Funny enough at queen victoria coronation in 1838, marshal soult attended the coronation and Wellington was there and said to soult "I have you at last" so fascinating
Fun fact about the trial of Marshall Ney When his lawyer said that Marshall Ney could not be put on trial because he was german Ney angrily shouted 'I am French and will always be French'
@@richeybaumann1755 Well not really correct, as he was technically born in it when it was french if I'm not wrong. The lawyer was just trying to find a little loophole.
@@xenotypos it might actually have worked if it wasn't for Ney or if the Prussians did not grant Ney Prussian citizenship And considering that the Prussians wanted Napoleon dead they probably also wanted Ney dead aswel
@@richeybaumann1755 when Ney was born, SarreLouis was French for almost a century and had been created out of nothing as a French garnison town in German speaking land, populated by French speaking soldiers in order to assert the authority of the French monarchy. The Neys were soldiers of France from a long time, they had nothing German. Only the town was transfered to Prussia at the end of the Napoleonic war, but its population was not German speaking
To me Suchet is the best Marshal, loyal to the end, firm, won every battle, had independent command for most of his career and cared for civilians and his men. Yes, he didn't fight in the East but you can only face who's in front of you and it shouldn't be held against him.
It was because he wasnt selected marshal 1804. He is the only marshal not selected in that year but is in the top 6, how much more if had more experience.
And yet even USMC studied his approach to civilians in occupying foreign region. And never looted compared to Soult and Massena. You’re a funny guy i’ll give you that.
@@swymaj02 Suchet wrote about it in his memoirs. Siege of Lerida, Volume 1. “The soldiers were put in concentric movement to push the inhabitants along with the garrison to the upper streets and the citadel. They were knocked out by artillery fire street by street, house by house, to drive them into the castle. This was still going on, and the volleys increased the panic and danger to the civilians as they were thrown into the moat to the remnants of the garrison and pushed back to the drawbridge. Under the onslaught of our soldiers, they hurried into the castle courtyard before the governor could order that they be forbidden to enter. Our howitzers and mortars kept up a relentless bombardment all night and next morning. Every shell that struck the narrow space in which this crowd was situated fell on the close-knit masses of civilians as often as on the soldiers. It was calculated that the governor and the most determined officers would be influenced by the presence of these women, children, old men, and unarmed peasants, whom the general terror had suddenly plunged into despondency and fear of death. But, as General Suchet had hoped, his orders brought swift and decisive results.”
An anecdote about Ney. During the attack on Russia, Ney was riding on his horse with his officers and a group of Russian prisoners shouted: Marshal Ney!! Marshal Ney!! Ney stopped his horse and said "how do you know who I am??" The Russians answered him: "Marshal Ney, we've seen you charging at the head of your cavalry for 10 years!!"
Exactly so. Ney said: "Pourquoi pour moi la liberté au lieu de l'honneur?" (Why for me the freedom instead of honour?) These words sound like a glorious epitaph.
Marshal Suchet, great at every assignment you place him. If you want him as officer in the field, officer in desk, division command, corps command, marshal and governnor, he was great at every turn.
Suchet is extremelly ridículous in Spain never never controlled the territory in extremelly very few time in Spain and Joseph brother of Napoleón they made fool temselves for exemple Valencia conquered in at the end of Napoleonic times in Spain 1 year only and Alicante never conquered ; Napoleón he made a fool of himself in Spain
I think he should be higher on this list for that reason. Out of all the Marshals, he's the only one who seemingly had no flaws, or atleast no significant flaws. He excelled at everything he did. I think he's top 3.
Suchet is my personal favorite out of all the marshals on this list. He's a capable commander, a superb administrator, he can be trusted in independent command and unlike most of the other Marshals in Spain, he was like "hey maybe if we're occupying another country, how about we treat the people with respect so they're not as likely to revolt." Heck, the fact that the people he formerly occupied prayed for his soul when he died, says a lot. I feel like he could have helped turn the tide in certain theaters of the war if he was just given the chance.
@@RussianEagles Real human shields or just getting the civilians to help protect the soldiers? You should provide quotes because it sounds like it's taken out of context.
@@yashjoseph3544 he took it out of context, ive read his memoirs and even west points assessments to his civilian approach and many more nowhere does it say of any such thing. His just a hater.
Ney stands out to me among the rest of the Marshals as a true believer to the core. The man really did pass on every opportunity he had to save himself, though in his mind doing so probably would have cost him his honor. At his trial, his lawyer tried to argue that his client could not be tried for treason, as Ney's hometown of Sarrelouis had been annexed by Prussia through treaty that same year, making him (technically) a citizen of Prussia. This prompted Ney to interrupt him by standing up, famously saying, "Je suis Français, et je resterai Français!" "I am French, and I will remain French!"
Fun fact: Soult was also responsible for the creation of the French Foreign Legion in 1831. As Minister of War, he wanted to reform the French military and increase its strength, so he had the Legion created to bolster the army's numbers and help garrison the recently conquered Algiers. Apparently, when the Legion was created, the army detested it and was considered a lower posting. The Legion was even called the "Bastard of Soult". Funny story considering the legendary and fearsome reputation the Legion would later gain.
In fact, the republican politicians were opposed to the fact that the Kings of France were using foreign personnal troops (Scotts and Swiss). Hence the création of the FFL. Multinational..but fordidden to be in mailnland France..hence Algeria
Am I the only one that thinks Marshal Ney is the most iconic Marshall. Certainly the most memorable of the later half of the Napoleonic wars. When your called the bravest of the brave, its hard to not be cemented in history. Also he has the most marshall look out of all of them. Also I agree with VTH. The actor Dan O’Herlihy is uncanny in resemblance to Ney. I think everyone would know him as the old man, head of OCP in Robocop
He's probably the most iconic marshall yes. You could call him the ultimate soldier, but not really the best general, to say the least. His flaws were part of the character though, it served him in some regards.
