Thanks Tom,
Lots of superlatives indeed to describe the victories of 1805 and 1807 but, thinking about the campaigns of 1809, although ultimately victorious, at what price were they achieved? Concerning Broers' references to hubris, and the concept of pride - as opposed to arrogance - before the fall, Crook does not refer to the author's account of Aspern-Essling. Surely, along with the relatively minor (at that time) setbacks and defeats in Spain and Portugal, the author’s description and conclusions of these events in this pivotal year, should provide some subject matter worthy of critiquing in the review.
Whilst on this subject I note - if I read correctly, as the bibliography is not yet published - that Jack Gill’s superb trilogy of the campaigns of 1809 is not referred to by Broers. If so, this must surely constitute a major deficit in terms of the source material consulted.
Interestingly, the reviewer agrees that Broers should have a primary focus on Napoleon the general, the grande armée, and battles fought. That being said, there is no doubt where the reviewer’s empathies lie in relation to Napoleon's approach to military conquest and political patronage. In my opinion, the reviewer is right to highlight the limited focus on domestic as opposed to international issues in this volume, the former being much more important in the preceding and period subsequent period of Napoleon’s rise to prominence and rule.
Finally, and very much in the vein of Gueniffey’s authoritative study of Napoleon, the choice of paintings to adorn the front covers of these two volumes is both interesting and enlightening. Fittingly, Napoleon as “Soldier of Destiny (1769-1805)” is “Bonaparte récompense les grenadiers de la garde consulaire après la bataille de Marengo” in the fabulous painting by Baron Antoine Jean Gros. Whilst the Napoleon as “Spirit of the Age”, is not the compassionate Emperor visiting the carnage on the battlefield of Eylau, as depicted by this same artist, but is the more workmanlike “Napoléon [qui] passe en revue la Garde impériale à Iéna", by Emile Jean Horace Vernet.
Best wishes
A