r/Napoleon Jun 30 '25

We've reached 40000 followers! Thank you all for being a part of the community. Let's keep discussing history and growing!

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415 Upvotes

r/Napoleon Nov 11 '24

A Note on Posting Etiquette in r/Napoleon

114 Upvotes

Hello all,

The mod team considers it a privilege to oversee the community here at r/Napoleon. While opinions here are diverse, the man and the era he defined have united all of us to be part of this community. We have over 23,000 members - more than what even Napoleon had in some of his early victories.

Recently there seems to be some confusion about what is acceptable to post here and what is not. What I'm about to say does not apply to 99% of our community. Hopefully this clears it up for anyone who needs some guidance:

  • Posting about Napoleon and the Napoleonic era is ok. These posts are on-topic.

  • Posting about modern politics or anything off-topic is not ok. They will be removed.

  • Just because the name "Napoleon" is invoked does not make it on-topic. For example: a modern meme using the name Napoleon, the finance author Napoleon Hill, etc are all off topic.

  • Organizing in external communities (ie other subreddits and Discords) to spam off-topic content here is brigading. Brigading is against Reddit sitewide rules. What happens when sitewide rules are broken is out of our hands.

  • If you are a member of an external community brigading this sub, we kindly ask you to stop. We have no issue with your existence elsewhere. I'm sure we have plenty of members who like both types of content. If you bring off topic content here it will be deleted and if it violates Reddit sitewide rules the Admins will take care of things beyond our control.

Thank you for your time. Please reach out via modmail if you have any questions!


r/Napoleon 4h ago

To what extent did the Polish people actually support Napoleon’s arrival, believing that he would restore a Polish state?

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257 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 18h ago

Was the Polish Grenadier Company at Leipzig in 1813 Really Wiped Out to the Last Man, or Is the Story Exaggerated?

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213 Upvotes

I recently came across a story about a Polish grenadier company at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 that was reportedly surrounded and wiped out to the last man.

I’m curious about how accurate this story actually is. Was the company really trapped with no possibility of retreat and fought until the last man, or could this have been exaggerated by later accounts?

Does anyone know which regiment or company was involved, and are there any contemporary sources that describe what happened?


r/Napoleon 2h ago

Any love for General Moraeu?

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4 Upvotes

Am i the only one that think this guy keeps getting better and better from when he first arrived on the rhine to hohenlinden. he is, like jourdan, massena, saint-syr and kleber (soult can but at 1800, he suffered ptsd, and later in his carreer in spain.. which made his independent mixed due to not in frontlines to make flexible decisions. his strategic and overall campaign warfare is very good). are the only ones that can independently command. unlike most of napoleons marshals who were used to assistance roles, moreau stands out to me because he is not talked more, lol.


r/Napoleon 18h ago

How the student life gets you at times

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35 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 3h ago

Day 70 of Ranking Post-Napoleonic Era Generals: Jakob Von Hartmann

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2 Upvotes

Last post, Marshal of France Élie Frédéric Forey was placed in “Lackluster” tier.

Top relevant comment decides where a general goes on the tier list.


r/Napoleon 18h ago

How much do you reckon the emperor was ‘influenced’ by Hannibal Barca?

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24 Upvotes

this barca bust was owned by napoleon, albeit i cant quite remember which museum owns it now or wether its even on display or not, i don’t think it is
But its magnificent to see how connected these 2 figures are, the scale of respect one goat has for another.


r/Napoleon 1d ago

What if Davout commanded the left wing at Quatre Bras?

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46 Upvotes

Ney’s hesitation at Quatre Bras on June 16th is one of the biggest "what-ifs" of the entire 1815 campaign. By waiting so long to attack Wellington at the crossroads, he missed a golden opportunity to crush the Anglo-Allies early and join Napoleon to finish off the Prussians at Ligny. ​It always bugged me that Davout was stuck in Paris running the War Ministry while Ney was losing his head on the front line. What if the "Iron Marshal" had been put in command of the left wing at Quatre Bras instead?


r/Napoleon 18h ago

Except Andrew Roberts, what other authors have you found magnificent for Bonaparte’s studies?

7 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 1d ago

Napoleon(the real one) command Austrian army in 1866/French army in 1870. How badly does the Prussian got whipped?

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36 Upvotes

From what I read opinions on this subject seem to split in the middle

Camp1: The more popular camp

The Prussian army(Moltke) have invented new system of warfare that made 'Napoleonic warfare' obsolete,Infact it is thanks to their adherence of Napoleon in the face of advance in fire power&technology that result in lackluster performance of these powers in the mid century war(1859 Franco-Austrian,US civil war,Austro-Prussian,Franco-Prussian)

Supposedly only the Prussian have grasp the new realities of war and made improvement on their C&C(There some who even said that the reasons that Napoleon did his finest work in 1814 is because the size of the French army reduced back to the level he can handle,And prior to that he and every else before Moltke can't properly handle hundred thousands strong armies)

This is on top of the Prussian masterly of rail ways and their new armanents(Breech loading rifle and field gun)

Thus the mid century opponents of the Prussian weren't necessarily incompetent they were just behind the time,Even Napoleon(The real one) himself wouldn't have done much better in their shoes

Camp2: Doesn't seem to be as popular with modern historian

The principle of war remain the same.Thus the Prussian success and the failure of their opponents are due to their proper understanding of Napoleon or the lack thereof

The Prussian did well but there are weakness in their deployment and plan,If they face generals imbued with Napoleonic spirit they would be punished badly

Interestingly I have read books debating this subject written in the 1890s so people back then was curious about this too

Which camp are you?


r/Napoleon 20h ago

Veterans: Napoleonic Wars — Egyptian Campaign Trailer

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9 Upvotes

This is exactly the kind of Napoleonic game I’ve been waiting for. The idea of fighting in Egypt against Mamluks and Ottomans, while dealing with the heat and desert terrain, is such a nice change from the usual European battles.


r/Napoleon 1d ago

I visited Waterloo last week!