@@nightking0130You don't need to be the most daring/brave/obnoxious to be the best. The number 1 (Davout) was literally not liked by many of the other marshalls (and not by Napoleon), but his achievements and (lack of) failures spoke for themselves
Ney really lived (and ultimately died) in accordance with his much deserved epithet: bravest of the braves. He couldn't claim the military mastermind of Davout or the organizational skills of Berthier but he is undoubtedly the most fearless of all marshals. Being the highest-ranking officer in his corps and still commanding cavalry charges from the front is the stuff of legends.
As you said, Spain and Russia were the graveyards of the french empire, even the most tough marshals were traumatized like in the siege of zaragoza where marshal lannes said to napoleon that this conflict was a nightmare and had to end
I think Ney gets scapegoated at Waterloo. Ney called for the Imperial Guard to attack the British when they were still trapped in squares and Napoleon denied this request, but then had the Imperial Guard attack anyway when the British had reformed into lines on high ground. Wellington had been nearly be killed during Ney's attack by tirailleurs and having been trapped in square for some time, had lost track of the battle. This would have been the ultimate moment to strike with the Imperial Guard over open ground against infantry squares, but Napoleon was indecisive. Ney had successfully displaced Wellington from his superior defensive position and Napoleon did nothing with that.
@@Edax_Royeaux no not the cavalry charge, after the charge where you said it displaced wellingtons troops from an advantageous position and that Napoleon could’ve taken advantage but didn’t. I always hear Ney Naysayers blame him for Waterloo.
@@ANonAmerican British allied artillery was placed along the ridge. The fact that these artillery pieces temporarily were abandoned and under French possession during the cavalry charge would show that Wellington had to give up his defensive position at the top of the ridge to form his squares. There is the famous eye witness account of Ney striking a British artillery piece with his sword over the failure to spike those cannons and make them useless for the battle. Almost all depictions of the calvary attack on the British Allied squares are portrayed on flat terrain and in descriptions of the battle, if is described as a "plateau", what the British formed square on, which is not defensive terrain. Numerous Waterloo documentaries mention that Ney called for the Imperial Guard to attack the squares and Napoleon had refused. To quote from wikipedia "With La Haye Sainte captured, Ney then moved skirmishers and horse artillery up towards Wellington's centre.[175] French artillery began to pulverise the infantry squares at short range with canister The success Napoleon needed to continue his offensive had occurred.[179] Ney was on the verge of breaking the Anglo-allied centre.[178] Along with this artillery fire a multitude of French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions behind La Haye Sainte and poured an effective fire into the squares. Wellington, noticing the slackening of fire from La Haye Sainte, with his staff rode closer to it. French skirmishers appeared around the building and fired on the British command as it struggled to get away through the hedgerow along the road. French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions, especially one on a knoll overlooking the square of the 27th. Unable to break square to drive off the French infantry because of the presence of French cavalry and artillery, the 27th had to remain in that formation and endure the fire of the tirailleurs. That fire nearly annihilated the 27th Foot, the Inniskillings, who lost two thirds of their strength within that three or four hours. During this time many of Wellington's generals and aides were killed or wounded including FitzRoy Somerset, Canning, de Lancey, Alten and Cooke.[185] The situation was now critical and Wellington, trapped in an infantry square and ignorant of events beyond it, was desperate for the arrival of help from the Prussians."
"This man is a Lion! His courage gave me Europe!" - Napoleon said about Marshal Ney after his decisive victory in the battle of Friedland on 14 June 1807. After this splendid victory Napoleon reached the apogee of his power, he actually became the master of Europe.
Here in Spain this is our "Independence War," 10% of the population died between battles, diseases and hunger. After the war many of the former guerrillas became "bandoleros" bandits. This became such a problem that our police force Guardia Civil was founded in 1844 to combat them. This banditry problem, and the Carlist Wars meant that Spain missed the first train of industrialization and would lag behind the rest of Europe for a century. Unrelated but I went to a reenactment of the battle of Albuera shown in the video when i was a kid!
@@username.exenotfound2943 I personally think so. While our Civil war caused more deaths and massive devastation, the peninsular war left the country politically divided. Spain was VERY unstable until the first republic was deposed in... 1874! If you ever feel like having a headache I recommend you reading this period.
@@username.exenotfound2943 Definitely, the Carlists were stil an active political party in 1936 and the idea of a spanish republic was born in this chaotic time. Nevertheless I think that the main causes for the war were 1. the loss of the Cuba and Philipines. 2. Economic crashes, first inmediately after WWI and later the great depression. 3. The disaster of Annual and the following dictatorship by Primo de Rivera. 4. And the most important one to me, the failure of the republic to maintain stability, which alienated the military.
Ney's fanaticism was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. It made him want to prove himself but it also blinded him against thinking strategically. In the end Ney's execution took the bullet that really Napoleon deserved. Ney loved France. Napoleon loved himself.
It was becasue he understood what Napoleon was that Bernadotte turned against him. A sad fact of the kings put by Napoleon was that they should rule for the benefit of Napoleon, not of the countries they ruled. Those countries had to provide riches and soldiers for Napoleon's wars, no matter what it cost them. Well, Bernadotte thought that his duty was to the Swedish people and acted accordingly. And unlike Napoleon, he had had enough of war. He even said that no territorial gain could compensate a country for the sons it had lost on the battlefield.
