Napoleon was indeed a very good general, rightfully considered as one of the greatest of all time. This very well written and insightful article takes his legen

Napoleon was indeed a very good general, rightfully considered as one of the greatest of all time. This very well written and insightful article takes his legend down a peg or two, which is certainly justified. The invasion of Russia was one of history's greatest follies, The Little Corporal was cavalier with the lives of his men and his strategic brilliance was inconsistent at best. But his strengths often made up for his short comings and he was better than almost all of the comparable generals of his day. His victory at Austerlitz stands as one of the great military achievements and best executed battles in history. Literally a textbook example of movement, timing and coordination. The common perception is that after Napoleon returned from Elba he lost much of his strategic and tactical flair, throwing his men into meat grinders. This is mostly true, but most of the opposing generals also had very high casualty rates. Napoleonic warfare was dominated by the Fog of War, they had no satellites or drones to help them plan and maneuver. Napoleon had a sixth sense for visualizing a battle that unfortunately came and went. On his good days he was better than many who have ever lived. On most days, he was simply average. That's as much as most of us could ask for, and it was enough to dominate a continent at the time. History is filled with intelligent and technically capable generals, but only a few who had a style that set them apart. Hannibal and Robert E. Lee come easily to mind, along with others. Napoleon's genius of movement and logistics were groundbreaking, and the lessons apply to more than warfare. He was the original "Move fast and break things". He taught military history that being faster and better organized was enough to build a seemingly unstoppable snow ball effect of victories. His downfall instructs that even the best preparation cannot defeat a dangerous and unpredictable shifting landscape.