Napoleon's Downfall: Germany 1813 (Full Documentary)
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00:00 Spring Campaign 1813
25:17 Summer Campaign 1813
40:19 Battle of Leipzig 1813
53:44 Napoleon's Retreat 1813
After Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Russia he was still able to put up a fight and was determined to beat the enemy coalition in the German lands. But after a spring campaign and the battle of Grossbeeren, and the later battles of Bautzen and the Katzbach, the Emperor was beaten at the Battle of Leipzig 1813.
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» SOURCES
Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York 1966.
Lieven, Dominic. Russia Against Napoleon. 2010.
Platthaus, Andreas. 1813. Die Völkerschlacht und das Ende der alten Welt. 2013.
Handrick, Wolfgang. Napoleons Kampf um die Elb-Linie 1813. 2020.
Leggiere, Michael. Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany, Vol. I. 2015.
Grautoff, Ferdinand. In Leipzig während der Völkerschlacht, Leipzig 1912.
Cohen, Löser and Erik Linder. Memoiren des Freiwilligen Jägers Löser Cohen. 1993.
Petre, F. Loraine. Napoleon’s Last Campaign in Germany. 1902.
Robinson, James Harvey. Readings in European History, A collection of extracts from the sources chosen with the purpose of illustrating the progress of culture in Western Europe since the German Invasions, Volume II. Boston, New York, Chicago, London: Ginn & Company, 1904-06.
Weimar, Carl August von. Politischer Briefwechsel des Herzoges und Großherzoges Carl August von Weimar. Von der Rheinbundzeit bis zum Ende der Regierung 1808 - 1828, Bd. 3., Stuttgart 1973.
Sainte-Beuve, Charles-Augustin. Le général Jomini (Paris, 1869)
Von Hüser, Henrich. Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem Leben des Generals der Infanterie von Hüser. 1877.
Безотосный В. М. Россия в наполеоновских войнах 1805-1815 гг. (Москва: Политическая
энциклопедия, 2014)
Отечественная война 1812 года. Энциклопедия (Москва: РОССПЭН, 2004)
Могилевский Н. А. От Немана до Сены: заграничный поход русской армии 1813-1814 гг.
(Мoсква: Кучково поле, 2012)
1812 год. Воспоминания воинов русской армии (Москва: Мысль, 1991)
Colson, Bruno. Leipzig. La bataille des nations 16-19 octobre 1813. 2013.
Platthaus, Andreas. 1813. Die Völkerschlacht und das Ende der alten Welt. 2013.
Handrick, Wolfgang. Napoleons Kampf um die Elb-Linie 1813. 2020.
Батюшков К. Н. Из записной книжки [1817 г.] / Батюшков К. Н. Сочинения (Москва: Academia, 1934)
Coignet, Jean-Roch. Les cahiers du capitaine Coignet (1799-1815), 1883.
Colson, Bruno. Leipzig. La bataille des nations 16-19 octobre 1813. 2013.
Mir, Jean-Pierre. Hanau et Montmirail, La Garde donne et vainc (2009).
N.N. Der heilige Kampf der Teutschen: mit chronologischer Angabe aller Schlachten vom 27. Aug. 1812 bis zur Schlacht bei Hanau den 30. Octob. 1813, vol. 4 (1814).
N.N. Relation über die Ereignisse bei Hanau vom 29. October bis 1. November 1813. Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei (Wien, 1814).
Petre, F. Loraine. Napoleon’s Last Campaign in Germany. 1902.
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Digital Maps: Canadian Research and Mapping Association (CRMA)
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster
Contains licensed material by getty images
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2023
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Fantastic video. I'm looking forward to Napoleon's 1814 Campaign next
@@geraintthatcher3076
Vive l'Empereur Napoleon Bonaparte 🇨🇵🦅!
Best Conquerer of Europe
Greatest Strategic Military Genius
Best General in History
Make it 10k comments. so?! Try and stop me....
This Eleonore Proschaska story. Has any serious historian really looked into it? I mean, I made my mandatory one year conscription training in Sweden 30 years ago and even in that most liberal society it would've been impossible for a woman to pretend being male in the tents (49 nights! What a waste of youth time). For example, how did she pee without revealing herself? And 200 years ago it couldn't have been anything but a romantic fantasy propaganda piece.
