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Napoleon's Marshals Part 5 Early Access (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-14 20:01:11
Edited:
2021-02-16 18:56:29
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Videos

Content

YouTube link here 

Dear Patrons, 

Here it is, the next installment in the Napoleon's Marshals series! I hope you enjoy, it's the longest episode yet with heaps of detail about the lives and careers of three great Marshals. 

I won't say too much about the content or rankings here (#nospoilers), but I look forward to your feedback, and as ever I'm happy to discuss any part of the video with you here in the comments. 

This post marks the closing of entries for the Marshal's baton competition - and will spell heartbreak for many, but hope for some... No announcements on winners until the release of Part 6 (in about 4 weeks time).

Merch for Typos is in effect! One free item from the EHTV store to the first Patron to spot a typo in the video.

YouTube link will follow as soon as it's available. 

Thanks again for all your amazing support!

Toby

Files

Napoleons Marshals Part 5

Patreon ad free early access.

Comments

Walide

A brillant video.

Camouflage

Awesome, made my day, thank you.

Sam Dougan

The sound may be .. broken. ?

Tấn Thịnh Nguyễn

37 minutes with great content, great soundtrack, great narrator. That really worths waiting for. Thank you epic history tv.

Rick Reactions

I expected this video to be long but 37 minutes of Napoleon's Marshals? As always you go above and beyond the call of duty Toby! Thanks for this!

EpicHistoryTV

It's all sounding ok here, are you getting bad sound or no sound?

Sam Dougan

All good now! 720p did the trick

EpicHistoryTV

Ah, thanks Brandon. If sound works ok on 720p, it's probably a delay in Vimeo encoding (it uploaded a few mins ago). If you try again in 15 mins hopefully the 1080p sound will also work ok.

Louis Chiodo

Not gonna lie, caught me really off guard with #6 haha

Lewis C

"If I had to invade Hell, I'd want Ney leading the rear guard" - Napoleon (not really). Seriously tho, the segment about his conduct during the retreat was so so epic. The music, artwork, writing, voicework, use of quote from the officer; all just perfect. Really stirring.

EpicHistoryTV

Not for his lack of ability, but for his lack of opportunity. Another 'what if..'

Rebellican

Damn I did not expect Suchet at #6

Jeff Hanevich

Oooh #6 is a real hot take. Ruined my chances at the baton but I gotta say I respect it

Joseph Dell

Great video Toby! I knew Ney was brave, but that guy was a hard fighting, hard charging warrior!

Lewis C

Do you know any good books that I can read to find out more about the Russian retreat? Specifically Marshal Ney and his troops? Would love to hear accounts of him pulling men from the river and what he said to his guys to keep them going.

Louis Chiodo

a great marshal just lacked opportunities

EpicHistoryTV

My recommendations would be 'The Great Retreat' by Paul Britten Austin, and the memoirs of Caulaincourt (available for free online). You might not get quite that level of detail, but the former is full of great eyewitness accounts, while the latter is the best single memoir from a well-placed survivor of the retreat.

Bence Fehér

Knocked it out of the park again, great video Toby. I had Ney at #3 and Berthier at #5, let's just pretend it was a typo and I meant it the other way round. :)

Lewis C

I will definitely check those out thank you!!

EpicHistoryTV

(Britten is where I got the Colonel's quote about Ney during the retreat).

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! A lot of these decisions were on a knife-edge, I had Ney at 4 for most of the series, but Soult's ability to hold down a front (which Ney was not really suited to do) nudged him in front.

Gordian III

good video as always. Have to say I was really surprised at Soult being 4th place. Can't wait for the next one. And can you say what you will be doing after this topic? will you be doing Vitoria and ranking napoleons enemies. thanks : )

Line_of_Blood

question: Do you have any plans to upload your future videos or remaster any of your previous videos in 4k? Because I think these videos are superb and worth the effort will definitely have a longer shelf life if you can!

