley was appointed as Director General and Master of the Armouries in June 2009.Before that he held military commands on operations in the Balkans as a battalion and brigade commander, in Sierra Leone as Joint Task Force Commander, in Iraq as Divisional Commander, and in Afghanistan as Deputy Commander of all NATO forces. He has an MA and a PhD in history and has published eight books including Napoleon as a General (Continuum 2007)