Napoleon's Speech at the War Council May Have Worked Too Well

Napoleon's speech at the War Council may have actually worked too well. In its weakened state, the army of Italy might not be capable of living up to Bonaparte's grand ambitions. The next day, Napoleon officially inspected the troops and addressed them in a short speech which has since become famous. There is no record of the exact words of this speech until decades later, when Napoleon himself wrote it down, supposedly from memory.