'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - Napoleon had a well-planned logistical support for his 1812 Russian campaign but one issue wasn't taken into account:

"Napoleon and his commanders quickly realized that the heavy four-horse caissons could not, for the most part, be used in Russia because of their weight and the condition of roads (especially after heavy rains), forcing them to switch to smaller carts seized from the locals. This, however, resulted in delays and disorder. Thus in the first few weeks of the war it was not so much the lack of supplies that affected Napoleon's men as the inability to transport stocks in timely fashion."

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - The author mentioned this relatively small naval action that led to a British defeat at Grand Port. The author had this to say:

"Set against the great actions of the age, the Battle of Grand Port was a small-scale event, especially in the wake of the Battles of te Nile and Trafalgar. But it was, nonetheless, one of the worst defeats the Royal Navy suffered during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Rowley's five frigates had been reduced to just one while more than 2,000 British seamen (including four captains) were dead, wounded, or captured; the French lost barely 150 men. More disturbing to the British was the fact that their warships had failed to put up their usual fight, causing a contemporary British historian to lament that 'no case which we are aware more deeply affects the character of the British Navy than the defeat it sustained at Grand Port'."

Battle of Grand Port:
https://www.mauritius-holidays-discov...

Betsy wrote: "Love your reference to 'the great purge' of your books. The 1809 campaign is of great interest. I've only read one of the trilogy. I really need to get to the other two one of these days. Esdaile d..."

The trauma of the great purge still haunts me, Betsy! It would be worth your while to get the other two books in the trilogy; it's a great history and well told and researched by John Gill.

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - The author provided a very interesting chapter on Iran and the European powers during the Napoleonic Wars. Of interest was the on-off conflict between Russia and Iran:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-P...

I actually find the 1809 Austrian campaign one of my favourites to read about. Lots of drama, nothing certain about how the campaign would progress or end but Napoleon always steady in his determination to win the battle/campaign. Austria did fight better than previously but still had issues with a command structure that needed to be more flexible when dealing with Napoleon.

My favourite set of books on the 1809 campaign is John Gill's trilogy series; "1809 Thunder on the Danube". He later published a stand-alone book on the final battle of the 1809 campaign "The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, the Habsburgs and the end of the War of 1809". All great reads and ones that I've kept in my library after the great purge earlier this year :)

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - A great account of the British expedition to Walcheren in 1809:

"The expedition was ready to be launched when news of the Austrian defeat at the Battle of Wagram arrived. British officials should have realized that the battle probably meant that Austria would be forced to sue for peace, but they opted to continue with the expedition. On July 28 a fleet of more than 600 vessels, including more than 260 warships, sailed under command of Sir Richard Strachan, carrying a 37,000-man army led by John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, to the Dutch shores. One eyewitness recalled feeling a sense of immense pride as he watched 'the departure of the grandest fleet that ever sailed from the shores of England. Above three hundred vessels spread their wings to the wind, and from North Foreland to South, the Channel was one cluster of moving vessels - a sight never to be forgotten, whilst memory holds a seat'."

The Walcheren Expedition:
https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-o...

https://www.waterlooassociation.org.u...

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - Following on from Scott's post above (#65) in regard to French response to any uprising or rebellion within their areas of control - this time in Calabria:

"The military governor of the province, General Charles Antione Manhes, understood the communal nature of the revolt, which allowed the insurgents to survive in the mountains with the help of supplies from neighboring villages. In 1810 Manhes decreed that any peasant caught outside his village with any form of food would be executed on the spot, with no exceptions made for age or gender. Indeed, during the summer the French shot men, women, and children who were caught with even a piece of fruit in hand outside their communes. The mercilessness of these measures worked, and the starving insurgents were forced to come out of the mountains and into the valleys, where they were hunted down by the French flying detachments. No leniency was shown; all captured brigands were executed, their bodies left by the side of the road as a warning. By early 1811, the last of the Calabrian bands was destroyed; their leader, Parafante, was killed and his head displayed in the public square of a neighboring town. Having executed hundreds, by the spring of 1811 Manhes could report that Calabria was once again at peace."

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

Betsy wrote: "That's an interesting quote in #87 about replacing the HRE. Considering the rise of the German states, and especially Prussia after 1806, you have to wonder what Europe would have been like had not..."

Always some interesting 'what-if' questions in history eh!

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - I quite liked the author's start to the chapter - "The Grand Empire, 1807-1812":

"Historian Thomas Nipperday's acclaimed history of nineteenth-century Germany opens with the sentence 'In the beginning was Napoleon.' The idea goes to the very heart of the issue of Napoleon's place in European history. His victories were dramatic and even inspiring, but they did far more than achieve military success. After Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland, Napoleon began to speak openly of the grand-empire that he hoped to construct in Europe to replace the now-defunct Holy Roman Empire. His empire marked a pivotal episode in the story of state-making in Europe, for Napoleon's military victories were followed by an effort to transform, for better or for worse, European governments and societies. As Frech historian Louis Bergeron observed, 'Paradoxically, Napoleon was both behind and ahead of his time, the last of the enlightened despots, and a prophet of the modern State'."

