Book: Napoleon's Military Maxims

Overview

Published in 1831 after his death, Napoleon's Military Maxims gathers terse aphorisms that distill his practice of war into principles of strategy, operations, and command. The sayings are framed by examples from his campaigns and from earlier masters, offering a compact manual that emphasizes concentration of force, speed, surprise, and the moral dimension of leadership as the keys to decisive victory. The tone is energetic and practical, aimed at guiding decision-makers rather than offering abstract theory.

Strategy and Theater

Napoleon urges generals to define a single, attainable strategic objective and to aim their efforts toward it without dissipation. He favors the offensive, arguing that seizing the initiative compels the enemy to react on unfavorable terms. The central position, interposing between divided opponents to defeat them in detail, is extolled as a recurring strategic method. He warns against being drawn into peripheral operations or secondary theaters that cannot decide the war, and against trusting to fortresses or linear defenses to compensate for an inactive army. Geography and lines of operation matter less than the ability to concentrate at the decisive point and time.

Operations and Maneuver

Operational art, for Napoleon, is the economy of movement and time. He values rapid marches, light baggage, and flexible lines of operation that allow concentration against isolated enemy corps. Surprise springs from speed, secrecy, and feints that fix the enemy while the main blow falls elsewhere. He counsels avoiding battle unless superiority can be achieved at the point of decision, even if overall numbers are inferior; conversely, once superiority exists, it must be exploited ruthlessly with a pursuit that converts success into destruction of the enemy's force. Communications should be protected, but not at the cost of immobilizing the army; the best security comes from keeping the enemy off-balance.

Tactics and Combined Arms

On the battlefield he stresses simplicity, reserves, and the concert of arms. Plans should be few and clear, executed with initiative by subordinates. A strong reserve is the instrument of decision, committed only when the decisive point reveals itself. Artillery concentration opens breaches; infantry holds and then delivers the decisive attack; cavalry exploits disorder, pursues, or shields retreats. Terrain is a tool, not a cage: positions are chosen to facilitate maneuver and massed fire, not to invite passive defense. He distrusts frontal assaults on prepared positions unless necessity dictates and a diversionary or turning movement is prepared.

Logistics and Administration

Supplies are instruments of tempo. Napoleon accepts living off the land when possible to lighten trains and accelerate movement, but he acknowledges that carefully prepared magazines and depots are essential in poor or hostile country. He prioritizes the health and rest of troops, knowing fatigue ruins plans as surely as enemy action. Discipline is strict but purpose-driven; rewards and recognition maintain cohesion and endurance. He repeatedly cautions that small administrative oversights can wreck grand designs.

Moral Forces and Command

Throughout, he elevates moral over material forces. The spirit of the army, its confidence in its chief, and the general's character weigh heavily in outcomes. He advocates audacity grounded in calculation, not rashness; firmness in execution, not obstinacy in conception. Intelligence and deception are indispensable, but self-deception is fatal; a commander must see the field as it is, not as he wishes. Politics intersects war, yet he insists that once war is chosen, military unity of command and clarity of purpose are indispensable.

Form and Influence

The maxims are lapidary, meant for memorization and reflection, and are accompanied in early editions by historical illustrations from Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Wagram, and beyond. Their lasting value lies in their fusion of principle and example, offering a portable guide to concentrating power, accelerating decision, and harnessing morale, the enduring grammar of Napoleonic warfare.