Was she assigned a very special role and was protected? Or did everyone who ever got in contact with her know her gender and accepted it? Do you deliberately name drop stuff like this only because it happens to be politically correct to do so now? I don't at all mind women voluntarily serving in the military, and I enjoy watching them work hard in any capacity. Women athletes for example, being waaay better than I was when I was at my best. But I find myths like this unbelievable, or at least told in a very uncomplete way. So that raises the question of what else you are biasing here for temporary political reasons.
@@bjorntorlarsson Was the Boston Tea Party "politically correct"? No, sometimes you have to stand up for what is RIGHT, and not politically correct.
"When he approaches, we run away" - Crown prince Karl Johan of Sweden
Gotta pick yer battles.
Napoleon should've just made a body double...
disguised himself
and then show up where he is unexpected LOL
edit: the thing that's still not explained: how do the allies know where he actually is personally?...
did they have a spy in his camp or something?
or is Napoleon doing something to make his presence super obvious?...
@@therearenoshortcuts9868Scouts were pretty sophisticated, spies, deserters, or just the sheer size of the army that would indicate Napoleon was at it's head
To be fair, Bernadotte knew Bonaparte's tactics well, after all, he originally was a French general
@@_jpg french marshall actually. And while not the most skilled marshall in military terms, politically and domestically, he was superior to Napoleon in administration and managing an empire, he was also a minister in the French Empire and skilled in diplomacy
I never get tired of Napoleon documentaries. Thanks for this!
My brother was born on the same day as Napoleon. He says, " we're Leo"s.. We all wanna conquer allovda world.
movie coming in November
that' why LOL
Side note: Jesse's eloquence across multiple languages is a delight
Thank you.
Yes it is. He pretty much nailed the pronunciation of Leipzig ("Leipzich" ... although the locals' drawl would be "Lehptzsh" :D). I can't imagine how a History Channel narrator would've butchered the village name Liebertwolkwitz. Getting all these European languages right pays respect to the real gravitas of events back then. Bravo Jesse!
Thanks! @@mikeforester3963
Hey, fantastic video!
Just as a side note - the lakes south of Leipzig shown in the maps during the Spring Campaign section didn't exist back then, they were coal pits flooded during the 90s and 00s.
The large, square section of river next to Leipzig is the Elsterbecken, also only constructed during the 1860s. Just wanted to put some trivia out there :)
For me the major issue is the lack of Cavalry, Napoleon march virtually blind
Yes, Napoleon lacked cavalry, not by choice though. They couldn't replace the horses and trained riders. That was an issue they were fully aware of.
The constant marching too, the young conscripts aren't used to walking so much on empty stomachs.
Also his generals loosing almost every battle they can. Napoleon had to be everywhere in person to ensure victories but that was impossible. Just as Moreau told the allies.
Exactly. He is missing his Recon, Scouting and Foraging for food as well as other crucial supplies (essentially, Poor Logistics). Also, the scouting helps familiarize yourself with the terrain and find the best defensive positions, if we are retreat ling after Russia. You can find the best place to put your guns and use the little bit of Cavalry that you do have to outflank the enemy.
@@gothia1715 It's 'losing'.
Napoleon COULD have kept the throne, even after losing in Russia. I think Austria offered some compromises, but Napoleon refused, believing he could defeat everyone again. I wonder if he regretted that.
I imagine he would have regretted not knowing if he could have won more. The only thing worse than losing is not trying (for people like Napoleon)
@@lukefriede2986 But when he is abusing conscription the way Napoleon was, it is not about trying with his own life, but with the lives of the innocent French youth by the thousands.
Nah that is a legend. Austria wanted him down and humiliated. The Frankfurt proposal was a ruse and nothing more. He was a commoner. Napoleon was not stupid. He fought like a lion till the end. But he did not want civil war. Respect.
@@walideg5304 He did get a fairly humiliating end though, he even tried to commit suicide but it didn't work.
I think when that compromise was offered, no one knew they would defeat Napoleon. In that uncertainty, I think it could have been possible to keep the throne for Napoleon with some concessions.
Even if Napoleon lost prestige in Russia, France loved him, they were just more tried to constant war. When he returned to France after the first exile, the soldiers gladly joined him once again. I really do think it was possible to achieve some compromised peace, but that was probably something Napoleon couldn't accept anyway.
@@RidleyScottOwnsFailedDictators He did get pretty involved in the battles, at least there's that. But I agree with you, Napoleon cared little for the lives he was using to achieve his goals. He probably identified his goals with 'the goals of France' as a rationalization.
