The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

About this book

This vividly illustrated history of the Napoleonic Wars documents the wars origins in the French Revolution narrates Napoleons victories at Austerlitz and Jena and concludes with his defeats in the Iberian peninsula Russia and finally at Waterloo. Author Gunther E. Rothenberg describes how Napoleon transformed interstate warfare into a system of relentless conquest creating a military superpower on a scale not seen since the Roman Empire. Though eventually defeated Napoleons model of conquest set a pattern that was to be revived by modern totalitarian states and their opponents. A sweeping examination of the rise triumph and eventual downfall of Napoleon a man whose military genius forever changed the face of war. Analysis of Napoleons system of waging war and the strategies that allowed him to create a singularly powerful army. A look at the profound influence of Napoleonic conquest on warfare of the modern era.