Napoleon the Great
Andrew Roberts · 2014
A monumental biography drawing on Napoleon’s 33,000 surviving letters, admiring but rigorous.
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Articles & In-depth Analysis
Beyond facts and chronologies, our articles offer detailed analysis and insights into the lesser-known aspects of the Napoleonic epic.
7 articles
Article list
Campaigns 28 September 2026 11 min
The Egyptian and Syrian campaign (1798-1799)
July 1798: Bonaparte crushes the Mamluks at the Pyramids, then loses his fleet at Aboukir. From Jaffa to the failed siege of Acre, the story of an expedition that failed militarily yet founded Egyptology and built the legend of the future Emperor.
Campaigns 25 September 2026 11 min
The Italian campaign (1796-1797)
March 1796: a twenty-six-year-old general takes command of a starving army. Nineteen months later, Montenotte, Lodi, Arcole and Rivoli have fallen, Mantua has surrendered, and Austria signs peace at Campo Formio: the campaign that launched Bonaparte's legend.
Military 19 September 2026 9 min
How the Grande Armée was organised
Army corps, marshals, staff, the Guard, the three arms and the services: how the army that dominated Europe from 1805 to 1812 was organised, and why it wore out.
Events 19 September 2026 9 min
The coronation of Napoleon (2 December 1804)
A pope brought from Rome, a crown Napoleon placed on his own head, an oath to the Revolution sworn in a cathedral: what the coronation really was, and what it was meant to say.
Campaigns 19 September 2026 9 min
The German campaign of 1813
After Russia, Napoleon still won at Lützen, Bautzen and Dresden, then lost everything at Leipzig. How a united Europe broke the Empire in Germany in a single year.
Institutions 19 September 2026 10 min
The Civil Code of 1804
Hundreds of local customs, ten years of failed drafts, then 2,281 articles: how the Civil Code was born, what it really said, and why it still governs the lives of millions.
Campaigns 19 September 2026 12 min
The Russian campaign of 1812
June 1812: more than 400,000 men cross the Niemen. Six months later, a few tens of thousands come back. The story of the campaign that broke the Grande Armée, and why it failed.
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Go further
Recommended books to dig deeper (affiliate links)
Napoléon ou le mythe du sauveur
Jean Tulard · 1977
The book that reshaped how the man is read: how France gave itself a saviour, and what it cost.
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Nouvelle histoire du Premier Empire
Thierry Lentz · 2002-2010
Four reference volumes on institutions, diplomacy and collapse: the scholarly synthesis of the subject.
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