Who Was the Greatest Conqueror of All Time?
–Jeffrey A. Jessee, AL, selected Napoleon
The honor roll of military history contains many names. Names like Caesar, Alexander, Hannibal and Napoleon. These men were legends in their own times but one of them, Napoleon Bonaparte, left a legacy of accomplishment greater than the rest. Some of these conquerors, such as Alexander who inherited the greatest military machine of his time – the Macedonian army – seem destined for glory. Napoleon’s beginnings, on the other hand, were less than auspicious. Although he was born into a family of minor nobility, he had little wealth and no influence. In fact, in comparison to this peers at the military school he attended in France, he was practically destitute and attended on a scholarship. When he did eventually rise to power, the army he had to work with was demoralized and ragged while the country he fought for was bankrupt, surrounded by enemies and on the verge of complete chaos.
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A few short years after assuming power as First Consul, Napoleon had begun to pull France out of its steep decline. One of the primary causes of the French Revolution had been the country’s horrible financial state. Neither Louis XVI nor the Revolutionary governments that followed were able to address this problem. Napoleon improved tax collection, provided government assistance to the poor, organized interest-free loans and instituted the Bank of France – all of which contributed to stabilizing the economy.
Another lasting contribution was the replacement of the feudalistic legal system in France and various countries throughout Europe with the Code Napoleon. Prior to this overhaul of the legal code, there were extensive variations in laws throughout France. The new system was very progressive; it implemented a separation of church and state, thus promoting religious freedom, upheld individual freedoms and rights, and improved marriage laws for women.
Finally, Napoleon’s superb administrative and organizational talents combined with his ability to inspire and lead his men resulted in a display of military genius unequaled before or since. Taking over a tattered and starving army, he turned it into the greatest weapon of war Europe had ever seen. Napoleon replaced the army’s monolithic organization with the corps system, greatly increasing its ability for flexible maneuver. His army was trained to march faster than its opponents and also relied more on foraging rather than supply depots resulting in rapid troop movements. Additionally, as an organization devoted to promoting its members based on talent as opposed to nobility, it was exceptionally well officered in comparison to other countries. The end result was an army that, following Napoleon’s divide-and-conquer strategy, dominated Europe for nearly two decades, consistently delivering decisive defeat to a series of coalition armies.
Despite Napoleon’s inauspicious beginnings, he went on to fight more battles than Caesar, Alexander and Hannibal combined; he won most of those engagements. While his military accomplishments were truly astounding, his most lasting achievements were probably the Code Napoleon and the establishment of the Bank of France.
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Wow! I really enjoyed reading this article on Hannibal. Thanks for the time and research!
I like all the articles except the one on Hannibal. What Hannibal does not have in common with those other four positions was that Hannibal did not defeat his greatest enemies. Although in Italy for 15 years, he was stuck there and despite his three greatest victories over Rome, the Romans were still fighting. Hannibal didn’t win his war. Napoleon, on the other hand, fought many wars and constantly forced his rivalries to admit defeat. This is about the greatest conquerors and Hannibal did not conquer.