So I was reading about the Peninsular War, and it made me realize how awe-inspiring Napoleon was

So I was reading about the Peninsular War, and it made me realize how awe-inspiring Napoleon was

At the beginning you have Spaniards and Brits struggling for months in the middle of Spain against some minor French force, everything is slow and no quick victory is in sight

And all of sudden, Napoleon personally enters the country with his best generals, and within a few weeks, the whole country is re-taken and Brits end up catastrophically Dunkirking out of Iberia at Corunna

Dude was basically a God-like figure, a video game boss

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Napoleon was arguably the greatest general since Hannibal. It is known

>t the beginning you have Spaniards and Brits struggling for months in the middle of Spain against some minor French force, everything is slow and no quick victory is in sight
>Implying
At the beggining you have French forces ruling pretty much all Spain.
Then the French defeat by the Spanish forces is so loud that the French evacuate Madrid and retreat to defensive positions.
So Napoleon himself has to go to put some sense among the French.

>The French, all but masters of Spain in June, now stood with their backs to the Pyrenees, clutching at Navarre and Catalonia. It was not known if even these two footholds could be maintained in the face of a Spanish attack. By October French strength in Spain, including garrisons, was about 75,000 soldiers. They were facing 86,000 Spanish troops[15] with Spain's 35,000 British allies en route.[20]

>While the allies inched forward, a vast consolidation of bodies and bayonets from the far reaches of the French Empire brought 100,000 veterans of the Grande Armée into Spain, led in person by Napoleon and his Marshals.[25]

>The Emperor announced to the Spanish deputies:
>"I am here with the soldiers who conquered at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Eylau. Who can withstand them? Certainly not your wretched Spanish troops who do not know how to fight. I shall conquer Spain in two months and acquire the rights of a conqueror."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Corunna#Background

JUST

Napoleon is the first of the modern dictators,he created the precursor of the modern totalitarian state, building on the powerful centralised structures created by the revolution; strengthening legal mechanisms to repress the individual; and efficiently mobilising national resources to suit his purpose and ambitions.

Except he didnt persecute anyone, but actually liberated whole lots of people who still suffered under feudalism.

Except Napoleon's regime had more liberties than the previous French Absolute Monarchy and than most monarchies in Europe in his era
His progressive Civil Code is still widely adopted on the continent

You're dumbly comparing an enlightened dictator in an era of absolute monarchs to 20th century dictators who lived in an era of democracy

What is the best book for a layman about the Napoleonic Wars to start with? I'm getting bored with Meiji Era Japan, and I think the contrast in size and scope would be refreshing.

It makes me fell bad for Spaniards

Imagine, you've been struggling for a year to take back your country from a second-rate French army lead by subpar generals, and when you're finally about to reach your goal, the main French army lead by Napoleon himself and his most talented marshals enters the country and annihilates all your eggorts in two months

It makes me fell bad for you.