Napoleonic exhibiton

Idly searching ‘Napoleon’ in the google news section, as all self respecting history nerds should do occasionally I was aghast to discover a review in the Spectator about an exhibition in Paris focused on the Emperor’s skills as a strategist which it described in glowing terms. Aghast because and it only had a few days left to run!

I decided I couldn’t miss it so booked a fairly pricy Eurostar ticket to France (thanks to Naturewatcher for the support and encouragement). Luckily it was worth it. The exhibition was split into two parts, one detailing his rise from general to emperor to the peak of his success and the other his fall after 1812 culminating in the defeat at Waterloo. It was a real treat and not dumbed down.

There was his maps, description of the key elements of strategy and those military thinkers who influenced his strategy. I chose this Imperial Eagle which would have been carried at the head of the infantry and was obviously ‘in the wars’ given the bullet holes. I’m glad I’m just an armchair general!