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Thanks so much for watching! ❤

One thing the Napoleon had that the other armies didn't was canned food.
'An army marches on its stomach' and having safe food made a major difference.

Napoleon started out as a student of military science and mathematics at a top tier academy in Brienne, France in the early 1780's, which surely shaped his character, ambitions, and intellect.

If he was first with implementing a system no one else thought of he then per definition was a genius.

When Marshall took over as Chief of Staff for the US military at the start of WW2, he got rid of hundreds of generals, colonels, and other officers. He essentially got rid of the “dead wood” and officers that were relics of the past. It made way for a newer, younger cadre of officers that were able to adapt to modern war-fighting. It’s an interesting parallel, but I think Marshall’s changes went far deeper than Napoleon’s.

"Rules" aren't something that emerges naturally from a new situation but something thought up by humans to get a grip on the new situation. Napoleon didn't understand some god-given new rules of warfare, he invented the new rules and that's what makes him a genius.

Yup, the citizen-soldier changed everything.

He also came to power by paying troops in gold not paper fiat currency.

But being a person that can be one of the first adaptors is a form of genius in and of itself!

There is nothing complicated about any of this, you just have to know the environment Napoleon was raised in, who his father was, his mother, his schooling etc. Napoleon was an incredible student, top of his class. He spent HOURS reading ALL the books at the French military school he attended. Being Corsican, he had no family or friends and he spoke with a funny accent, so rather than confront would he couldn't change, he directed his energy into what he could control in a positive way. He read ALL the history books, especially about the great generals and what made them great. The legend of Napoleon is really forged in Italy, LONG before Austerlitz. Napoleon was a master at calculating risk, seeing the LONG goal and finding the wedge in any defense. Later, he invented the CORP system that is still used today, delegating authority and commands with broad orders. The armies would stay with 15 miles (maximum) or each other, marching in the general direction and coalesce if they encountered any opposition.
That is why the armies of Europe were on the back foot all the time. Even after they learned his tricks, they were 20 years behind from being able to implement it, they just didn't have the level of competent officers.

Napoleon lost at Waterloo because he was unaware of the Prussian army arriving in his rear area late in the battle.  He was actually defeating Wellington at that point.

Little know is that a major volcano in indonesia one year earlier exploded changing the rain pattern of the time when the battle occured. His fast moving squadrons & armaments got stuck in the mud.

Very interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you.

Framing Napoleon not just as an isolated 'genius', but as the first commander to execute the new 'operating system' created by the Revolution is brilliant. Speed of command and decision-making beats raw troop numbers every single time until the enemy upgrades their own doctrine. Exceptional analysis!

It starts by going to the library.  Study your enemies' well, and your outcomes  will far exceed your loss 😊. This is what Napoleon did with the maps. My name is Napoleon.

Also Napoleon, with his background as an artillery officer, used increased mobile artillery in a concentration in a very innovative way in his battles.

If his marshals were so good, then the Trachenberg Plan wouldnt have worked in the first place
Showing us that the Genius is not in the system, but in the Man Himself💯

this really made me rethink history

Good video, Michael.

The Corps was the largest unit that could march in a day the same distance as it took up on a single road.