When I think of Ney, I always imagine the truly epic scene from "Warerloo" where he leads the doomed mass cavalry charge into Wellington's squares. The imagery and music in that scene is just perfect.
Ive watched all of these epic history Napoleon videos so many times. Hearing you compare these marshals to US Generals, see Ney to Patton, is some of the best content. Ive been looking forward to these coming out from you!
Words to live by if you wish to be considered wise. If you live with women in the same house the most important thing you will learn is to SIT DOWN when you PEE!
Just got my UK exam results today, glad to say I passed them all with a grade 8 (A*) in history. Pretty much all my history revision was watching you react to WW1 content so thank you so much Chris.
Interesting bit of history about Ney’s trial. His lawyer and deviance council actually managed to kind of find him a way out of it. They noted that Ney’s home region after the changes in French boarders no longer resided in France. As such they could not prosecute him under French law but would have up gain the permission of the other kingdom to prosecute him first. On hearing this marshal Ney stood up and to his own lawyer and those around declared “I am French, and will always be French” completely killing his own lawyers defence. Ney stood by his actions and life and in many ways he went out as a soldier loyal to his country to the end. And while he does live up to the title “Bravest of the Brave” in many ways he also lives up to the idea of the born soldier, for Ney very clearly showed what a Born Soldier is all about.
37:06 speaking of marshals serving under Massena, in the painting of the Second Battle of Zurich, each man prominently on horseback is a marshal. From left to right you have Masena, Oudonot, Mortier and Soult.
The fact that Ney gets a shout out as the bravest of the brave in the Sharpe novels, considering the protagonist of those books, should tell you all you need to know about him
maybe important to notice that the quotes about the marshals were made during his exile on st helena. So he was probably be a bit grumpy when he said that about Ney and Soult
34:40 That's a quite common name within countries with latin languages: French: Jean de Dieu Spanish: Juan de Dios Portuguese: João de Deus In Italian not so much
My top three favourites are Suchet, Ney and Davout. But Suchet is the one that is really interesting because he never had the chance to prove what he's worth on the biggest battles.
Unlike Alsace, Lorraine had always been both a Romance-Germanic region since Middle-Ages. There were the Lotharingian dialects, but also the Lorrain dialect, as part of "Langues d'Oïl".
Right at the end of Waterloo, as the Anglo-Prussian army was overrunning the French, Ney led the countercharge, exclaming "Come and see how a Marshal of France meets his death!" He was brave to the last.
I heard a story that claims that at one point during the retreat in Russia Ney's troops refused to go and fight a necessary rearguard action. They were broken, cold, hungry, and morale was shattered. All they wanted to do was run and get away before they either froze or were caught by the Russians, but doing so might cause much greater casualties in the army. When he couldn't rally them, Ney rode off, either alone or with a small personal guard, to face the Russians. After Ney rode away, an officer shamed the troops into rushing after Ney and repulsing the Russians long enough for the French to retreat without collapsing. The bravest of the brave indeed.
Ney reminds me of Thomas Jackson and John Bell Hood. Hyper aggressive on the battlefield and was greatly respected by the troops. In terms of generalship, when he was successful, it was brilliant and failures would see a catastrophic result.
Loved the Civil War stuff, but glad to be back on Napoleon era content. I just bought a bunch of books on both eras, so your videos are all part of my education journey.
Some time ago I’ve read interesting paper about Ney, analyzing change in his performance in later stages of the napoleonie wars. There are valid if still debatable opinion, he could have had PTSD, at least since Great Retreat.
He was Viscount Wellington after the battle of Talavera in 1809, which was a few months after he defeated Soult at Porto, so he can be referred to as Wellington before 1814.
About Spain, I would like to quote Benito Perez Galdos, who said, more or less "people who were accustomed to send reports such 'We have taken Eisentdat, tomorrow we march on Vienna' were suddenly writing "after two days and nights we have taken the first house of Pobleta street. We do not know when we can take the second" I quote from memory here.
My 3 favorite Marshals are Ney, Massena and Soult with #1 for me being Massena. A brilliant commander with just some bad timing. A younger him at Spain could have given Wellington a run for his money I believe
I would recommend Historymarche video on Waterloo, it is among others about the mistakes made by Soult as chief of staff and the complicated mind of Napoleon mixed with confusing orders. I personally never quite understood the role of the chief of staff and the staff roles within an army, if any of you have good recommendations on that, would love to hear it. Also, I don't think we should judge Napoleon too harshly on appointing generals like Ney in high command, I recall Napoleon having health issues at the battle of Waterloo and I think Ney was his second in command. I also recall Napoleon having trouble finding competent generals for independent command and sometimes you have to turn to guys like Ney. Interesting commentary! Thanks for adding thoughts and views.
Something cool about Ney and Soult, they both went on to have Royal Navy ships named after them, The HMS Marshal Ney and HMS Marshal Soult. Something cool that the brits did to show respect to two of the greatest generals from this period.
Very interesting series. As someone whose sole knowledge about the Napoleonic wars comes from watching the movie ‘Waterloo’ (the actor who played Marshall Ney did look very like him) and the ‘Sharpe’ series, I would say Marshall Suchet seems the best to me. .
I played a board game by SPI, part of their quad series (4 battles in a campaign or war) on the Waterloo campaign. The name was Quarte Bras after the road junction where the final battle, Waterloo, was fought. The four map sheets combined so that you could play out the entire campaign against an opponent.
I read somewhere that Ney's courage at Waterloo, was a drive to die in battle, rather than what he knew would come to him if the battle failed.........
Yea i think alot of people change in war after they are wounded like the few examples you pointed out. When people are wounded they either become a bit craven and stay as far back as possible in the line or they push themselves harder for revenge
Actor Daniel O’Herlihy seems truly real Marshal Ney from the first moment of that epic movie "Waterloo" (1970): his straight gaze, his posture, his appearance, his thunderous voice expressed Ney's personality with incredible precision.
