Napoleon Bonaparte

Alexandria: Redcoats in the Land of the Pharaohs

It was a spectacle never to be forgotten by those few who were lucky enough to witness it. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

To Field an Army: A Short History of the Draft

The call of a nation on its civilian population either to create a military force or to augment a standing army is virtually as old as civilization itself. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon’s Egyptian Adventure

By the year 1798, the First Coalition was collapsing. Only Britain remained as France’s implacable foe. With the advent of relative peace, the governing body of France, the Directory, ever in need of cash, now sought new means of employment for the army and its general, Napoleon Bonaparte. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

The USS Constitution

Today restored to museum quality and lovingly cared for by a U.S. Navy crew, the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” is the living symbol of America’s first generation of warships, built in response to external threats that a young United States would have preferred to ignore. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Courageous Count Jean Rapp & The Napoleonic Wars

Had he—and not Emmanuel, the Marquis of Grouchy—been named a Marshal of France on April 1, 1815, General Count Jean Rapp might have helped the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte win the Battle of Waterloo. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte & The 1812 Battle of Borodino

At 11 o’clock on the evening of June 23, 1812, the first elements of Napoleon’s mighty army marched on three pontoon bridges over the river Niemen and set foot on Russian soil; the epic invasion of Russia had begun. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Henry Shrapnel & The Battle of Waterloo

“And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air …”

That, as most people know, is a line from the American national anthem, words by Francis Scott Key, to the tune of Anacreon in Heaven by John Stafford Smith. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Battle of Eylau: A Massacre Without Results

Following the French Army’s brilliant victories at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt on October 14, 1806, the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte subsequently launched his Grande Armée in a devastating pursuit of the remnants of the Prussian Army. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

That Great Bitter Battle of Kohima

The two regiments from the county of Kent, down in southeastern England, are of both ancient and honorable lineage. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon’s Italian Campaign: A Year Against the Odds

The newly appointed 26-year-old commander-in-chief of the French Army of Italy arrived at Nice headquarters on March 27, 1796. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte’s ‘Roland’: Marshal Jean Lannes

Of all the celebrated generals commanding corps in the Grande Armée, none was more highly esteemed by Napoleon for his friendship, generalship, and personal bravery than Marshal Jean Lannes. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte & the Patriotic War of 1812

For many, the fascination of military history lies in the “What if …” What if Hitler had not ordered the Luftwaffe to shift from bombing RAF airfields to bombing London in 1940? Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

“The Other Napoleon Bonaparte” at the Battle of Waterloo

On April 23, 1809, Prince Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, a German satellite state given to him by his elder brother Emperor Napoleon I, sat astride a large white horse at the Holland Gate leading into the capital city of Cassel. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Duke of Wellington in Assaye in India

Years after he had saved the world from the ambitions of Napoleon, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was asked by his friend, George William Chad, to recall the “best thing” he had ever done as a soldier. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Unlikely Comeback at Lutzen

After his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed to reassert his military dominance over Europe. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Pen & the Sword: A Brief History of War Correspondents

Men have been reporting their wars almost as long as they have fighting them. The first prehistoric cave drawings depicted hunters bringing down wild animals, and spoken accounts of battles, large and small, formed the starting point for the oral tradition of history. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Triumph of “The Nelson Touch”

When the Treaty of Amiens was signed on April 1, 1802, bringing peace between France and Great Britain after nearly a decade of war, there was wild rejoicing in England. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Polish Prince Joseph Poniatowski

­Polish Prince Joseph Poniatowski, a great hero of Napoleonic legend, ultimately was a man without a country. Born on May 7, 1762, the prince at first enjoyed the luxurious life of a nobleman because of his ties to the ruling family of Poland. Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Modern Grenade: A Brief History

When did humanity begin throwing explosive devices? What are the origins of the modern grenade, and how did explosives evolve?  Read more

Napoleon Bonaparte

Wilhelm I, Accidental King of Prussia

In mid-October 1806, four days after Napoleon had crushed the Royal Prussian Army at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstädt, a distraught Queen Louise sat down with her two sons at the royal castle in Schwedt. Read more