"Napoleon and His Marshals: Victory, Rivalry, Betrayal" Topic

"After crowning himself Emperor in May 1804, Napoleon appointed twenty-six men Marshals of the Empire, a position he created to honor his most important generals. He encouraged competition among them for titles, for wealth, but above all, for glory. Only instead of creating a team of rivals, as Lincoln so famously did, he forged a nest of vipers. "A shrewd and experienced biographer" (The Christian Science Monitor) with a gift for capturing flawed heroes in all their vitality and self-delusion, Andrew Roberts invites us into the lives and loves of these elite warriors, whose rivalries shaped the fate of Europe…"

link

Armand

Hmmm, Andrew Robert's has always struck me as a bit of a Napoleon hero-worshipper, and the potted summary only reinforces my impression. I suspect the book will blame everything on the marshals without whom Napoleon would've gone on to make the world a peaceful, freedom loving, law abiding paradise.

Glup!…

Armand

I attended a gathering at the National Army Museum last night at which Andrew Roberts discussed the new book. He did have the grace to say that, after 3 years further research on the relationships between Bonaparte and the Marshals, his rose-tinted views on the Emperor had tarnished a little. However, one still got the impression that "they" were to blame, not "him".

Wait a minute we're certainly not going to feel sorry for them : Napoleon made their glory, their fortunes, their rise in society and their social standing, he made them kings and princes and dukes, and yet almost all of them turned their backs on him, some even betrayed him, the worst, Bernadotte, for one, betrayed far more than just a man and Napoléon : he betrayed an entire country, France, by taking command of an army of the enemy coalition against his nation, then number 2 there's Marmont de la ragusade — he deserves a place on this podium too

Well said Lilian. Interesting how people throw out the hero-worship rubbish to anyone who 'dares' says anything positive about Napoleon! And also interesting that they won't accept anything negative about good-old-I-did-it-all-for-Britain-to-save-everyone Welly. And they have't even read the book! LOL

Je suis tout à fait d'accord avec toi, Lilian… la liste est très longue, avec très peu d'exceptions…

Bien sûr, avec mon ami Gazzola aussi…

Armand

Armand, many thanks for linking this title. With being so wrapped up (obsessed even) recently with the earlier period, 1793 and the War in the Vendee I was unaware this book was out. It is now on my always-growing-never-reducing list of titles to buy. And, unlike someone we could mention, I won't make any comments on the author's work until I've actually read it. LOL

A votre service mon cher ami…

Armand

It never ceases to amaze me how folk still find new material to write on events 200 years ago. You either offer a new interpretation on well known text and publications, ever since and available, or, the alternative if you have the lingo, delve into the national archives. An example must be "Napoleon's Conscripts", a birthday present from one of my sons, which just shows great imagination in the topic.

(smile)

Armand

It makes you wonder what else 'not-yet-seen-or-discovered' is out there to be found. You never know, there could be some nice, entertaining and revealing surprises in store. I'm just grateful that people are still looking, searching, discovering and writing. Long may they do so. The only problem is, of course, the more to read, the less time to paint and wargame!