Your coverage of Bautzen seems to be based on some very old works. More modern research from the likes of Arnold of the actions at Konigswartha and Weissig show the allies were aware of Ney's march and put in some very effective spoiling attacks which meant his command was probably unable to do the manoeuvre required of them.
I was thinking the same too, also despite the heavy losses by Oudinot and Ney. They were still close to defeating the allies. Now imagine if a better Maréchal such as Davout was in charge of taking Berlin.
as a german i can say bros pronuncation is immaculate
Remember, even during his late campaigns, specially during 1813, the allies had to avoid directtly fighting napoleon to even conceive the idea of winning, and even during his endgame (1814) the allies, with their profesional, tough and experieced soldiers, were constantly defeated by 16 years old conscripts. if napoleon isnt the greatest of all times, then no one is
Facts
Greatest what?
He was a megalomaniac war-junkie.
Yes, he was gifted as a tactician, but he was still a horrible human being.
@RagingGoblin that's what he meant ... general not philanthropist..
one of the worst human being of all time.
@@RagingGoblin You can insert any of the leaders of this age to meet that qualification.
Out of curiosity i checked the History Channel on my tv the other day. They were playing some nonsense about alien abductions. Thst's right, alien conspiracies and abductions are now history according to the History Channel. Why am i paying for cable tv anyway when YT and channels like this have much better history documentaries?
There is a minor mistake on the map of the battle of Bautzen around 21:00
The big lake north of Bautzen is actually the Bautzen Reservoir, whose dam was constructed in the late 1960s - so the lake did not exist in 1813.
500k+ casualties in the early 1800s is just insane
Your channel is INSANELY UNDERRATED 🤯. The quality of everything you produce is on par with the TV channels and documentarians like Ken Burns. I look forward to everything you make, it’s always superb.
Cheers from St. Louis, MO ❤
Thanks - I've been to St. Louis a few times even!
I can't see Czar Alexander's head without thinking: "World's Biggest Baby"
:) I'm very careful with such "Big Babies". They know their problem and secretly suffer from it. So, they tend to compensate it with a really overexaggerated toxic "masculinity". Curls are more healthy for gurls.
Haha!!
A little thing that i found a bit sad, constantly during the video it is shown that the two duchies of Mecklenburg were still part of the Federation of the Rhine and only joined the allies, acording to the map at the end, after Napoleon was defeated and yet the two duchies were part of the 6th Coalition from the very start, their troops fighting along the allies. I know, the two duchies were small and yet they did what they could and unlike the talk that the german princes were very careful and waiting how thing went, here were two who were in right from the start.
Other then that a very nice video, wonderfuly presented and one almost wants to complain that it is to short for such a extensive topic. Looking forward to more of your stuff in the future.
They betrayed the Emperor. The ones who give them a code and their boarder. They deserve nothing.
Mecklenburg were closely allied with Prussia. Where Prussia went, they go.
I learn so much from this channel it is barely quantifiable! All I can say is thank you!
Placing his brother on the Spanish throne was the beginning of the end for him.
Yup
Real Time History - the only CZcams history channel that will never lose overall command and control.
I love these Napoleonic era videos. Keep up the great work 👍
His best campaign. Amazing what he was able to do considering the opposition.
right?! even though he lost, it really was his finest hour!
His best campaign? It was literally the campaign that initiated his complete downfall and subsequent exile… he did chew his teeth out of his own mouth with his Germany campaign. Or was your comment supposed to be sarcastic?
@@Ultima-Signa I think the idea is that he fought really valiantly & creatively, even though he lost; it was his finest hour in a “heroic last stand” kind of way
@@andrewsoboeiro6979 Napoleon was outwitted and couldn’t come up with any proper answers to the new tactics of his enemy.
@@Ultima-Signa mmmm not really; Napoleon’s own tactical performance was excellent during this campaign (winning at Lutzen, Bautzen,& Dresden; & only losing Leipzig once he was outnumbered 2 to 1). He lost because of tacticsl failures by his marshals (generally, where he wasn’t present) & because he was só disastrously outnumbered
Love the strategics of this war and the details of the painting's is very interesting also 🤔
This is absolutely amazing i love this channel so much.
Thank you for your hard work
Thank you for this! This was great!
Fascinated by the animated paintings. Well done!
