The Napoleonic Wars: The History of the Conflicts that Shaped Europe in the 19th Century

Nearly 50 years after Napoleon met his Waterloo, generals across the West continued to study his tactics and engage their armies the same way armies fought during the Napoleonic Era. Despite advances in military technology and the advent of railroads for transportation, all of which made defensive warfare more effective, acclaimed military geniuses like Robert E. Lee used flank attacks and infantry charges against superior numbers in an effort to win decisive victories, and it would not be until World War I that concepts of modern warfare made the Napoleonic Era of the early 19th century outdated.

For those questioning why generals continued using tactics from the Napoleonic Era even as technology changed the battlefield, the Battle of Austerlitz may provide the best answer. Napoleon is regarded as one of history’s greatest generals, and Austerlitz was his greatest victory. In 1805, Britain, Austria, and Russia allied together to form the Third Coalition against the French, and the Third Coalition’s forces consisted of armies from Austria and Russia, with Britain providing naval support as well as its financial powers.

Napoleon’s enemies would famously say he was worth 50,000 men in the field, but the simple truth is that he wasn’t able to dominate Europe on his own. In fact, the subordinates and soldiers underneath him participated in several of history’s most famous battles and charted the course of Napoleon’s rise and fall.

The French army - which became known as the Grande Armée - existed for just 10 years, from 1805 to 1815, and the question of what it was about this army that allowed it to win so many notable victories and to survive defeats which would have destroyed lesser armies has fascinated historians and writers ever since.