The process of historical inquiry is not ‘assessing blame.’ It is to ascertain what happened by whom and why. And if commanders err that needs to be brought to light. It appears that you don’t agree that commanders err and are responsible for their actions. Bernadotte erred greatly in 1806 and the ‘why’
of what he did is essential to understanding the campaign. Commanders are responsible for their actions and that includes both good and bad acts, acting according to what was expected or not, etc.

Kevin:
I certainly agree with what you said above, but your last sentence still comes down to assessing blame. The question is why Bernadotte did what he did. And using words like 'abandoning' etc. is more than semantics. That may be the problem. You don't realize the collective impression such words make. Just as saying that the search for evidence is 'making excuses' for Bernadotte. That is not just semantics, but a whole lot more.

"Why do you believe that Napoleon thought about court-martialing Bernadotte, if it wasn’t for his failure to support Davout?"

Is there evidence that Napoleon gave that as the reason, rather than your assessment based on your criteria. From what I have seen, Napoleon was clear about what Bernadotte *should* have done. He faulted him for not being in Dornburg, where he was expected to be, not for "abandoning" Davout. That quote has been provided in previous posts. If you have evidence that supports your contention as to why Napoleon wanted to courtmartial Bernadotte, I haven't seen it.

The questions still remains. Your assertions are that 1. Bernadotte, regardless of any other orders, should have remained with Davout and 2. Because the situation had "changed". I have not seen any contemporary evidence that the military men of the time thought that. It is obvious why Sahuc would want to return to Davout instead of join Murat, who [Bernadotte was ordered to support. There is nothing in Napoleon's order to Davout that suggests that Bernadotte was now supposed to abandon those orders and support Davout... or vice versa.

If you want to insist that Bernadotte abandon Davout, when circumstances *clearly* required him to stay, I haven't seen any contemporary comments to that effect from French officers. The situation may have changed, but I don't see the Prussians moving away from Davout as proof that Bernadotte had to support Davout. The expectations of later historians *should* really be based on the historical evidence too.

Bill