Napoleon's Military Tactics: The Key to His Success and Downfall.
This piece is a 5-page survey of Napoleon's military career, written in non-technical terms for an undergraduate audience. The piece first describes Napoleon's early successes as the leader of several artillery regiments, followed by an impressive squelching of an insurgency which threatened the French Directory. The narrative then discusses Napoleon's ability to, with a small, efficient, and tightly controlled army, isolate and conquer France's enemies by building strategic alliances and removing dissent. Napoleon's growing ambition to control Europe when he became Emperor, his inability to enforce his own economic policies, his failure to control large armies, and his growing arrogance are described as causing the eventual downfall of this brilliant but flawed military strategist. 5 pgs. 4 f/c. 4b.