Yousef Alghadouri

Finally someone who credits ney as being one of the best commanders in military history and among the best in the grand Armee and doesn’t criticize him form an armchair general’s point of view like they do nowadays. It’s true that he was impetuous and hasty but I don’t think he is to blame in quatre bras because d’erlon’s cavalry was needed in both Ligny and quatre bras and that affected ney in quatre bras. As for Waterloo it’s difficult to say what caused the defeat. some say it’s ney others say miscommunication by soult’s inability to understand Napoleon’s orders and the message he relayed to grouchy. I say it was the veteran English soldier who won the battle. because ney wisely judged that a cavalry charge would decimate the enemy army who was getting battered throughout the day (Borodino style) but the veteran English army held and the rest,as they say is history

EpicHistoryTV

Thanks Gordian! After the Marshals, it's the Vitoria campaign. Then something non-Napoleon TBA!

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you! But unfortunately no, most of the artwork in particular is not high-enough resolution to look good in 4k.

Louis Chiodo

Amazing series! Everyone who played a part in making this and the other episodes should be proud

Michael

I've been waiting for this lol

Hisham Yousif

Great video Toby, as always. I enjoyed every minute and it did not feel like 37 minutes. Don’t feel the need to make them shorter and please, by all means, make them longer. I’m trying to figure out why these videos are hitting a nerve for me. I think there is a trend away from personal histories as you said elsewhere and it’s such a shame because great inspiration can come from narrative stories of the past. What a treasure these are. Now it’s time to go listen to it on loop for four to six weeks. Bravo!

Stuart Carver

30.45 and 32.20 Seville is mispronounced if you look in Napoleons Vietnam at 5.40 it was pronounced correctly so should be an easy fix. Wow this series is surely the most comprehensive overview of Napoleons Marshals ever now really great detail as always. I got Ney and Soult the wrong way round damn it tough call there. Looking forward to my favourite hopefully number 1 Lannes. The more I look into him the most impressed I become though he may win number one most explosive Marshal, he had a real temper on him. Can’t believe his friend died mere minutes before his was mortally wounded.

DKfire

With so many Marshals executed, assassinated or dying in disgrace, Soult probably had the best post Napoleonic career (besides Bernadotte). Becoming France's highest ranking soldier and Prime Minister 3 times, on top of his service as a Marshal, the guy was probably a national hero when he died.

CJ Tabunda III

To be honest, I thought Suchet would be among the Top 3. But maybe I was taken by Napoleon's words that Suchet was his best general. Still, the ranking is very just. I'm not surprised that both Ney and Soult would be ranked 4th and 5th. I personally thought Berthier would be 6th due to his lack og skills as a battlefield commander. Maybe I might have underestimated Berthier as he was known as the brain of the Grande Armee. But maybe he would only be 3rd in the next video.

CJ Tabunda III

On the other note, really, turning marshals into manga? LOL😁

Luca Schneider

Superb Video Toby Looking forward to the last Part

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

My instinct is that Suchet would be six because he became Marshal so much later. Ney and Soult at #5 and #4 makes a lot of sense. Had Ney's career ended after the crossing back into Poland following his brilliant rear-guard in Russia, he'd be in the Top 3. But, his injuries in 1812 undoubtedly effected his performance in 1813, which was not a great year for him in being too slow at Bautzen and his catastrophic defeat at the hands of his old mentor at Dennewitz. And of course 1815...

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

He was perhaps Napoleon's best general, but we have to remember that Toby is only counting their service as Marshal and Suchet was a little late to the game (though no fault of his own). He should have been made Marshal much sooner.

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

I think his injuries and overall poor health in 1813 are not often taken into consideration. He needed time to recover and didn't get it. He was psychically and mentally exhausted. His peers saw that he was not well and it effected his performance at Bautzen. And at Dennewitz I think fatigue was overwhelming his thinking because he walked into a trap he should have seen coming.

Louis Chiodo

Doesn’t matter that they’ve been marshals far longer, if that was the case Moncey would out rank Poniatowski

Richard Hsu

Murat and Ney probably rolling in their graves when they see this

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

It does matter because time means opportunities afforded. It is not the literal time in grade, but the opportunities to command as a Marshal during as many campaigns as possible from 1805 to build a track-record. Ultimately, it is the very reason Toby cites for Suchet not being higher on the list; he simply did not get as many opportunities as Marshal.

