Direct Military Factors

Question 1

Boosting soldier morale - Napoleon? What did he do?

Answer 1

Battle of Toulon 1793 - Battery of ‘men without fear’ in dangerous position, with men flooding area for support.

Question 2

In which battle did Wellington say ‘Napoleon made the difference of 40 thousand men’ ? - How did Napoleon motivate his troops?

Answer 2

Battle of Montenotte 1796 (Italian campaign) - Motivated troops to march over Alps, helping surprise.

Question 3

Strategy and tactics - Tactics Napoleon utilised effectively?

Answer 3

Mixed order, mobile corp systems and artillery systems of Guibert.

Question 4

Example of effective generalship?

Answer 4

Davout at Jena-Auerstadt, defended 52,000 Prussians with 28,000 French.

Question 5

Wellesley - Now Wellington - Effective tactics at Waterloo?

Answer 5

Retreated to easily defended slopes with woods, farms and villages protecting position. Held off French infantry guard with infantry squares. (Waiting for Prussian reinforcements)

Question 6

US Civil War - Effective generalship - Union and confederacy?

Answer 6

Union - Sherman’s march to the sea, 100,000 men to ‘make Georgia howl’.
Confederacy - Lee in chancellorsville (1863), split 60,000 troops against 130,000 union, dettering attack on Fredericksburg while 4/5 army went to Chancellorsville to take place, driving Union from Fredericksburg.

Question 7

Effective generalship - WW1?

Answer 7

Petain 1916, resistance at Verdun, 400,000 German deaths to 370,000 French, but attrition victory.

Question 8

Haig - effective generalship?

Answer 8

Coordinated with Foch in August 1918 to push back Ludendorff Offensive, leading in allied victory. This was the Hundred days offensive.

Question 9

Hundred days offensive - Effective generalship?

Answer 9

Haig at 2nd battle of the Somme - refused Foch’s demand to continue with Amiens offensive. Managed to force back Germans 55km in 7 days.

Question 10

WW2 - Effective generalship?

Answer 10

Rommel - pushed allied forces in Africa, despite resource limitations and lack of support from Hitler.

Question 11

Zhukov - Effective generalship?

Answer 11

Organised flustered Russians in 1941 against Germans to defend Moscow and counter-attack. August 1942 encircled Herman 6th army at Stalingrad. Defeated Germans in biggest tank battle at Kursk in 1943. Led assault to capture Berlin in 1945.

Question 12

Ineffective Generalship - Brief examples over entire period?

Answer 12

• Revolutionary - Battle of the Pyramids, Murad and Ibrahim.
• Napoleonic - Jena-Auerstadt, Napoleon miscalculation
• Crimean - Marshal Raglan and Arnaud
• USCW - Peninsula campaign, McClellan
• USCW - Battle of Antietam, McClellan
• WW1 - Somme offensive, Haig