Moreover, Bernadotte (at that time the Crown Prince of Sweden) assigned financial support for his former comrade-in-arms widow Aglae and her four sons. Only for that we should respect Bernadotte.
36:35 Actually, almost all of the Marshals feuded with each other, Ney included. Though something that is interesting to me is that he got on well with Davout.
Marshal Ney got on well also with Suchet, Lannes, Bernadotte, Mortier, Augereau, Gouvion Saint-Cyr. And - the saddest paradox - with Marmont, who twice voted for his death penalty in the Chamber of Peers.
Patton would have thought he had been a Marshal of Napoleon in another life, just as he had been the reincarnation of several soldiers and generals throughout history, since Antiquity. At least, that's in the 1970 movie, I wonder if that's the reality.
Some historians suspect that Ney was suicidal by the end, having been horribly traumatized by the Russian retreat. It would somewhat explain his many charges that nearly killed him at Waterloo and why he didn’t take the chance to leave France.
"You think that because Wellington defeated you, he must be a great general. I tell you that he is a bad general, that the English are bad troops, and this will be over by lunchtime." That is textbook overconfidence if I've ever seen it.
Or (just a theory) an attempt to remain positive despite the (kinda) desperate situation Napoleon was in before Waterloo. As often said in this channel, Napoleon needed to win at least 10 Waterloo to just barely (maybe) be able to negociate with the allies. Napoleon knew that, and I can't help but think he just forced himself to see things positively just to cope with what he'll have to accomplish.
The main reason Suchet isnt higher on this list is because he wasnt selected as marshal in 1804. It made all the difference, imagine him having command 04-11. Even if you dont include 1804 onwards Suchet had more field officership experience than Davout and was more qualified to be marshal than many other marshals selected 1804.
@@Flo-pl5mg i like Augereau a little bit. Brune not so much, but his action at Pozzolo freed Moreau to have a good 1v1 with Archduke John at Hohenlinden.
Soult's change of conduct might not have been only about the wound at Genoa; in my opinion, the constant aggrandization and acclamations heaped on him by the Emperor might have gone to his head and his perspective of command changed to that of organization and commanding from the rear like Napoleon. He might have also perceived that it was no longer necessary for him to risk his life on the field as he was now a ranking commander within the Empire. This kind of attitude manifests in his later actions such as amassing riches and living a lavish lifestyle in the midst of a war. Personally the claims of him trying to seize the throne of Portugal might not have been too far fetched given his territorial behavior in Spain, it was as if he wanted to curve out a fief for himself in Andalusia. Suchet and Davout at Waterloo were the only missing ingredients to Napoleon's decisive victory. They both thrived in independent command and were equally the best tacticians at Napoleon's disposal. Ney should have been tasked with pursuing Blucher with clear orders to attack him at every opportunity like at Friedland when Napoleon set him on the Russian Left flank ordering him to charge at the enemy without looking neither right nor left. Although his advance was checked it allowed for Napoleon's center to advance and rout General Count Benningsen's army.
General Beresford would later invade the Viceroyalty of the Plate River (now Argentina). He got his ass handed to him by Santiago de Liniers and the Buenos Aires people
34:47 iirc names like de dieu mean that he was unexpected; either because the mother was thought to be past child bearing age or.. unable to conceive or something; I might be wrong; I seem to remember reading that about the name dieudonné 43:44 so I was curious and looked it up; that painting is in the louvre now so france didn't return it to spain (yet)
Regarding the Peninsular War (or the French Invasions, as we called them in Portugal 🇵🇹), may I suggest the channel Redcoat History whose podcast's 3rd season is about on the front on Portugal and Spain, and History Hit's episode on the building of the Lines of Torres Vedras ⚔️ The big names during the French Invasions are Wellington (of course), Beresford, Junot, Soult and Massena (had no idea that Ney had been here as well) Although the Invasions left the country in ruins, there are still to this day things we use from those times such as popular says (some quite funny) and gastronomy. It's truly amazing how after 200 years we still have these little bits of those times
I actually agree with Napoleon I think Suchet was probably his best General. I equate him a lot to Joseph E Johnston from the US Civil war in many ways or George Thomas. He excelled at every level of command and also excelled in independent command, administration, tactics, politics and logistics. Unlike most of the other Marshalls He also didn't seek glory over the lives of his men, didn't give Napoleon and other Marshalls headaches with constant bickering and rivalry and well liked and respected by other Marshall's and his officers. He was smart in terms of what battles he would fight he would only fight battles he knew were decisive and was always prepared. Ironically because where he went and was, things went smoothly and pretty calmly I think that's why it took him so long to get his Marshall's baton.
@@xenotypos For me they are equals in ability. Suchet to me is just as capable, competent and talented but he got along better with the other Marshall's than Davout did. Davout was constantly butting heads with Bernadotte, Berthier and Murat. Suchet was just not given as much opportunity to be put into positions where he could show his skills in the east since he was trusted with Independent command and by all rights he got given the most difficult positions imaginable especially in Spain and in the 100 days campaign but flourished and because things went so well with his leadership it ironically became a footnote.I truly believe if you put Suchet in Davout's position he would have been just as successful and quite likely there would have been less infighting.
@@xenotypos the thing is Davout was the least proven in terms of field officership experience prior becoming a marshal. Comparing it to Suchet up until 1804, Suchet was still skies ahead of him. The only difference was that Davout was given early marshal experience and command hence he had more of it. His victory at Auerstadt IMO was so overrated. Suchet’s handling of eastern spain as governor and marshal was alot harder than davouts handling paris. I dont think anything Davout did administration wise or in the field was something Suchet could not have accomplished also. But this is just my opinion.