I really enjoyed the video. You have the perfect mix of maps, pictures and quotes and your pronunciation (I can at least say this for german) is the best I have heard on YT and it wouldn't surprise me if you actually live or lived there.
This is one of the most riveting documentaries I have ever seen. The pacing, the illustrations, the build & release of dramatic tension... [chef's kiss]
Thanks!
Interesting and informative. Excellent battlefields drawings/maps. Enabling viewers to better understand what/whom the orator was describing. Special thanks to veteran soldiers/civilians sharing personal information/combat experiences. Thru diaries/memoirs enabling historians to replicate those stories for viewers like us to better understand & appreciate the hard ships/sacrifices suffered by all involved in the different conflicts. A loud shout out to the often times forgotten medical 🚑 personal. Medics/doctors/nurses tirelessly tending to the wounded soldiers. Don't remember the doctor's name. After the battle of Borodino he couldn't tend to many wounded soldiers.
I love your channel keep up the great stuff
Ty Jesse & Co! I’ll watch this about 5 times, it’s fantastic!
Pls make a series about the careers of the Marshalls.
Excellent video. Beautifully and clearly presented, both the military and political movements. .
Dude, I love your videos. Keep them up.
Best 1:10 of content, evah! Great episode on an underappreciated part of the Napoleonic era.
all of this.
the movements.
the words.
the defeats.
the minor victories.
the major losses of men and matérial.
it's all so eerily familiar, if not in scope and scale,
at least in impact,
to someone 2 centuries later.
Who?
Next time, think before you post.
Which major military campaign took place in 2013? 😅
I just finished Napoleons invasion of Russia this morning so great timing! Fantastic video and so thankful documentary’s of this quality are available.
Brilliant documentary. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication towards these videos..we know it take lot of time and hard work to make these videos. Love from Sri Lanka. 🇱🇰🤝🏴.
Pretty sure Napoleon would have kept fighting… forever, if it was up to him.
Very well done and narrated.
Brilliant video guys, watching it as I'm painting some Prussian Pomeranian landwehr for the August 1813 campaign!
I SO ENJOYED THIS VIDEO! I SEE THIS TURNING INTO AN EPIC "THE LIVE AND THE TIMES OF NAPOLEON"! THIS EPISODE AND THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN ALREADY COVER A NICE CHUNK OF HIS CAREER! THANK YOU GUYS
yeah if this one does well, too, we will cover more of his live.
I dont have enough of these Napoleon videos hahaha...specially with these detailed ones
Thank you so much for making a documentary of our freedom wars. This is often spared in german history lessons at school. The only one left is now the end of the campaing in Paris or maybe the battle of Waterloo.
Thank you
Incredible.
Awesome!!!!
What glistens there in the forest sunshine?
Hear it roaring nearer and nearer.
It comes down this way in dark rows,
And blaring horns sound in it,
And fill the soul with terror.
And if you ask the black fellows:
That is Lützow's wild daredevil hunt.
Another day another jesse BANGER
Amazing video ❤❤❤
Thank you.
I hope Joaquin Phoenix is able to do Napoleon justice in the upcoming movie. Though it'll be difficult, as we all know the best portrayal of Napoleon belonged to the guy who played him in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I forget his name, but he at least deserved a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He was a short dead dude.
1:59 Incredible!!! The man was clairvoyant 😆
It was an informative and super wonderful episode introduced by an amazing ( real-time history) channel... and Sir Jesse ... Thank you for sharing
First time i listen you as i see your video.....and it is wonderfuly done. From A to Z.
History is so cool when it's count like a story...: )
Un amateur d'histoire du Québec
Merci beaucoup!
Yorck is a realy cool name i Love old prussian names like nimitz
Alexander III: never before has there been an opportunity like this for liberation
Everyone: I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
It should be noted the reason the Saxons switched sides at Leipzig is because they were accepting an invitation from Bernadotte, whom they held in very high esteem stemming from his time as the commander of the Saxon Army during the Wagram Campaign. Bernadotte's generous treatment, and his controversial Order of the Day, may have cost him his corps command in 1809, but it paid off handsomely in 1813 at Leipzig.
Napoleon should've had Bernadotte shot or at the very least exiled.
