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Episode 120: More Terrible than Ever (Patreon)

Published:
2024-12-01 05:47:42
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

In April, 1809, the Austrians finally launched their long-awaited invasion of the Napoleonic Empire. The French were taken by surprise, but Napoleon had a plan to turn the tables.

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Comments

Jacob Yopak

The description of a soldier grabbing the battle flag or the enemy and then getting rewarded by Napoleon makes me wonder if they are any recordings of soldiers on the same side attempting to steal or even kill a soldier who captured the enemy's battle flag with the interest of reaping the rewards for themselves?

John McCormick

It seems that a willingness to accept casualties is a major part of sustaining a war. This willingness was blasted into shreds in the west in ww1 but seems to be the reason for Russian ascendency in Ukraine today. How was this willingness sustained in the face of Austria’s many defeats from France and Napoleon?

Ross Flowers

You really hit the ball out of the ballpark this time. Well done! Can you recommend and books about this campaign?

Georg H.

Thank you for doing this podcast, I've enjoyed every single episode so far immensely! As the timeline has reached 1809, may I suggest covering - maybe in the dispatches? - one of my favorite stories in the Napoleonic era: the Duke of Brunswick-Oels' free corps, who would later become the Black Brunswickers and take part in the Peninsular War and Waterloo, were stranded in Bohemia in 1809 after the armistice following Wagram. As a private army, they couldn't hope for mercy at the hands of the French, so they made a fantastically lucky dash to the North Sea and evacuated to Britain. Having clashed several times with superior Dutch and Westfalian forces on the way, they made their final escape in fishing boats while literally being shot at by Danish artillery. There's some brilliant primary sources about the march, but I wouldn't be surprised if their availability in english was limited. Please do reach out if I can help. It's a fascinating story.

Georg H.

Also, I couldn't help but notice the parallels between Napoleon and Julius Caesar - how they addressed their troops and gained their loyalty, their wartime and anti-rebellion strategies (think Gaul and Spain), how they appeared to have seen themselves as leaders, how they descended into tyranny and "just one more war". I think you mentioned how in his early years Napoleon was an avid reader of works by and about Julius Caesar and other parts of Roman history. He certainly seems to have taken a good chunk out of the Roman playbook. Do you think Napoleon ingrained more than what would have been a standard part of an 18th century noble's education? How much of Napoleon's genius was really Julius Caesar (or applied history lessons in general)?

Jeffrey Suzuki

You mentioned in one of the opening episodes that most people from France did not speak French, but a diverse array of languages and dialects that became more distinct the further from Paris a person lived. I imagine that that was changing over time with the establishment of new education systems. Here’s my question: If I were a peasant conscripted from a village, serving from the French Revolutionary Wars to the War of the Fifth Coalition, would I be speaking French instead of the dialect I originally spoke? Were there programs of linguistic standardization in the French Army for the rank and file soldier?

Dr. Martin Nicolai
>>157126701

There are many dialects on the island of Great Britain--think of Scots English--and at least some element of mutual understanding. You learn commands and basic instructions and go from there. National militaries, like mass education, do have a tendency to standardize language. Supposedly French officers with the fleet in Brest and other northern ports required translators to communicate with the Provencal/Occitan/Langue d'Oc-speaking sailors in Toulon.

Dr. Martin Nicolai
>>156964582

Napoleon was a wide reader, studying not just great generals of ancient times and the recent past, but many subjects. I am sure that he was impressed by the daring of Caesar with his quick marches over long distances, often away from his lines of supply.