Who was Napoleon's greatest Marshal, and why is it Ney?
"Ney was seen during one of the charges beating his sword against the side of a British cannon in furious frustration. During the battle, he had five horses killed under him, and at the end of the day, Ney led one of the last infantry charges, shouting to his men: "Come and see how a marshal of France meets his death!"[ It was as though Ney was seeking death, but death did not want him, as many observers reported"
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It was Davout, Ney was kind of a moron
Agreed. Davout actually has some impressive victories under his belt and can act independently without Napoleon's direct command.
Suchet, Lannes, and Messena are honorable mentions.
Soult only gets high ranks because he knew how to play the politics games. Ney was a fricking idiot whose best moments was launching an attack without orders on the Prussians getting caught out of position and over extended at Jena and a rearguard action from the retreat of Moscow that Nappy and the French had to spin as heroic for propaganda purposes.
Soult commanded the right wing of the army at the battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805). It was this wing that captured the Pratzen heights, the key to the entire battle. This success won him great praise from Napoleon, who called him “le premier maneovrier de l’Europe”. Soult would also go on to play a prominent role at the battles of Jena (1806) and Eylau (1807).
Soult had fought Wellington’s forces for over a year (but, as Napoleon put it, “because he kept beating you, you think he’s a good soldier”).
>Soult commanded the right wing of the army at the battle of Austerlitz
That was Davout who held the right at Sokolnitz and Telnitz. Soult commanded the center.
maybe ney was not a great tactician but his escape from the russians at kraznoi was wizard tier. what he lacked in brains he made up in resilience and willpower.
Napoleon's time was so incredibly kino
>What’s he doing? What’s Ney doing? What’s happening? Can’t I leave the field for a minute? What’s he doing there? How can a man go forward with the cavalry without infantry support!? What’s the matter with you?
based Waterloo enjoyer
Imadeonemistakeinmylifeishouldhaveburnedberlin.
Objectively
1. Davout
2. Lannes
3. Suchet
4. Saint-Cyr
5. Moncey
6. Soult
7. Berthier
8. Massena
9. Ney
10. Murat
11. Victor
12. MacDonald
13. Oudinot
14. Lefebvre
15. Mortier
16. Poniatowski
17. Augereau
18. Jourdan
19. Bernadotte
20. Grouchy
21. Marmont
Honorary marshals:
1. Serurier
2. Kellerman
3. Brune
4. Kellerman
How much reading do you think it took you to confidently assess 20+ secondary characters (albeit important ones) in world history? I'm genuinely curious because I haven't done a deep dive into Napoleon and I'd like to, but there's just so much documentation
I think he cheated and watched the Epic History thing on ranking Napoleon's Marshals.
OPs pic is merch from that channel.
At least 30-40 hours.
There isn't much about them in English but there should be a few tid bits around about them with a few them having a biography.
Actually, I saw that a few years after reading about them. I disagree with a lot of their choices.
Bernadotte because he defeated Napoleon
Lannes is absolute bvll
berthier was the sole reason napoleon’s autistic logistical model was realized and once he was left out it was all fricked
Napoleon's marshals always make me think about this clip of Bill Burr talking about Steve Jobs:
Which one has the best post-war career?
Bernadotte. His descendants are kings of Sweden to this day.
What’s the best biography of Napoleon lads?
Most people put Davout at #1, and rightly so as he was a brilliant officer and defintely deserves that spot. That said, he was also somewhat of an autist and was not well liked by the other marshals. Napoleon seems not to have trusted him either and would often disregard his advice or put him in stupid places where he wouldn't be of much use.
I think that things would have turned out better had Davout died at Aspern-Essling and Lannes had survived. Lannes was just as competent as Davout, but he was also liked by many of the marshals (or was intimidating to those who didn't like him) and was probably Napoleon's best friend. Someone competent being able to check Napoleon on some of his dumber decisions would have been a huge help in some of the later campaigns, especially in Russia.
All that said, Ney is my favorite of them. I always find myself feeling bad for him after the Russian campaign. The man was obviously suffering from PTSD and I think that's what led to the death wish he had at Waterloo. It's a shame that he didn't wind up dying in battle and instead was betrayed by his own nation.
What are some good books about the Marshalls? In every book about the period, or Napoleon biography, you always get enough info to know these guys all had very fascinating lives and exploits in themselves, but they're never the focus.
Is there a good book that focuses on the Marshalls or does one have to read individual biographies of each?
There are three collective books all named "Napoleon's Marshals" by David P. Chandler, Richard Dunn Pattison and R. F. Delderfield.
Some Marshals who were more prominent like Davout and Ney have books dedicated to them.
Thanks man
General Calvet (and Gaston) would rek these pretenders.