2. Napoleon: The Commander

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2023

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

During the Napoleonic Wars, 18th-century leaders in Europe quickly decided the best way to beat Napoleon Bonaparte was to retreat and not meet him on the battlefield at all. He was head and shoulders above the other commanders of the day. So why did it go so spectacularly wrong for him at Waterloo?

In episode two of his series, Dan delves into who Napoleon was as a military commander- what made him so effective on the battlefield, as a leader of men and conqueror of lands. He's joined by military historian Dr Zack White, as they dissect the Siege of Toulon in 1793 in which Napoleon proved himself a commander of extraordinary promise. They assess his strategy and tactics at Austerlitz, his incredible relationship with his men on the battlefield, and how the later years of his life were mired by internal turmoil that soon clouded his once precise military reasoning.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges, Freddy Chick and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code BLACKFRIDAY sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	May I have your attention please you can now book your train tickets on Uber and get
0:08.0	10% back in credits to spend on your next Uber ride so you don't have to walk home in the rain again.
0:16.5	Trains now on Uber. Tees and sees apply. Check the Uber app.
0:22.3	This episode the podcast is sponsored by Ridley Scott's new action epic film Napoleon
0:28.0	starring Wackeen Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby only in Cinemas November the 22nd. Why Napoleon and why now the big man?
0:37.0	In many respects he is one of the great curiosities in history. It's here at last folks. It's a sumptuous, wild fantastical
0:47.8	depiction of the life of Napoleon. This genius commander who won victories from Portugal to the pyramids and the gates of Moscow.
0:56.0	It's a truly awesome spectacle.
0:59.0	There are cavalry charges, there are one-line zingers, as a food fight, and the Royal Navy gets a strong cameo.
1:08.1	The movie tracks the kind of relentless journey of Napoleon Bonaparte to the pinnacle of power through the prism of his
1:14.4	addictive his volatile relationship with his one true love Josephine. You get the
1:19.1	politics, you get the romance, but against the backdrop of some of the most extraordinary battle
1:24.1	sequences I've ever seen film.
1:25.9	Do you feel incredibly lucky that you created these epic, epic films?
1:30.8	Every time?
1:31.6	Yeah. Every time. Every time.
1:33.0	And it's the first time I came to be out in the field and he said, who are all these people?
1:38.1	I said, this is all for you, Maine.
1:39.5	You go, yeah.
1:40.7	This movie is an event.
1:42.3	You're going to want to see it on the biggest screen possible.
1:45.0	Book tickets to see Napoleon in Cinemars and IMAX now. 1793 was a big year for France. King Louis the 16th met his end as the sun dipped below the Place de la
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.