NAPOLEON’S WARS

A measured reassessment of Napoleonic imperialism.

Esdaile (History/Univ. of Liverpool; Fighting Napoleon: Guerillas, Bandits and Adventurers in Spain, 1808–1814, 2004, etc.) notes that Bonaparte’s champions have burnished a positive image of the emperor as a heroic figure who sought to defend the honor of France, preserve the French Revolution and free all Europe from the rule of the old order. Modern academic histories challenge or debunk much of this glowing portrait. The author draws nicely on their scholarship to offer a broad, balanced account of the prolonged conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15). Although Napoleon’s “aggression, egomania and lust for power” were the main driving forces, writes Esdaile, the wars also reflected complex issues involving relations among many European monarchies that had been at war throughout the 18th century. Recounting events from Britain’s declaration of war on France in 1803 to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and the dissolution of much of the French colonial empire, the author takes pains to explain how the rulers of Austria, Russia, Sweden and other countries acted in their own right and not simply as foils for Napoleon. The emperor is seen as a young opportunist who became a brilliant general convinced of his own infallibility and driven by the need for military and personal glory. (“Frenchmen!” he declared to his army in 1807, at the height of his power. “You have been worthy of yourselves and of me.”) Always overstretching, eschewing compromise and declaring, “the word impossible is not in my dictionary,” he pushed his way across the Pyrenees into Spain and Portugal, precipitating his eventual downfall. Although pausing often to reflect on the motives and actions of key players, Esdaile’s narrative never falters. He offers a panoramic view of the pan-European warfare and traces the emergence in this conflict of a new military age marked by far larger field armies, more and longer battles, a new stress on news management and propaganda and the rise of modern government bureaucracies.

A welcome and well-written synthesis of recent scholarship.