I believe suchet also offered Ney and his wife a passport so they could get out of France after Waterloo (which Ney rejected) which may further explain his fall from favour after the Bourbon’s return
A key thing to mention regarding lorraine is that its the region that contains the birthplace of joan of arc. Meaning that though there was a large, german speaking population there, it was the spiritual heart of france as a nation, so germany taking it, against bismarcks wishes, guaranteed effectively unappeasable french revanchism.
If I may, Domremy is in the southern part of Lorraine (French speaking area), close to the border with Champagne, and as such wasn't in Alsace-Moselle which was lost to Germany. The duchy of Lorraine was annexed to France only in the middle 18th century (so even after Alsace). The spiritual heart of France would rather be in Champagne (Reims, the place of royal coronation and anointing), if you except Ile-de-France and Paris.
"Juan de Dios" is a very common name in Spanish speaking countries. I was amused when I saw its French variant and even more amused when you mentioned it.
Sir you should try reacting to Epic History Series "Belisarius" I'm sure you will find it enjoyable. How one general with limited support and manpower managed to secure gains all the while most of the higher ups doubt his loyalty but proved it again and again even until his death.
It's interesting that Soult had such a long military and political career after the napoleonic era. Of all of Napoleon's Marshalls he probably had the greatest political influence (after Bernadotte of course). His last tenure as prime minister ended only in 1847, so instead of the hated François Guizot ("Get rich"), it could've very well been him who faced the revolutionary masses in 1848. Also, the title of "General Marshall of France" was the highest military honour in french history. Only seven individuals were ever awarded this title, among them Turenne and the Duke of Villars. Soult was the last one.
Just my friendly reminder through every single one of the episodes of this series that Napoleon's crossing of the Alps was recently dropped by epic history and I would love to see you react to that next after you're finished with this series.
As far as I am aware Wellington was not actually given the title of Duke until around the end of the war as a reward for his leadership in the War especially in Spain
You can see how the top 6 is a big step up. Even if Massena (7th) would be there too if all his career was taken until account, as his best accomplishments happened BEFORE was made a marshall, and as this list is about accomplishments as marshalls.
What ??? Battle of Caldiero in 1805 against archiduke Charles ? Aspern-Essling resilience in 1809 ? Wagram ? And even not anymore at his prime he do his job against Wellington in Portugal
In my honest opinion, I think Suchet and Soult should change places. I think even though Soult was a great independent commander but his battle record is too mixed imo
I cannot believe they are going to rank Berthier (a top notch Chief of Staff but a hopeless field commander) as in the top three. Lannes and Davout no question but Berthier?
I was wondering if you knew if "If you want to spare me, aim for the heart." Is a common thing to say for people in high position to say facing a firing squad? This is the second marshal to have said it in this series.
Seems like suchet should be higher. He's one of the only few marshals who actually did well without Napoleon's babysitting. It's hard to argue ney is a better general than suchet.
The problem is achievements, Ney proved himself in most of the great battles of Napoleon. Suchet succeeded in everything he did, and alone, but in more modest battles and against easier targets (Spanish armies were for example not as difficult to fight as the British troops Soult had to fight). Of course, it doesn't mean Suchet wouldn't have done greatly in those jobs too, but we simply don't know as he couldn't prove himself fully. The list isn't speculative, it's about accomplishment that actually happened, but it's possible Suchet was as talented or more talented than Soult (he's not really comparable with Ney so I take Soult). As for Ney, he had his own qualities (in his role), and wasn't the most adored commander in the army for nothing.
@@xenotypos its funny because Suchet is the only non-1804 marshal who is in this lists top 6. It means his accomplishments alone on that short span of 1808-11 onwards was enough to include him even higher than Massena. He lack more marshal command experience, thats it. Soult, Massena and many many other marshals IMO would not be able to ditto Suchets accomplishments in eastern spain because they were all stupid looters. People here do not understand how hard it is to make safe a foreign region with counter-insurgency. Suchet had to face Spanish army, insurgents, the British navy while being a marshal AND governor.
If you’re interested in learning more about marshal Suchet in Spain, there are 2 books that cover the subject in great detail called “to conquer and to keep, the war for eastern spain”. I am in the process of reading them so I can’t really give a decent review
@@sjorsschrauwen5110 its a good read, Yuhan kim is a little bit neutral to Suchets accomplishments and does not over exagerrate. Try comparing it with Suchets own memoirs and also assessments by USMC.
12:50 it's worth noting that this took place in context where Spanish Monarchy was ludicrously unpopular as the king Ferdinand the 7th was attempting to reestablish absolutist rule. Much of the dissent was caused by Ferdinand's unwillingness to uphold the constitution of 1812 which was dictated by King Joseph, Napoleon's brother, because the liberal reforms contained within the document were very popular. Holding a mass to pray for Suchet's soul was an incredibly political act at the time. The 3 liberal years where the army led by many of the heroes of the Peninsular War deposed King Ferdinand had ended just 3 years ago. Perphas is was done to spite the current royal administration, perphas it was held because the people genuinely felt like they had a better lot under Suchet, I suspect it was some of both, doesn't diminish the fact that this would have been a very bold act of political resistance against King Ferdinand.
@@Akabari100 Yeah all his worst tendencies came to the surface during that time. If he simply did nothing during the 100 days his legacy would be even greater set. Though I wonder if that cavalry charge at waaterloo was purely a poor tactical decision on his part. or did he think so highly of himself that he would try to win some glory on the field.