Sorry to spoil the party but that is not the flag of the kingdom of spain for 1808 - 1814. 1:09
You could say in 1843
Yes it was, the red-yellow-red was the Spanish ensign from 1785 onward (replacing a simple white flag with the coat of arms), though the Burgundy Cross remained the primary flag of the overseas provinces, as well as remaining a widely-used flag in Spain itself, until 1843 following the First Carlist War (as the rebel Carlists had adopted the Burgundy Cross as their flag)
@@TheLocalLt Nope. It's not the flag of the kingdom of Spain 1808 - 1814. That flag wasnt made of the State until 1843. Existed before as the *liberal 1812 Cadiz militia guard* (They used the flag of the navy because they related the sea with the liberal values). During the carlist war, the liberals adopted that same flag, same reasoning and it was made flag of the State after this carlist war because the liberals settlled on the State under Isabella II. But again, before that there's no way that's the flag of the State.
@@homero_con_lechuguilla hmm actually it seems you are right that between 1808-14 the flag was white with Joseph Bonaparte’s coat of arms (similar to the pre-1785 Bourbon flag), but the red-yellow-red had previously been in use 1785-1808, and then was used again from 1814 onward. In 1843 it simply became the official state flag (which it hadn’t been before, this step also meant it began to be used in the overseas provinces as well)
@@TheLocalLt Technically is disputed because the 1808 - 1814 is a state of war and there's not real political entity on the kingdom. The political entities would be Josep Napoleon vs Spanish and their allies. (Considering the spanish were Loyalist and liberals. Yes Napoleon besieged Cadiz which was liberal along side many guerrillas who were also liberal). And about the flag, again, I'm talking about State flag. Saw use before as naval, militia... whatever, but not State flag.
@@homero_con_lechuguilla Spain didn’t designate any official state flag prior to 1843, but you have to pick one of them to represent Spain so the familiar red-yellow-red, at that time serving as the ensign, makes sense
I suppose after covering the Clash of Nations you have to Rock the Katzbach.
Please cover the war in Spain and 1809 campaign in Austria
The best history content ever.
Thankyou very much
Top
When I watch this it is the 17th of October.
Great job on this complicated campaign!
Thanks!
First of all, a superb documentary as always. The quality of this channel rules.
Napoleon and his men (since he was not a man army / political force) made many mistakes after 1807. He could and should make Austria an ally (they just wanted Venizia back) and create a Poland from Prussia's and Russia's lands. Instead, he humiliated everyone and made them vengeful. In every treaty, Napoleon had to have a final say and he bargained very ruthlessly. We know from history that it is not wise to humiliate a beaten enemy too much.
It is funny that the guy who rose thanks to revolution (meritocracy) and wanted to expand it further, did an old-style coronation and restored some titles (and stuff) from the Ancien Regime times. Essentially, moving backwards. He was also very insecure. Napoleon often said to numerous people that he was not a real king (ruler) because he couldn't lose 20 battles and come back and say: I am a king because I was born as a king. He knew that he was from a Corsican middle-class family with a shifty noble title and constantly needed to prove that he was a true ruler. This wasn't really true and many French statesmen encouraged him to finally rule at peace (especially around 1807). He felt he needed to conquer to prove his emperorship and it finally drove him to his demise.
It is also worth noting that the anti-french coalition did learn its lessons and modernized its armies (and weaponry). Napoleon, however, did not try to move forward with tactics, etc. His Waterloo campaign did not remind me of his great, brave style. He was of course in many ways an outstanding character, driven and motivated to do many great things. He was also a skilled administrator, so we have Napoleon Code. Then again, he did not allow anyone else to rise and flourish really. He did not heed anyone's advice, including some of his skilled marshalls. Where is Davout in 1813 :)? Where are his best troops of Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, etc.? Entrenched in Spain because of a stupid move to invade your ally. Also, leaving numerous troops in encircled garrisons was not the best idea. Or giving Marshall Ney difficult tasks to carry in this campaign instead of far more capable marshalls (Davout, MacDonald, or not giving Paul Grenier a corps to command).
I recommend Napoleon the Great by Andrew Robert and Napoleon. Man behind the myth by Adam Zamoyski to see 2 different views. I still gonna be against creating a mythology around history. There is no need for great or genius. They were people who accomplished something but for a strange reason, they needed a fairy tale to tell. An actual history is far more interesting than a narrative about a great person who conquered this and that and then fell. It was more complex than that. In the end, the man who could bring the best things of the Revolution to Europe and make France a major power lost it all.
Could he really have had Austria as an ally ? The first time he defeated Austria, iirc he expended their territory at the expense of italian one, (though obviously expanding french terrotory too) which resulted in more austrian attempts to wage war on France.
