You keep claiming that Eylau was a Russian victory because the Russians considered it a victory. Now wouldn’t that be great if simply wishing something to be true actually made it so. Unfortunately, that has never been the case which is why drugs and the internet were created. The painful truth...
I'm sorry but you do make me smile....
Claiming one side retreated because staying on the field did not make practical sense is truly the nicest way of saying they got their asses handed to them and fled into the night.
I am sure you know what Bennigsen's intentions were and what actually...
I agree but no matter how Russia tried to spin it, the conventional and widely accepted claim to victory at the time is holding the field at the conclusion of the battle as it is the only truly tangible result.
Eylau was of course a massacre and strategically inconclusive as the Russians failed...
Prussia agreed to declare war on France in late 1805 after lengthy negotiations with Russia. Tsar Alexander even went to Berlin to browbeat Prussia into joining their grand scheme against France before joining his army in time for Austerlitz. The Prussian envoy reached Napoleon days before the...
What do you mean? In early 1807, Napoleon's reputation is unsullied. Austria and Russia declared war on him in 1805 and in 1806 it was Prussia that declared war on him. No (active) war mongering by Napoleon...
The Spanish shenanigans haven't occurred yet so there is no logical reason not to make...
I think the passage of years it would actually strengthen his hand. Historically, Napoleonism underwent a popular revival in later years, leading King Louis Philippe to reinstate many former Napoleonic officers and lift many of the measures suppressing Napoleonism. It culminated in the reburial...
I don't think you understand how important image and reputation was in those days. Bonaparte could marry Josephine in 1796 (a widow with a loose reputation) because he was a nobody at the time.
As Emperor (and an upstart in the eyes of the established monarchies), he needed to be 'more royal...
Austria was the only military rival to France during the Napoleonic Wars. Prussia was still a relatively minor country compared to the empires surrounding it and its military was not big enough to stand up to the French mass conscript Army.
Russia had the manpower but not the logistical and...
I don't think Walewska was a genuine candidate. For starters, she was married to the Count Walewska. That could be solved with a quick divorce but a divorced woman wouldn't be accepted as Empress. Secondly, she was his mistress. Marrying your mistress is also a no-no in royal circles. It...
In 1806, Napoleon is still in the prime of life and unlikely to remain single for the rest of his life. So a politically advantageous marriage is a given.
As to which country to pick, Talleyrand believed Russia to be the true danger and argued for a strong alliance with Austria. Napoleon wasn’t...
Napoleon immediately becomes the most eligible bachelor in Europe and Austria, Spain, Prussia and Russia vie with each other to provide him with a suitable princess. Meanwhile, Talleyrand impresses on him the importance of getting along with the other nations to ensure the survival of his newly...
Blucher was the leading Prussian commander and an inveterate opponent of France but that hardly made him unique in Prussian circles. General Yorck was actually the first Prussian general to openly rebel against France during the Russian campaign and would likely have picked up the baton after...
While the basic concept is interesting, you’ve clearly not given it much thought or research.
Napoleon III was the quintessential political opportunist. He jumped on opportunities with very little thought given to the long-term consequences.
So to have Napoleon III undergo a transformation...
It depends on what you mean with Dreadnought…..
An armoured, steam-driven ship with 12 inch guns? Or a battleship that was superior to 2 or 3 opponents?
Arguably, what made the Dreadnought so superior to existing battleships was its much greater speed by using new technology (allowing it to...
It is certainly true that the famine occurred during a global war, it wasn’t purposely engineered and there were clearly competing demands on scarce resources etc. but if you think for even a single moment that the British and Americans wouldn’t have done everything in their power, even...