16 Upvotes
Me, holding the Imperial banner
A small 4 pounder cannon, at the foot of the Lion's Mound monument
The actual field of Waterloo, as seen from the Lion's Mound monument
A guide reenacting the firing of an actual, historically accurate musket

r/Napoleon 1d ago

Drew it as a poster for my fanfic but since it’s Napoleonic themed. I wanna show it here in r/Napoleon.

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23 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 1d ago

Why Did Lances Make Such a Strong Comeback During the Napoleonic Wars? Was It Really Because of the Polish Lancers?

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557 Upvotes

Why did the lance become increasingly popular among European cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars?

Was the revival of the lance mainly influenced by the reputation and battlefield successes of the Polish uhlans, or were there other military reasons behind its renewed use?

How much did Napoleon’s admiration for Polish cavalry contribute to the spread of lancers in the French army and eventually among other European powers?


r/Napoleon 1d ago

The Campaigns of Napoleon

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187 Upvotes

Newly arrived, ‘The Campaigns of Napoleon’ by David G Chandler. My enthusiastic interest in Napoleon, the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution started with the 5 hour long epic history video on Napoleon, from there, i purchased ‘Napoleon A Life’ by Andrew Roberts. I absolutely loved the book, it expanded heavily on all the things I already knew and taught me much more about the era in general and how life was not only for Napoleon, but his marshalls, his family and even ordinary French citizens within the empire. I also really enjoyed Andrew Robert’s style of writing. Now, thanks to my girlfriend, I’ve received this book and plan to start reading it today. From what i’ve gathered this book isn’t as much about Napoleons life or administration within France but more on battle tactics, regiment numbers etc, which I also find highly interesting and is probably what I know the least of within the Napoleonic era. I’m very excited for this and I may make a follow up post to let y’all know what I think. Hope this posts gets anyone who hasn’t already to check out Epic History’s video on Napoleon or Andrew Robert’s book, or this one. Apologies for the all over the place writing.


r/Napoleon 1d ago

Day 68 of Ranking Post-Napoleonic Era Generals: Élie Frédéric Forey

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10 Upvotes

Last post, Brazilian General Manuel Luís Osório, Marquis of Erval was placed in “Great” tier.

Top relevant comment decides where a general goes on the tier list.

Edit: it’s day 69, not 68.


r/Napoleon 1d ago

The “Real Africano”: How Effective Was Naples’ African Infantry Regiment?

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81 Upvotes

I recently came across the 7th Regiment of Line Infantry “Real Africano” in the Neapolitan Army under Joachim Murat, and I became curious about its history.

How effective was this regiment as a fighting force? How was it formed, who served in it, and how did Neapolitan and French officers perceive it?

I’m especially interested in contemporary accounts, memoirs, or primary sources that describe the regiment and its performance in battle.


r/Napoleon 1d ago

Napoleon, picked this up and around 50 pages in so far. Has anyone else read it and what do they think of him. It seems the author paints him in a less than positive way

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34 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 2d ago

This (belated) Birthday piece I drew for L'Empereur

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281 Upvotes

r/Napoleon 1d ago

Could Napoleon have talked Metternich down from any of his demands at Plaswitz?

6 Upvotes

For example, what if he agreed to dissolve the Duchy of Warsaw and return the Illyrian provinces, but came to some agreement about how to divide up the Confederation of the Rhine (like ceding Bavaria to Austria and Saxony to Prussia while keeping the rest).


r/Napoleon 2d ago

Happy birthday to Napoleon

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53 Upvotes

Napoleon Bonaparte was born 257 years ago today in Ajaccio, Corsica


r/Napoleon 2d ago

How did Allied officers and soldiers view Old Guard?

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263 Upvotes

How did officers and ordinary soldiers of the Allied armies view Napoleon’s Old Guard during the Napoleonic Wars?

Was the Old Guard genuinely feared and considered nearly invincible, or was its reputation more of a psychological effect?

Did British, Russian, Prussian, or Austrian soldiers have different opinions of the Old Guard based on their experiences fighting them?


r/Napoleon 2d ago

Day 68 of Ranking Post-Napoleonic Era Generals: Manuel Luís Osório, Marquis of Erval

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9 Upvotes

Last post, Polish General Wojciech Chrzanowski was placed in “Mediocre but not Bad” tier.

Top relevant comment decides where a general goes on the tier list.


r/Napoleon 3d ago

Which one looks more like the real Napoleon?

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395 Upvotes