Yes, Napoleon moved things backwards in several areas, but it's important to note that the revolution had been a huge shift, much bigger than what many frencch anticipated. Had louis 16 not betrayed the country, we might have just had a constitutuonal monarchy.
Bear in mind that at the time, there is a huge fascination for antiquity, both roman and egyptian, which is why some of the institutions put in place are very reminiscent of roman ones.
I'm not sure he thought he needed to conquer, but he definately thought he couldn't rule if he ended up with less territory than when he started as consul, so very quickly the terms offered by the allies esssentially meant he'd have to abdicate.
Post Friedland however, he did get drunk on his own success (but then again, who could accomplish what he did, and then not succumb to that ?)
Why do you think the Waterloo campaign is worse ? Napoleon was getting older, so he had less energy to spend, that and he was a father.
It is amazing how many histories particularly video histories skip directly from Napoleon's disastrous Russian directly to the hundred days campaign and Waterloo totally skipping over the war of the Sixth Coalition or summing it by mentioning the Battle of Nations.It's like 1813 and 1814 had no real significance.
I don’t see why Napoleon is credited with “brilliance” at Lutzen and Bautzen. He won by dint of superior numbers and his losses were so high as to make the victories pyrrhic. To me it’s just another example of how massively overrated he is. The allies avoided him during the campaign and fought his marshals instead because he kept the largest and best armies with himself and delegated smaller and less effective contingents to his subordinates. The same dynamic had played out in Spain earlier - of course he could win victories there with his huge army, and of course his subordinates would start losing when he left and took most of them with him. All this played into his own carefully cultivated myth of personal invincibility - so effectively that it fooled many of his own contemporaries as well as many people today. It’s true he was a charismatic leader capable of getting men to follow him. But other than that, when we examine his victories more closely, I think we see that they were largely due to circumstances that had little to do with his own decisions.
He defintely made some Blunders, and was indeed a Megalomaniac (most of his Blunders stemmed from this very flaw). But he was still one of the greatest Tacticians and Strategists of all Time. In my opinion, only Hannibal was better.
His most impressive campaign was the Italian campaigns of 1796-1797. When you look at the UnderSupplied ragtag Army that he inherited in 1796, it is very tough for me to believe that Victory there was due entirely to Luck. Other French Generals in that Theater has been given more, yet accomplished far less. During the War of the Third Coalition, a War that seemed so Hopeless that there was Panic acrosss Paris (the Bank of France couldn't even honor the Demands of its Depositers) Napoleon not only managed to obtain the Quick and Decisive Victory that France so Desperately needed, he Managed to accomplish the Unthinkable, and obtain Total Victory. The Difficulty of Obtaining not just Victory, not just Survival, but Complete Military Victory, against a Coalition of the Greatest Powers of Napoleon's Age, should Not be Minimized or understated. I am not sure if any other General in France, talented as Many of them were, could have Defeated such a Coalition, and so Quickly.
@@anthonytillman6363He wasn't a megalomaniac, he did have an ego. But he accepted input from his generals, staff, ministers etc.
That whole megalomaniac, warlord who wanted to conquer the world is still and will always be the work of propaganda.
However even Napoleon himself knew that his power was tied to his reputation , therefore to keep being in power he had to deliver glories to France.
Hannibal is badass, but he isn't better than Napoleon in your humble opinion.
@@anthonytillman6363 The 2nd Punic War proved Hannibal to be a brilliant battlefield tactician but a poor strategist.Please remember that both Hannibal and Napoleon were utterly defeated.
IMO, Julius Caesar is the GOAT when it comes to military leaders. He’s one of the only ones who combined charismatic leadership, clever politics, strategy, and tactics to achieve his goals in a lasting way (until he was assassinated, which is very hard to fully insulate oneself against). I say this as one who, as far as values are concerned, absolutely despises Caesar and all imperialists. I think he was a terrible human being - but an incredibly effective military leader. To me, he entirely eclipses people like Hannibal and Napoleon, who did a few things very well but were well short of having the full package.
Excellent video. 🎉
Thanks!
I keep seeing 100K deaths posted on a lot of these battles. It’s kind of crazy that European society didn’t collapse with all this war and death at the time.
Why no new video on the great war?
??
Which one? 😅
13:06 the clothes of the Lützerower Freicorps are also the origin of our national flag
Is this a recollection of older videos ?
