Historian Breaks Down Napoleon's Battle Tactics | WIRED

love him or hate him Napoleon is a figure probably unrivaled in modern history I'm going to take you some snapshot iconic moments in some of his battles T long 1793 we're down here on the Mediterranean coast of France here we have the young Napoleon 24 years old full of energy full of zeal for the Revolution and that Revolution is in danger the city of tou long has been occupied by French royalists the young Napoleon is given the task of leading an assault on this important Fort which he does the French fire at the Fortress and

then they storm it using infantry and ladders and Napoleon himself leads the attack he stabbed in the thigh by a British soldier with a baronet but the attack succeeds and the British are pushed out Battle of the pyramids 1798 we're now way down south on the map on the Southern Shores of the Mediterranean in Egypt here we're going to be looking at Napoleon experimenting with a new formation the divisional square and looking at his sense of Destiny actually the battle took place some 9 miles away from the pyramids but what's wrong with a bit of

artistic license he has captured the city of Alexandria but he's now faced with a vast medieval infantry and Cavalry of the mamalukes the soldiers of the Ottoman Turks who rule Egypt he brings on what was called the divisional Square each division had three brigades and each Brigade was formed into a square of infantry guns at each corner and Cavalry in the middle now squares were used throughout European Warfare but they Ed for a very particular purpose just to repel Cavalry so he's adapting the square making it a combined arms formation and using it offensively not

defensively he moves South in this formation towards the enemy supported by the gunfire of his ships the mamalukes attack and Superior French Firepower murders them they retreat some of them try to cross the Nile and are drowned and the French are left in possession of the field alitz 1805 we are here in what's now the Czech Republic here we're going to look at Napoleon prepared to take risks that could be fatal but also as a master of deception laring his enemies into a trap from which they can't escape this is a portrayal of an incident

which actually happened it's reported that 150 guns were lost and a lot of men were drowned two or 3 Days Later Napoleon ordered the ponds to be drained and although 150 horses were found only two human bodies were reported Napoleon has instituted the core system each core is a combination of artillery infantry Cavalry engineers and light troops it's all arms it allows him to expand the Army to something bigger than has been seen in Europe since ancient times He makes himself appear weak in the South here on his right flank because what he wants to

do is make the enemy launch a flanking attack bring them down off the pratts and Heights to attack him and envelop him in the South will be able to take these attackers in the flank and deal with them Napoleon himself will then be able to unleash the decisive Act of the battle a central attack on the enemy position up here on the pratts and Heights the austrians play right into his hands and he turns to Marshall salt the commander of the fourth core who's going to lead the attack and says to salt one sharp jab

and the war is over Lutsen spring of 1813 we are at Lutsen which is in the southern part of Germany here we're going to be looking at Napoleon making and implementing decisions far more rapidly than his opponents can do and we're going to see him inspiring and leading the troops personally and bringing that magnetism to bear on the battlefield what Lutsen gives us is a glimpse of Napoleon's powers of analysis and decision- making Napoleon after all his years in the field is now a master of this what unfolds at Lutsen well it's what's called a

meeting engagement and a meeting engagement occurs when two bodies of troops are moving towards each other but they don't know very much about each other and unexpectedly they Collide and victory will go to the side that most speedily and most effectively takes advantage of the chaos Napoleon himself rides to the sound of the guns morale is pretty shaky but his appearance Works magic the troops see him and somehow they know that everything will be okay and those cries so dreaded by his enemies on the battlefield begin to rise Viv lomper not only does he Inspire

the troops but he actually takes charge of them leads them to the Counterattack exposing himself to enemy fire and it's said that this is the day of his career more than any other when he was in most danger of being killed waterl 18 15 we are at watero in what's now Belgium and it's just to the south of Brussels here's Napoleon at the end of his career he's older he's tired he's suffering the Pains of duodenal cancer he nearly carries the day but in the end he's caught in his own trap well here we've got

some great footage of the use of squares we talked about squares earlier in Egypt and here's the defensive use of squares by the British Army against that massed Cavalry Ridley Scots used enough people in it to give you the sense of being there which too many TV programs uh just don't do the powers of Europe have declared war not on France but on him and they're closing in Napoleon organizes a proper combined arms attack which captures the farm of leant it means that the French can bring their artillery right up close blast a hole in

the British Center and then plow through it but at this critical moment the prussians are appearing on the French right Napoleon has to detach part of the Guard core to stop them once the haa is taken the critical moment has arrived the guard weakened as it is is committed it's stopped dead the prussians break through on his right flank and Napoleon is caught in his own trap of a flanking attack Napoleon leaves the field of battle tries to Rally the army at Philip Ville but is not able to do so it's the end for Napoleon

he finishes his life as an exile on the island of St helina we've been focusing on Napoleon and his prowess on the battlefield he did however leave a considerable Legacy he reshaped armies through his core system and through his staff system that have largely endured to the present day to this day he is still an iconic figure if that were not so then Ridley Scott would not have invested as he has done in making this movie