Napoleon’s best subordinate commander?

Napoleon’s best subordinate commander?

  • Nicolas Soult

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Louis-Nicolas Davout

    Votes: 33 68.8%
  • Michel Ney

    Votes: 8 16.7%
  • Joachim Murat

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Jean-Baptiste Jourdan

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Louis-Alexandre Bertier

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • Jozef Poniatowski

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • Total voters
    48
Napoleon’s best subordinate commander?
Hi everyone I am trying to determine who is Napoleon’s best subordinate commander. I put seven in the poll and wrote some other people underneath, if there is anyone I am missing list them in comments.


Nicolas Soult- highest ranking solider under Napoleon with the rank of Marshall General of France, fought the Duke of Wellington in Spain.
Louis-Nicolas Davout- Defeated the main Prussian army at the Battle of Auerstadt, while Napoleon was busy fighting at Jena in 1806. He later put up a hard fight in the defense of Hamburg
Michel Ney-Marshall of France known as the “Bravest of the Brave” by Napoleon. He performed well in the early campaigns and Russia, but he was less spectacular during the Waterloo campaign.
Joachim Murat- Marshall of France and later King of Naples. Napoleon’s called Murat his “circus rider” and he lead one of the largest cavalry charges in history at the Battle of Eylau in 1807.
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan-Marshall of France, skilled commander during the French Revolutionary Wars, chief of staff of Napoleon’s army in Spain, fought Wellington at Talavera and Vitoria
Louis-Alexandre Bertier-Marshall of France, Napoleon’s chief of staff.
Jozef Poniatowski- Marshall of the Empire, fought in Russia campaign and killed at Battle of Leipzig


Étienne Nansouty?
Jan Kozietulski-?
Francios Kellermann?
Auguste Caulaincourt?
Louis Desaix?
Louis Montbrun?

Sources
Commanders by R.G. Grant
Fighting Techniques of the Napoleonic Age by Robert Bruce, Iain Dickie, Kevin Kiley, Michael Pavkoic and Frederick Schneid
 
Davout of course.

But the question is : can we consider Davout as a subordinate commander of Napoleon ?

Davout was in fact the only one who could be considered an alter ego of Napoleon.

Il even think that, in the end (from 1812 on), Davout was a better commander on the field than Napoleon. Not that Davout would have improved specifically in these late years but rather because Napoleon had declined.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Davout at Waterloo would make for a good story

Not only that, but keep Berthier as chief-of-staff and have Soult back in his proper place as a corps commander. And have Napoleon take up Murat's offer to command the cavalry. That is an army which would have won the Battle of Waterloo.
 
Yeah, it's Davout hands down. Although one can make a case for Bernadotte being the shrewdest of the lot, in politics if not battlefield.
 
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