DKfire

If a film ever got made about Ney, I can definitely imagine this being the final scene. On his deathbed, him uttering the words: "I am Ney of France."

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

It makes for an excellent story. I recently bought a very old book, from the 1870s, on the topic of Peter S. Ney. And I must say that it is more convincing than I thought it might be. The handwriting comparisons for example. And, as you well know, Ney was certainly not without friends. Not only would Wellington be willing and able to assist in an escape, and he also had a strong motive, but his fellow Marshals had a vested interest in helping him and had the means to do so. Also Bernadotte, now Crown Prince and Regent of an Allied power, did plead for Ney's life as they were very close friends since 1795. He too had resources at his disposal that could have been valuable. Not saying I have any proof, but the people and circumstances involved are, on the surface, plausible.

Maggie Scott

He lost that historic explosive temper at Zaragoza. Had he managed to live longer, I believe people would have definitely noticed that change. The only time he lost his temper was the night of May 21, when he ripped Bessieres a new one about failing to break the Austrian center. But then Bessieres could try the patience of quite a few people.

Maggie Scott

On the other hand, I can see Jean-Boy ordering scores of the coffee mugs with his manga portrait and giving them to all his home town friends, especially those who never thought he'd amount to much.

A.G

I got none of these right 😭 I went with berthier soult ney.... I hope I get the top 2 correct even tho I dont win anything

Tấn Thịnh Nguyễn

can anybody explain to me what makes soult top4, one of best marshall of napoleon.

EpicHistoryTV

When I saw that they existed, I decided they had to be in the EHTV shop!

EpicHistoryTV

Soult and his corps (which he did so much to train into a war-winning instrument) where at the heart of everything the Grande Armée achieved 1805 - 07. His record in Spain was very mixed, but not many Marshals could have run such an effective defensive campaign as he did in the Pyrenees.

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you Hisham! Glad you enjoyed. Part 6 will be another long one!

EpicHistoryTV

As Seb says, Suchet was clearly one of the best and most intelligent French commanders of the period, but the ranking system is based on achievements as Marshals, and he was a late promotion, and in a relative backwater. (The reason for limiting the criteria to their time as Marshals was to minimise the amount of speculation - you can compare actual records, rather than pondering how good, e.g. Saint Cyr *might* have been!)

EpicHistoryTV

Lannes seems to have become less over-sensitive, but I don't think the temper ever disappeared - he seemed pretty angry at Ratisbon too!

Tấn Thịnh Nguyễn

Thank you, and thanks for 37 minutes video. It's definitely a great work.

Stuart Carver

Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to get in the wrong side of him. Also at 27.00 it should be the invasion of Britain not England

Joseph Dell

Toby, any recommended reading i.e what you used for research? Love to peruse those titles. Thanks again.

The CIA

What's the ETA on the last part btw? Planning my life around it

Stuart Carver

20.25 the battle of Leipzig took place over 4 days not 3 16th 17th 18th and 19th

Bluewarrior514

At 11:40, Napoleon seized power and became first consul in 1799 rather than 1800. 35:20 Also Soult was promoted in 1847 not 1849 Other than that this video is amazing and I can’t wait to see the final episode

Lewis C

Why would wellington help

Miibez

Excellent job as always, cant wait for the final part!

EpicHistoryTV

Of course! Thank you Stuart, this is the first typo spot so you win the prize! I'll message you shortly.

Jacob Lewis

Got 2/3 correct of the top 6. I placed Ney at 3 rather at 5. Still happy with my list. And, most importantly, the video is great. I can’t wait for the final part!

Teixeira da Silva

I'm waiting to see how the hell is berthier in the top 3. Never thought he would be there. Davout and lannes no question but berthier? Really? Ahead of Soult or Ney? Napoleon dismissed berthier in 1815 as chief of staff. Never the less great video, soundtrack, and nobody does it like you.

