NAPOLEON’S INFLUENCE ON MODERN WESTERN MILITARY ARMIES Essay

NAPOLEON’S INFLUENCE ON MODERN WESTERN MILITARY ARMIES History 100, Staff Group A, CGSC Class 14-001 27 March 2014 1 Throughout history, military leaders have immortalized their legacies by vanquishing their enemies in the battlefield against overwhelming odds. Soldiers and historians have revered their accomplishments by studying their mastery in the art of warfare with the hopes mimicking their accomplishments. Of them all, Napoleon Bonaparte is considered the best military leader in the history of the Western World and has been the most influential with the development of modern day Western armies. According to Knox, â€Å"military revolutions are changes in the nature and purpose of war itself.†1 Napoleons military tactics and strategy†¦show more content†¦John A. Lynn, Nations in Arms. in The Cambridge History of Warfare, ed. Geoffrey Parker (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 189. 3 the control of constantly larger and more widely dispersed forces.†5 According to Lynn, by subdividing his army into corps, Napoleon enhanced command and control. It improved logistics, since several corps operating along separate lines of advance could supply themselves more easily than could a single large army operating along a single route.6 In addition to the forming of corps and divisions, Napoleon created brigade and army levels of commands. This unique military organizational structure allowed him to effectively move his large armies and outmaneuver his enemies. Like the French, the U.S. Army’s military organizational structure consists of armies, corps, divisions, brigades, and battalions. The only exception is the regional commands that it uses. Each command level organization consists of a robust staff that assists commanders with developing plans and executing orders. This organizational structure provides an efficient method of commanding and controlling from the lowest to the highest level of commands. The transformation of the French military organizational structure provided better command and control for large armies. However, its use of combined arms allowed the French to annihilate their enemies in the battlefield. â€Å"The French had pioneered the use of combat division, combiningShow MoreRelatedNapoleons Campaign In Egypt1241 Words   |  5 PagesNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who significantly influenced European history. Born in Corisca on August 15th 1769, Napoleon first rose to prominence as a general in the French Revolution (Hutt, 4). With his â€Å"strength of will, character, application, and daring† (Napoleon) characteristics, Captain Bonaparte made a name for himself. 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