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - The author on the Third Siege of Gerona:

"In Catalonia, Saint-Cyr faced a far greater challenge as he tried in vain for six months to capture the fortress of Gerona, which was defended by the resourceful Spanish general Mariano Alvarez. Gerona was ultimately captured on December 10, 1809, but it cost some 14,000 French casualties and was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant actions performed by the Spaniards during the entire Peninsular War."

The Third Siege of Gerona:
https://www.historyofwar.org/articles...

Betsy wrote: "Yes, that's the book."

A good book on the subject. I hope I kept it during my last big clearance :(

Betsy wrote: "The book I read on Saragossa made it clear that the French were dealing with a new kind of resistance. The savagry that took place should have made the French wonder if it was worth it."

Was that book; "War to the death: The siege of Saragossa, 1808-1809" by Raymond Rudorff?

War to the death: The siege of Saragossa, 1808-1809 by Raymond Rudorff

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - The second siege of Saragossa and the nature of warfare in Spain:

"The French returned in December when Marshal Jean Lannes brought some 44,000 men (with more than 140 cannon) to the city's walls. The Spanish garrison of 34,000 men, commanded by General Jose Palafox, refused to surrender and was actively supported by some 60,000 civilians. The ensuring siege, lasting until February 20, represented one of the worst urban combats ever seen in Europe before the twentieth century and redefined the contemporary notions of siege warfare. Men, women, and children armed with knives, swords, pikes, muskets, or stones fought alongside Spanish soldiers, transforming buildings into fortlets and repelling French assaults in spite of their own appalling losses. Ultimately the French did succeed in taking the city, but only after they had systematically mined and destroyed a large portion of it and killed an estimated 54,000 Spaniards, two-thirds of them civilians."

Second siege of Saragossa:
https://warhistory.org/@msw/article/s...

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - On the Spanish Ulcer:

"Jose Canga Arguelles, a Spanish statesman who witnessed these turbulent years and later published one of the first studies of this period, was correct when he contended that the war in Spain cannot be grasped without understanding the very nature of the Spanish national character. In a lengthy discussion of the constituent elements of 'true national character', he pointed to people's strong attachment to traditions, disdain of foreign customs, resistance to innovations, loyalty to the king, 'imperturbable constancy in misfortunes', and 'extreme sensitivity to impulses of honor.' A voracious and inquiring reader such as Napoleon should have known more about the country he was invading, especially since French diplomats in Spain warned him that the Spaniards 'do not resemble any other nation ... They have a noble and generous character but which tends in the direction of ferocity and they could not stand being treated as a conquered nation. Once driven to despair, they would be capable of the most valiant decisions and could commit the worst excesses.' Napoleon's confidant General Anne Jean Marie Rene Savary later admitted that 'we did not show enough consideration for Spanish national self-esteem'."

The Spanish Ulcer:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2010/j...

Betsy wrote: "The realities of war in the Peninsula apparently escaped Napoleon. He first offered the monarchy to his brother, Louis:

"The King of Spain has abdicated...Since that moment the people have called ..."

Napoleon certainly knew how to sell an idea eh, he put a good spin on it!

Indeed Betsy, France and England as allies for one!

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - Some interesting information from the chapter dealing with Napoleon's Continental System:

"The French effort to reduce Britain's supply of specie was partly successful, with bullion at the Bank of England declining from £6.9 million in 1808 to just £2.2 million in 1814. The peculiar nature of the French 'blockade' was further revealed during the British grain crisis of 1809-1810, when harvest failures resulted in an acute shortage of wheat. Rather than seeking to impose costs by limiting the amount of grain Britain could import, Napoleon encouraged grain export to Britain as a way of generating an increased trade deficit and assisting French farmers; in 1810 almost two-thirds of the wheat imported to Britain came from France."

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - Some Russians weren't all that happy with their allies, the Austrians, after the 1805 campaign:

"As for the [Austrians],' one Russian general grumbled to his wife, "you cannot imagine what a misfortune it is to be with these scoundrels ... This bloody campaign should teach us not to trust these Germans, who are greater enemies to us than the French."

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

Betsy wrote: "Scott, I think it has been true since the beginning. Those in power will do anything to stay in power, however, if there's a change of fortune, they look for a scapegoat. The present world situatio..."

Quite true Betsy!

"The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" - One of the many plots to overthrow Napoleon was the plot by royalists Jean-Charles Pichegru and Georges Cadoudal to assassinate the First Consul. The plot was discovered and the ringleaders imprisoned but this incident prompted Napoleon to secure his reign, and he was subsequently named Emperor and his title was recognized as being hereditary within the Bonaparte family. Cadoudal remarked from his prison cell:

"We have done more than we hoped to do. We meant to give France a king, but we have given her an emperor."

The Cadoudal Conspiracy:
https://www.geriwalton.com/pichegru-c...