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you! Well I will make the argument for Berthier in the next episode.

Crown Prince Sebastian Johan of Ponte Corvo

Wellington DID help. He was a great admirer of Ney and tried to have Louis XVIII reverse the death sentence. However, Louis was adamant, and when Wellington went to see him one last time to have the sentence reversed, in his capacity as the Allied Occupation C-in-C, not only did Louis refuse to reverse the sentence, but he turned his back on Wellington, which was a grave insult. Ney was shot the next morning.

Teixeira da Silva

But top 3? It seems a bit too much. It's like saying the men's o got shot are less importante then the information. You can be good but in battle the decisions on the battlefield make real changes. I will wait for Toby's arguments 😁

Stuart Carver

Thanks I finally won something. Also I did write 2 other things I though were mistakes in earlier comments but you haven’t come back on them so I’m not sure if you’ve seen them?

Lewis C

Awesome, I ordered his book off amazon last night!

Miss Larissa

I'll bet Murat would love it, actually! As long as the ensemble is adequately soignèe and the coiffure is is floofy.

Gaurav Rao

Loved this series. To be honest while I will openly admit Marshal Lannes is my favorite of the 26 and I am personally glad to see him in the top 3, would it be fair as 'relative' to the others he had a shorter career (though I know from the 5-6 battles I have read about him he was a good commander). I can't wait for the next video of this series

EpicHistoryTV

Thanks Gaurav! Yes Lannes had a much shorter career, but he did remarkable things in that time, as we'll explore in the final episode..

Gavin Anand Saint Just Brown

Hi Toby. Brilliant as always. I can't imagine how Ney went through the 1812 campaign without suffering some kind of psychological breakdown. Suchet sounds like one of those very rare breeds who knows how to do counterinsurgency warfare right.

EpicHistoryTV

Agreed, Suchet was getting stuff right that even the most advanced armies in the world still get wrong today, and apparently have to relearn every 20-30 years. The issue of PTSD and combat stress in this period is very interesting. There's very little about it in the primary sources, but I suspect this is a warrior culture and social taboo thing, and that it was largely buried. In fact I might see if I can start a conversation about this with the Napoleonic twitter historians!

Emperor

Very epic video! Enjoyed all 37 minutes of it! I’m a little upset Ney was a little lower, (I guessed he would have been top 3) but after seeing some major points, such as his blunders at Waterloo I can see why you placed him at 5th. The part where he was being executed, with the song and words it really touched me. Poor Ney, he didn’t deserve to be executed.

Patrick wilcher

Out of all of the marshals presented so far. Number 5 Marshal Neys presentation was by far the best. . Really dramatic when you start talking about him in the Russian campaign and the music that played while you did it was so iconic. Well done can't wait for the final video

Miibez

Managed to guess the first 3 right, cant qait to see the final part. Amazing video as always, this series is one of my all time favorites! Keep up the good work!

EpicHistoryTV

Glad you enjoyed it, Ney on the retreat was always going to be a special moment!

Loki_08

damn, I was a day too late to post my top 6, despite guessing those three in this order. My guess was Souchet 6, Ney 5, Soult 4 (but could have easily been 3 if not for Waterloo), Lannes 3, Berthier 2 and Davout 1

Sean Leavey

Spine chills at the Ney section. Amazing music, atmosphere and story. Incredible work as always!

Flo

I would have been interesting to add that Soult created the iconic French foreign legion. :)

Hisham Yousif

I’m in the Army and the topic is a murky one. It certainly exists but one doesn’t know what makes people more resilient or more fragile if exposed to the same traumas. I’ve often wondered if it increases with a society’s wealth and comfort, the shock of war is just too wrenching a shock from the the norm. I don’t know but I’ve often wondered how people of this era mustered the courage to engage in these battles. Further, how does an Udinot function well into his 80s, both physically and mentally? Clearly Soult was scarred by his experience but why not Ney or MacDonald (whose being trampled by Austrian cavalry must have been horrific).

