08-23-2004, 12:49 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Napoleon was not only a brilliant battlefield commander, but among his versatile talents, was the ability to pick men of great caliber<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Kaushal,
The suggestion here is that these men became great military leaders <i>before</i> the arrival of Napoleon on the scene. The French Revolution had cleared France of the King, his effeminate court, and the aristocratic dandies who led his armies.
The Republic of France almost immediately was at war with the rest of aristocratic Europe...and in that sense the French needed new leadership <i>fast</i>. These sons of tanners, lawyers, and barrel-coopers quickly rose to fame on the strength of their performance and not due to birth.
This has acute lessons for those in the Indian sub-continent who still believe in the ridiculous "Martial Races" theory!
Kaushal,
The suggestion here is that these men became great military leaders <i>before</i> the arrival of Napoleon on the scene. The French Revolution had cleared France of the King, his effeminate court, and the aristocratic dandies who led his armies.
The Republic of France almost immediately was at war with the rest of aristocratic Europe...and in that sense the French needed new leadership <i>fast</i>. These sons of tanners, lawyers, and barrel-coopers quickly rose to fame on the strength of their performance and not due to birth.
This has acute lessons for those in the Indian sub-continent who still believe in the ridiculous "Martial Races" theory!