Napoleon’s Methods.

Manawatu Herald, 6 December 1904, Page 3

Napoleon’s Methods.

In his great work on “ Napoleon,” in the Commander Series, Colonel Dodge has an interesting passage on Bonaparte’s planning out of his battles. It runs : “ Spreading out and bending, sometimes lying, over his maps, with a compass in his band, which corresponded to about Seven or eight hours’ march as the crow flies (being nine or ten actual hours’march), marking the position of his corps and divisions with various coloured pins, as well as the supposed locations of the enemy, he ordered the movements of his army with an accuracy of which one can scarcely have an idea. Moving his company across the map, he judged immediately, according to the topography, roads and season, how many marches any corps required to reach on a given day a certain place where he needed it, and the rate of speed demanded ; and with this knowledge (and his judgment was absolute of what troops could do) he dictated the instructions the execution of whiohmade him so famous. Napoleon avoided such general orders as would apply only to the movements of certain corps. Even in his own army he did not permit the general plan to be known, lest it should leak out. Each corps commander was given orders for his owp manoeuvre, and was told what was essential about the neighbouring corps. Just because Napoleon was thus particular, were his orders such models of precision and clearness. No study will repay the student of war better than the aeries of orders of one campaign. The exactness of the language, the positiveness of the command, and the manifest fitting of any special order into a general scheme of which he alone is the possessor, is marked.”