@@nightking0130 I personally believe that he was trying to make up for his apprehensiveness during at Quatre Bras, where he should have been more aggressive in pursuing Wellington, whose army was disorganized trying to set up defensive lines.
I disagree a tad on chief of staff being good for a young, up and coming commander. It serves that role at times but i think its best served by a trained staff commander. Staff work is a separate skillset that deserves as much cultivation as field command and so rather than being a waiting room for commanders who will leave the role when field command becomes available, its best served as the top of its own branch with an experienced and devoted staff officer doing the job excellently rather than merely competently.
Given who Napoleon had available for the campaign that ended at Waterloo, he should probably have had Suchet as Chief of Staff and Soult in a field command with Ney perhaps leading the Imperial Guard and Grouchy commanding the cavalry since Murat wasn't available and Bessieres was dead. And then there's one more, who certainly might have made the Prussians more nervous than Grouchy did.
@@tibsky1396 That's who I'd want in place of Grouchy. Can't imagine he's have been as lethargic as Grouchy was. And the Prussians would have to remember what he did at Auerstaddt.
@@Some.cases. Not how I'd do it, and here's my reasoning. Suchet was a proven organiser and chief of staff, good at the job I don' think there's a better option among the Marshals (there are some generals who I think might work too) to take on that role. Grouchy had been a cavalry commander, usually the deputy to Murat or Bessieres. keep him with the cavalry and not in an independent command he wasn't suited for. Ney had history commanding Guard units, was still immensely brave but ideally suited to lead them into battle at a decisive moment. And that leaves Soult and Davout, and I think if you put them in the places historically occupied by Ney and Grouchy you get a rather different campaign. It's not going to win Napoleon his throne back because the Austrians, Russians, and various others are still coming. But I think it makes a better command team for the campaign Napoleon faces.
@@timnewman7591 I only stated that because Napoleon literally said in his memoir that if Suchet was there instead of Grouchy then he wouldn’t have had that outcome. I dont like Soult but he was the only effective marshal at that time to have more experience against Wellington. But his 12 hrs delay of the Charleroi plan costed Napoleon dearly. I dont really care where you put Suchet or Davout they always excel in their roles anyway.
Napoleon is right..Ney is a mad dog...extremely loved by his men, of incredible courage....but "he knows no more strategy than a simple drummer". Nevertheless...this man was devoted to the country until the end and it is a great sadness to have executed him...
8:12 Napoleon was smart, Marshal Marmon built roads in Croatia, taught local women on the island of Pag how to make "lace" known worldwide today as "Pag lace" rare outside of France, he gave great autonomy to the Croats, and he recruited top soldiers in elite guard As a result, life was better than under the Hungarians and Austrians, there were no rebellions, and soldiers served in Napoleon's army. Napoleon is quoted as saying to general Marmont: "I never had braver and better soldiers. Croatians, they are the best soldiers in the world. If I had only 100,000 Croatians, I would conquer the entire world!"
Napoleon dishonestly blamed Marshal Ney for the lost Waterloo battle. In fact, the French defeat was the complete fault of Napoleon himself, however, neither Napoleon, nor his blind admirers do not wish to recognize it. That's why Napoleon wrote such words about Ney in his memories in St. Helena.
Not really, he did not completely blame Ney for that. Where did you get that idea, heck Grouchy was more to blame than him, and there was D’erlon, and Soult. If Soult only did not delay the invasion for 12 hours and went with the Charleroi plan, Napoleon would have been at the central position.
@@RyanHere-fv4ho Everything was wrong done by Napoleon since the preparation for the battle campaign till the very end: 1) Napoleon sent the messenger to Paris on 11 of June inviting Marshal Ney to arrive to Belgium to command the left wing of the French army - i.e. only a few days before the battle! According to historians, there is nothing worse for any general than arrive to the battlefield on the eve of the battle. In result of that, Marshal Ney couldn't know the terrain of the battlefield etc., while Wellington, according to his own words "had this battlefield in his pocket a long time before". 2) Napoleon wrongly assigned Marshal Soult as his Chief of staff. Considering the fact that his former Chief of staff Marshal Berthier at that time was already dead, Napoleon would behave wisely appointing Marshal Suchet for that role, well-known for his perfect administrator's skills. 3) Napoleon wrongly assigned Marshal Grouchy to command the right wing of the army and pursue Prussians at Ligny. As we know, Grouchy completely failed to perform his task. If instead of Grouchy was Marshal Davout, the battle would be won. 4) Napoleon refused to commit his Imperial guard on the right moment and accused Ney that he behaved "like a madman leading the cavalry charge without infantry support". Therefore, Marshal Ney was blamed from "both sides of the barricade": he was considered guilty for the lost battle and even the lost Empire by the ardent Bonapartists - from one side; and considered guilty by the returned Royalists for his supporting Napoleon - from the other side. In result of that, his memory was constantly and undeservedly defamed on both sides.
@@Marguerite-tv4tq i agree with your statement on Suchet and Davout. But Soult was the right guy for the job though, he faced Wellington the most compared to other marshals. But on that as well, you could blame Soult for the 12 hrs delay of the invasion because he went for the Mons plan instead of the Charleroi plan, Napoleon would have been on the central position if it were not for that blunder by Soult and so the other factors would no longer have been significant, Ney, Grouchy, D’erlon.
