8 changes Napoleon made to warfare

one of the most influential generals in

history
INSTANT ARTICLES NAPOLEON Feb 2, 2017 Andrew Knighton

Photo Credit

SHARE: Facebook Twitter

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the most influential generals in

history. Combining the ideas of the foremost military theorists of his
era with the study of the great generals of antiquity he transformed
the way the French army fought. His opponents adapted to try to
match him. Future generations studied, developed, and adopted his
techniques.

What did Napoleon do that was different?

Movement

Napoleon placed great emphasis on movement as a part of warfare.

This was best demonstrated during his Italian campaign of the
1790s. Taking his troops back and forth across the country, he
repeatedly outmaneuvered the Austrians and their Piedmontese
allies. It allowed him to fight battles at a time and place that suited
him. He picked the enemy forces off one by one, rather than allowing
them to combine.
 Image source

A hundred years later, this style of battle still dominated the thinking
of European military commanders. The First World War was led by
men committed to a war of movement who, against all the evidence,
persisted in believing it could be achieved.

Artillery

Napoleons grasp of mathematics as well as tactics and command

made him a skilled artillerist. It was in this branch of the military that
he began his rise to power. By using artillery to quell a riot in Paris,
he gained the favor of the government.

Unsurprisingly, he was an innovator in this field. He pushed the

French military toward field guns which were on average a third
lighter than those of their British opponents. This allowed the guns to
be moved quickly around the battlefield and used to their best effect.

He also focused the power of his guns. Instead of spreading them

out to provide support for the infantry, he collected large mobile
batteries. Their coordinated firepower could make significant dents in
enemy formations. This was the predecessor of the ever-growing
batteries of the next hundred years.

French Napoleonic artillery battery during the 200th-anniversary

reenactment of the battle of Austerlitz. Photo Credit
Supplies

The change Napoleon made to supplies was hardly a novelty, but it

was important to the way he fought.

In a reversion to tactics common in the Middle Ages, Napoleon

aimed to feed his armies from the land rather than transporting large
volumes of supplies with them. It had two advantages in supporting
his war of movement. Firstly, it meant his armies were unburdened
with the weight of supplies and the slowness of wagon trains.
Secondly, it made him less dependent on supply lines back to
France, making him less vulnerable to enemy maneuvers.

This tactic was the exact opposite of the great innovator of a century
before, the Duke of Marlborough, who had shifted the emphasis onto
purchasing supplies to ensure good will.

Corps Organisation

The organization of the French army changed under Napoleon. He

divided his forces into corps capable of operating independently and
then coming together for battle. Each corps could march and fight
separately if called upon to do so. They could move faster than if the
whole army marched as one.

Under the leadership of gifted corps commanders, these divisions

proved useful on the battlefield as well as on the march. They
became the main units of the French army, providing the large scale
structure of the French army in battle.

Napoleons farewell to his Imperial Guard, 20 April 1814

Focus on Destruction

Although Napoleons methods were about outmaneuvering the

enemy, his aims were unequivocal. Unlike many of his predecessors,
he focused on bringing about the utter destruction of the enemy
armies. The goal was not just to defeat or dislodge them. It was to
smash them decisively in a single battle, removing their ability to fight
and forcing them to negotiation on his terms. It was an approach that
was replicated a century later in the attempt of General Haig in WWI
to wear down enemy resources past the ability to fight.

Scale of Warfare

Napoleons strategic objectives were not the only thing that made his
wars hugely destructive. The vast scale of Napoleonic warfare played
a part.

The French Revolution had set this change in motion. To defend the
country and export its radical values, republican governments
needed large armies. They established conscription for the first time
in modern European history.

Photo Credit

Napoleon developed these conscription laws and used the troops

they provided. With them, he fought wars on a previously
unprecedented scale. From Portugal in the West to Russia in the
East, all Europe heard the cannons roar.

Move onto the Rear

Napoleon popularized two specific military strategies.

One of these was the Manoeuvre De Derrire the move on the

rear. It involved marching the army around the enemy and onto their
lines of communication. Thanks to his living off the land, Napoleon
was less vulnerable to the negative impact of this maneuver, which
could cut off supplies and make the enemy nervous.

Once cut off in this way, the enemy army was forced to turn around
and face Napoleon. He could choose where to fight. The enemy
knew they could not afford to lose and were demoralized by being
outmaneuvered in this way.

Napoleon on Saint Helena

Central Position

The other strategy was the central position. Napoleon used this
when he faced more than one enemy or an enemy army that had
become divided. By holding a central position, he could split his
enemies apart. He would hold one off with a relatively small part of
his army, while he defeated the other force.

Not all Napoleons changes were radical but all played a part in
shaping modern warfare.

Sources:

Geoffrey Ellis (1991), The Napoleonic Empire.

Alan Forrest (2011), Napoleon.

Robert Harvey (2006), The War of Wars: The Epic Struggle Between
Britain and France: 1789-1815.

Alistair Horne (1996), How Far From Austerlitz? Napoleon

1805-1815.