"The British Army of the Napoleonic Wars: 1800-1815" Topic

"After the Peace of Amiens was broken in 1803, Great Britain found herself at war with an old enemy (France) but also with a new competitor (Napoleon): the latter was the greatest military commander of his times, a man who was able to transform the French Army into the most lethal fighting machine of the early 19th century. The war experiences of 1793-1803 had not been very positive ones for the British Army; the latter was still recovering from the crushing defeats suffered during the American War of Independence and badly needed to be reformed in order to become more efficient and modern. At the turn of the new century, Great Britain was still the greatest colonial power of the world and could count on the most formidable navy of the world; on land, however, her army was too weak to confront the French one on almost equal terms. The British land forces did not have a great leader comparable to Napoleon and were still influenced by tactical models that had been outclassed by the events. During the Napoleonic Wars the British military apparatus did of its best to improve, especially thanks to the guidance of intelligent officers who belonged to a "new generation". These innovative and capable men reformed the British Army, by improving its standards of service and by creating a new relationship (based on mutual trust) with the men under their command. Wellington was the greatest of these officers and one of the few European generals who had the personal capabilities to contrast Napoleon in an effective way: it was him who "forged" the new British Army, by fighting against the French in the Iberian Peninsula during 1808-1814. After learning from experience, the British soldiers were finally able to face Napoleon on the Belgian fields of Waterloo and thus they wrote the last page of a glorious military epic. Waterloo, however, was just the final result of a long process."

Main page

link

Armand

"recovering from the crushing defeats suffered during the American War of Independence"

not the greatest of starts…

I am not sure that crushing defeat is how I would characterize the AWI – at least on the battlefield – the Brits won their fair share of battles (including Long Island, the biggest battle of the war) but lost the war, largely because the American side was determined to stay in the fight and British public opinion was not

Shows the value of tenacity!

Looks like an interesting read – Wellington had a tough job because, unlike Napoleon, it was pretty hard for him to get rid of a well connected idiot

Thanks

Armand

"creating a new relationship (based on mutual trust) with the men under their command"

Not entireley sure that is an accurate description of Wellington's relationship with his men. He was a conscientous commanding officer but much of the improvement mentioned were initiated by men like Abercromby, Moore Mackenzie, as well as the much maligned Duke of York, while Wellesley was in India.

Thanks also…

Armand