Two parts were previously published, the last part is brand new.
thanks !@@jessealexander2695
The only chanel that say the truth about Napoleon .
I think Jesse is wrong that kutuzov didnt pursue Napoleon out of Russia out of fear of losses. He had a great fear of Napoleon and, though he had oppurtunity to capture him, he feared Britain would be strengthened.
This is just like the Total War PC game but IRL
My enemies are many, my equals are none.
Umm... no. Not really.
The maps with color-coded armies are a big plus. The names of the commanders on the maps would help also. Do you have a mailing address for donations?
thanks! you can find a donation link at linktr.ee/realtimehistory - and yes in hindsight it would have helped to include the commander names. Also if you haven't already, check out our 1812 documentary too.
perfect pronuncation of german names by the speaker
I wuz thinkin ( usually a bad idea ) that the best name forra Marechal de Cavaliere would go by the name of neigh-h-h-h-h
27:04
What perspective do modern historians take on this? Napoleon didn’t seem to think he was very popular, rather just feared. Do modern historians agree or was he more popular than he thought?
He would have been shot on sight on his second comeback if his people feared him as told through Angelo propaganda but instead his people loved him and took up arms in his name.
He was a popular figure, so of course he was going to be loved and respected by some, or feared and hated by others.
@@54032Zepolhes a great conman. Like every dictator in history. Always popular until overthrown. Even more notorious than a lot of dictator as he plunged a continent to war and virtually ended france as the premier European power. From then on France would have to lick British balls just to contain Germany
Beautifully Narrated.
Thanks!
Best documentary series !
Perfect german pronunciation. 🤗
I Believe that Jean Reynier was not a Marshall ..☝️🙃
The last play isn’t great because he didn’t cut off the LB.
Don’t tell me the Germans got the idea 💡 of Blitzkreig from Napoleon all the elements seem to be there
How many lives would have been saved had the French Revolution not happen to open the ways for Napoleon?
@@rhysnichols8608Who was making republics out of countries who clearly did not want to be a republic?
Is there an English edition of “Memoiren des freiwilligen Jägers Löser Cohen”?
Not to my knowledge.
One of his kin was in mountain man dayz. Yellow Stone Kelly book .
Angry french noises intensify
Nobody except his pride put Napoleon to take a war on 2 fronts. Napoleon after Tilsit,should have put his grande armee to rest after years of bruising war from Marengo to Friedland.
Napoleon: these animals have learned something
Me: ya most of what they learned from you dude 😂
8:41 How much of this was true I wonder.
The Second Battle at Leipzig on the 1813 was horrible and a horrible place to choose to defend!
FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS! HORRIBLE
Well I was used to think Ney was a great general but now I realize that he is the only reason that Napoleon lost in 1813
thanx to the off ramp the allies provided to Napoleon by making him emperor of Melba, Napoleon could end the useless war without loss of face and further escalation. Diplomacy triumphed and Europe was spared more fighting.
oh wait
Waterloo
Fates preserve us from the evil warmonger conquerors who know when to stop for their reign might never end.
The evil warmongers were the allies. Remember that most of the wars of coalitions were declared by the allies on France, cuz they wanted France and her new revolutionary ideals down. But Napoleon's best defense was to attack with speed his enemies and move fast. This could make him the agressor but in fact no
Those Saxons! soon, 40% of them would no longer be Saxons at all!
Blucher arrives earlier than expected. I wonder if this will be repeated in history
Napoleon wasn't finished in Russia. He wasn't finished in Leipzig and certainly not at Waterloo.
IMO the was finished the moment the allies decided to commit to the Trachtenberg Plan and avoided battle directly with him instead targeting his marshals. Even if he won at Leipzig, they would have returned to that plan which was proven to be working. He would not have recovered from this.
A plan made by Bernadotte and Moreau, his personal ennemies. Moreau died from a French canonball, but comic end for a hardcore naive Republican who pushed to Alexender the idea of recreating a Republic in France.
@@walideg5304Moreau's dying words were those accepting his fate for going against his own country. Wonder how things would've turned out had he joined Napoleon to defend France instead.
@@NeverGoingToGiveYouUp000 he was an idiot. I would have loved to see his surprised Pikachu face when the Monarchy was reestablish in France. Anyway, he died before and he is buried on a foreign soil.
I was under the impression that Kutuzov died from pneumonia?
Why can’t the movie be like this
:)
Wow another blinding video