Personally, I feel Suchet not only should’ve been the commander over all forces in the Spain/Portugal campaigns instead of Masséna, but should be ranked above Ney and Soult. Suchet was not egotistical or had other terrible personality traits, more or less got along with everyone, hardly lost any battles (in Spain of all places where others failed constantly), was extremely capable of independent command, had massive experience dealing with Guerrilla warfare, in great health/prime years, great administrator, and treated the Spanish population with fairness and compassion. The opening quote on Suchet’s portion was, in my opinion, the best compliment any Marshal received from Napoleon himself, alongside being acknowledged as his best marshal. The only downside with Suchet is that he was passed over by Napoleon as he wasn’t apart of his inner circle, which ironically is the same issue Napoleon faced in his earlier years of the military (Not what you know, but who you know). This led to Suchet being recognized much later than he should’ve been. As good as Napoleon was in evaluation of his marshals, just as the case with MacDonald, Napoleon grossly under-appreciated Suchet until it was too late to right his wrongdoing(s). He’s definitely my favorite amongst the marshals ( I saw the last three as well). As for Ney, he was undoubtedly the heart of Napoleon forces. His resilience was beyond human, and was always fighting side by side with his men, which boosted morale of the troops to levels they couldn’t fathom. In addition, he was a brilliant mind in his own right. In my opinion, every leader needs someone that is borderline psycho in walking the walk just as much as they talked the talk. Lol. However, one of my problems with Ney is that he was also prone to abandoning orders or assistance towards other marshals as well as Napoleon himself on a whim. No logic, just straight gung-Ho behavior, or as Chris mentioned a high risk, high reward character. Not to mention, he was short-tempered and was proven to not be a good army commander unless Napoleon had firm control over him. I find it ironic that Ney in his earlier years would pass over promotions, because he didn’t think he was deserving, yet gave other marshals a hard time that tried to order him around, until it was time for Ney to be in their shoes and he faltered badly. When there’s a fire, Ney is your savior. When there’s no fire, Ney will start one and will be unable to save anyone including himself. However, he definitely deserved his ranking, but I wouldn’t put him above Suchet nor would I put Soult above Ney. Finally, with Soult. He was dominant for the first half of his career and diminished greatly as time went on, similar to Masséna. Both Soult and Masséna’s health deteriorated to a point they shouldn’t have had the power they possessed, or at least, been more so advisors to Napoleon. That imprisonment changed Soult forever, and on top of that, he was another egomaniac that cared little for others and his constant pillaging is a perfect example of that. Overall, he was a Marshall that Napoleon could personally rely on and didn’t have to babysit, but his prime passed him by, and unlike Suchet he did everything a Marshall shouldn’t have done during the Spain campaign, including disobeying orders for his own agenda. I would put Suchet at Soult’s spot of No. 4.
Funny enough at queen victoria coronation in 1838, marshal soult attended the coronation and Wellington was there and said to soult "I have you at last" so fascinating
Wow, that is fascinating.
I was about to write this exact same comment, but good that you were quicker.
That is absolutely amazing. Wellington... the legend or demon depending on who you prefer
Bro queen victoria feels so recent and napoleonic stuff feels so far way I always forget they were only separated by like 2 decades.
Also I think it was more like "Wellington grabbed by Soults arm, and said that".
Fun fact about the trial of Marshall Ney
When his lawyer said that Marshall Ney could not be put on trial because he was german
Ney angrily shouted 'I am French and will always be French'
Which, technically, his lawyer was correct. Ney's home town was owned by Prussia at the time of his trial.
@@richeybaumann1755 Well not really correct, as he was technically born in it when it was french if I'm not wrong. The lawyer was just trying to find a little loophole.
@@xenotypos it might actually have worked if it wasn't for Ney or if the Prussians did not grant Ney Prussian citizenship
And considering that the Prussians wanted Napoleon dead they probably also wanted Ney dead aswel
@@richeybaumann1755 when Ney was born, SarreLouis was French for almost a century and had been created out of nothing as a French garnison town in German speaking land, populated by French speaking soldiers in order to assert the authority of the French monarchy. The Neys were soldiers of France from a long time, they had nothing German. Only the town was transfered to Prussia at the end of the Napoleonic war, but its population was not German speaking
@@richeybaumann1755
And his hometown is still in Germany
I'm also from the Saarland
To me Suchet is the best Marshal, loyal to the end, firm, won every battle, had independent command for most of his career and cared for civilians and his men. Yes, he didn't fight in the East but you can only face who's in front of you and it shouldn't be held against him.
It was because he wasnt selected marshal 1804. He is the only marshal not selected in that year but is in the top 6, how much more if had more experience.
Using civilians as human shields hardly indicates that Suchet cared about civilians. Plus he lost two battles.
And yet even USMC studied his approach to civilians in occupying foreign region. And never looted compared to Soult and Massena. You’re a funny guy i’ll give you that.
where did you get that from @@RussianEagles
@@swymaj02 Suchet wrote about it in his memoirs. Siege of Lerida, Volume 1.
“The soldiers were put in concentric movement to push the inhabitants along with the garrison to the upper streets and the citadel. They were knocked out by artillery fire street by street, house by house, to drive them into the castle. This was still going on, and the volleys increased the panic and danger to the civilians as they were thrown into the moat to the remnants of the garrison and pushed back to the drawbridge. Under the onslaught of our soldiers, they hurried into the castle courtyard before the governor could order that they be forbidden to enter. Our howitzers and mortars kept up a relentless bombardment all night and next morning. Every shell that struck the narrow space in which this crowd was situated fell on the close-knit masses of civilians as often as on the soldiers. It was calculated that the governor and the most determined officers would be influenced by the presence of these women, children, old men, and unarmed peasants, whom the general terror had suddenly plunged into despondency and fear of death. But, as General Suchet had hoped, his orders brought swift and decisive results.”
An anecdote about Ney. During the attack on Russia, Ney was riding on his horse with his officers and a group of Russian prisoners shouted: Marshal Ney!! Marshal Ney!! Ney stopped his horse and said "how do you know who I am??" The Russians answered him: "Marshal Ney, we've seen you charging at the head of your cavalry for 10 years!!"
