Napoleon: A Biography

(Marcin) #1

  1. The month before, Joseph and Massena had marched on Naples
    with an army of 4o,ooo, forcing Ferdinand IV to flee to Sicily; the
    Neapolitan population itself reacted with indifference to the change of
    regime. On IS February I8o6 'King' Joseph made a triumphal entry into
    Naples. Napoleon meanwhile upgraded the Batavian republic to the
    Kingdom of Holland and put in Louis as the new King. These new
    kingdoms created out of nepotism created some ominous rumblings.
    Murat, jealous of any privilege that he himself did not possess, warned
    Napoleon that he was going too far, but the Emperor discerned his
    motive and ignored him; in retaliation Murat began to intrigue with
    Fouche and Talleyrand.
    Napoleon himself did not return to Paris until 26 January, having
    spent the first three weeks of the new year in Munich and Stuttgart. He
    was greeted with enthusiasm by a Paris proud both of the great victory
    and the triumphalist peace that succeeded it. He was reasonably confident
    that the peace would hold, especially since he had placated Prussia by
    ceding Hanover to her. His most implacable enemy, Pitt, was dead.
    Allegedly he remarked on hearing of Austerlitz: 'Roll up that map of
    Europe. It will not be needed these ten years,' and there are even some
    who claim that he died of a broken heart after seeing his old enemy
    master of Europe. Pitt was replaced by Fox, well known for his French
    sympathies. Yet even a prime minister is the prisoner of entrenched
    financial interests, so it was not long before Fox was heard to say that he
    could not accept French suzerainty in Sicily. In Russia too after a brief
    struggle the Francophobe party regained the upper hand. It looked as
    though Talleyrand was right, and the fu ndamental logic of power politics
    would always prevail, no matter what the personal sympathies of foreign
    rulers.
    The campaign of Austerlitz saw the Grande Armee in its first full
    appearance. It would grow in size until in 1812 some 63o,ooo men were
    mobilized, but by late 1805 Napoleon's military system was essentially
    what it would remain. The main features of his success were surprise,
    mobility, seizing and keeping the initiative and, above all, the flexibility of
    the corps system where each corps, in effect a miniature army 17-3o,ooo
    strong, was capable of living off the land and fighting superior enemy
    detachments. Clearly the personality of the Emperor himself was all­
    important: here was a man who lived for war and told Josephine, in a
    letter dated 9 February 1806, that reading an army list was his favourite
    occupation and gave him most pleasure when tired. But even a military
    genius needs a well-oiled machine and highly motivated soldiers to carry
    out his brilliant schemes. Both these assets Napoleon possessed.

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