The Age of Napoleon Podcast Episode 38: The Kansas Campaign
Nov 20, 2018
Military historians Dr. Mark Gerges, Dr. Jonathan Abel, and Dr. John Kuehn discuss the significance of the first Italian campaign, the misconceptions about Napoleon's progressive armies, assessing the effectiveness of different armies, overlooked military campaigns, Napoleon's lasting impact on France, and his campaign in Egypt
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Italian Campaign As Strategic Preview
- The 1796 Italian campaign reveals the nascent elements of Napoleon's operational genius beyond battlefield tactics.
- It shows strategic aims: projecting power into Italy and reshaping political order, not just defeating Austria.
Army Of Italy: A Testing Ground
- The Army of Italy already embodied many Revolutionary reforms before Napoleon arrived, making it an ideal testing ground.
- Its mixed strengths and persistent weaknesses meant Napoleon's innovations were experimental, not yet institutionalized.
Continuity Amid Revolutionary Change
- Revolutionary rhetoric exaggerated the contrast between French and ancien régime armies; many continuities remained.
- Historiography must balance revolutionary claims with evidence of shared organizational and cultural features.