Napoleon was said to favor a tactic wherein he would bring in a lowly lieutenant to hear his orders, and repeat them back in their own words. If the lieutenant

Napoleon was said to favor a tactic wherein he would bring in a lowly lieutenant to hear his orders, and repeat them back in their own words. If the lieutenant could figure it out, then Napoleon could relay orders to his generals (who would in turn send orders to their subordinates and so on) with confidence that the meaning would not be lost on the battlefield.