Luke Henderson

Am I the only one who is 90% sure that Ney fled to the United States. Because a year after the firing squad a person named Peter Steward Ney arrived in. The us south his father was named Peter, and his mother's maiden name was Stewart and this man tried to kill himself when he heard of Napoleons death he also on his death bed said he was ney. The person also moved around the south when he first arrived never staying in one place at a time strange huh?

Noah S

Hey, I’ve spotted a typo, though I don’t know if it’s already been spotted. At 11:06, the line reads, “The 30-year-old Ney was now a proven brigade commander...”, though right after he is described to “finally accept the rank of general of division”, in 1799, at age 30.

EpicHistoryTV

Hi Noah, that seems ok to me - he was aged 30 when he was promoted from brigadier general to General of Division, so both statements are correct.

Daniel Cooper

Do we have an ETA on when the Final part will be out? I'm super excited to see the final rankings, and thanks to your recommendation I purchased Napoleons Marshall's by David Chandler

EpicHistoryTV

Enjoy, it's a great book. Final part is about 4-5 weeks away.

Crispin Julius

Yeah, I heard he married Princess Anastasia in Atlanta. 😏

Luke Henderson

Bro now this one actually has merit you should look it up. Princess Anastasia though is dead dead.

Jay White

Loved it! In fact, your Napoleonic videos are what drew me here! Keep'em coming! Thanks for your hard work on all this.

Teixeira da Silva

Toby.. The battles of marshal ney in Portugal are Pombal and Redinha not Redhina.

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you João, good spot! An annoying typo. Unfortunately it's too late to correct this for the YouTube version.

Hisham Yousif

It pains me every time I hear Ney’s segment. His confrontation of the King’s niece is so indicative of a man hurt by the decline in caliber of those above him. The Bourbon’s seem so effete and impotent next to Napoleon and here Ney is subservient and suffering indignities. The final tragedy is they eventually line him up against a wall and shoot him. Moncey’s letter to the King refusing to sit in judgment on Ney is particularly moving. What remains a puzzle to me is why Ney gets the death penalty while Soult does not. They both served Napoleon during the 100 days.

EpicHistoryTV

It's certainly a very poignant end for Ney. There are a few reasons why Ney was shot and Soutl was not, the most important one being that Soult (after nearly suffering the fate of Brune, who was lynched by a Royalist mob) had the good sense to leave France, and Ney did not. Also, Ney was particularly despised by many of the 'ultra-Royalists', because of e.g. the incident with the Duchess of Angouleme. Even then, Ney spurned several opportunities to escape (which would have spared people on all sides the crisis and controversy of shooting him). So with the Royalists looking to make an example of someone - I'd argue Ney effectively colludes in making himself the obvious choice!

Hisham Yousif

Yes, that makes sense. Painful. Who gets amnesty and who gets exiled or pardoned or who gets executed is so complicated. Napoleon/Murat, Ney/Soult offer great contrasts in fate and circumstance. Thanks. I’m looking forward to the final installment of the Marshals and of Vitoria (even though it’s a loss video for the Grande Armee). Watching an Austerlitz video vs. a Salamanca or a Wagram elicit different emotions. Ha! Great content all the same. You single handedly got me interested in the era. Looking forward to an Egyptian Campaign or an Italian Campaign sometime in the future. I know you’re exploring different chapters in history, so no rush. I’ll be here to support all your quality work. Here’s to a long productive and creative career. Cheers!

Andrew Robson

Awesome series looking at the careers and lives of this somewhat unique group of men. Any chance of a whole episode just for Davout...

EpicHistoryTV

Thank you Andrew! He won't get his own episode, but these top tier Marshals are all getting about 10-12 minutes.. which would be a whole episode on many other channels!

Miibez

What is the ETA for the last episode? Cant wait much longer haha

Andrew Robson

Fair play - your videos are much longer than most, and far better researched. I caught another video today where they were talking about Borodino - 60,000 dead outright in one day apparently - WRONG!

EpicHistoryTV

It's surprising how often you see the casualty and killed statistics muddled up, even in published histories.