Suchet also offered to smuggle Ney out of the country even though he knew the risks, but Ney declined.
Exactly so. Ney said: "Pourquoi pour moi la liberté au lieu de l'honneur?" (Why for me the freedom instead of honour?)
These words sound like a glorious epitaph.
@@Marguerite-tv4tqThat is hardcore
Marshal Suchet, great at every assignment you place him. If you want him as officer in the field, officer in desk, division command, corps command, marshal and governnor, he was great at every turn.
I wonder, is David Suchet, who played Poirot a relative of Marshall Suchet?
@@adrianainespena5654 i might try to look that up.
He was very flexible let's say.
Suchet is extremelly ridículous in Spain never never controlled the territory in extremelly very few time in Spain and Joseph brother of Napoleón they made fool temselves for exemple Valencia conquered in at the end of Napoleonic times in Spain 1 year only and Alicante never conquered ; Napoleón he made a fool of himself in Spain
I think he should be higher on this list for that reason. Out of all the Marshals, he's the only one who seemingly had no flaws, or atleast no significant flaws. He excelled at everything he did. I think he's top 3.
Suchet is my personal favorite out of all the marshals on this list. He's a capable commander, a superb administrator, he can be trusted in independent command and unlike most of the other Marshals in Spain, he was like "hey maybe if we're occupying another country, how about we treat the people with respect so they're not as likely to revolt." Heck, the fact that the people he formerly occupied prayed for his soul when he died, says a lot. I feel like he could have helped turn the tide in certain theaters of the war if he was just given the chance.
also can appreciate the fact that he never made a problem with not being made a Marshal until 1811
Suchet literally used civilians as human shields. He himself wrote about it in his memoirs, not ashamed of it, but even proud of such ingenuity.
@@RussianEagles Real human shields or just getting the civilians to help protect the soldiers? You should provide quotes because it sounds like it's taken out of context.
Grow up Russian eagles.
@@yashjoseph3544 he took it out of context, ive read his memoirs and even west points assessments to his civilian approach and many more nowhere does it say of any such thing. His just a hater.
Ney stands out to me among the rest of the Marshals as a true believer to the core. The man really did pass on every opportunity he had to save himself, though in his mind doing so probably would have cost him his honor.
At his trial, his lawyer tried to argue that his client could not be tried for treason, as Ney's hometown of Sarrelouis had been annexed by Prussia through treaty that same year, making him (technically) a citizen of Prussia. This prompted Ney to interrupt him by standing up, famously saying, "Je suis Français, et je resterai Français!"
"I am French, and I will remain French!"
Fun fact: Soult was also responsible for the creation of the French Foreign Legion in 1831. As Minister of War, he wanted to reform the French military and increase its strength, so he had the Legion created to bolster the army's numbers and help garrison the recently conquered Algiers. Apparently, when the Legion was created, the army detested it and was considered a lower posting. The Legion was even called the "Bastard of Soult". Funny story considering the legendary and fearsome reputation the Legion would later gain.
Wow he's the one that created it ? I saw a lot of stuff about the foreign legion but I never knew that.
In fact, the republican politicians were opposed to the fact that the Kings of France were using foreign personnal troops (Scotts and Swiss). Hence the création of the FFL. Multinational..but fordidden to be in mailnland France..hence Algeria
Am I the only one that thinks Marshal Ney is the most iconic Marshall. Certainly the most memorable of the later half of the Napoleonic wars. When your called the bravest of the brave, its hard to not be cemented in history. Also he has the most marshall look out of all of them. Also I agree with VTH. The actor Dan O’Herlihy is uncanny in resemblance to Ney. I think everyone would know him as the old man, head of OCP in Robocop
He's probably the most iconic marshall yes. You could call him the ultimate soldier, but not really the best general, to say the least. His flaws were part of the character though, it served him in some regards.
@@xenotypos yeah I know they are ranking on all factors but if it were for being a historical icon and the face of napoleons marshalls, he is #1.
@@nightking0130You don't need to be the most daring/brave/obnoxious to be the best. The number 1 (Davout) was literally not liked by many of the other marshalls (and not by Napoleon), but his achievements and (lack of) failures spoke for themselves
Ney really lived (and ultimately died) in accordance with his much deserved epithet: bravest of the braves.
He couldn't claim the military mastermind of Davout or the organizational skills of Berthier but he is undoubtedly the most fearless of all marshals. Being the highest-ranking officer in his corps and still commanding cavalry charges from the front is the stuff of legends.
As you said, Spain and Russia were the graveyards of the french empire, even the most tough marshals were traumatized like in the siege of zaragoza where marshal lannes said to napoleon that this conflict was a nightmare and had to end
I think Ney gets scapegoated at Waterloo. Ney called for the Imperial Guard to attack the British when they were still trapped in squares and Napoleon denied this request, but then had the Imperial Guard attack anyway when the British had reformed into lines on high ground. Wellington had been nearly be killed during Ney's attack by tirailleurs and having been trapped in square for some time, had lost track of the battle. This would have been the ultimate moment to strike with the Imperial Guard over open ground against infantry squares, but Napoleon was indecisive. Ney had successfully displaced Wellington from his superior defensive position and Napoleon did nothing with that.
Off topic but your Napoleon Total War alternate battles were very good
Could you provide a source for that. Not that I don’t believe you but I’m looking for a book on Marshal Ney and I’ve never heard that tidbit before.
@@ANonAmerican Which tidbit? Ney's cavalry attack on Wellington's infantry squares are practically ubiquitous knowledge.
@@Edax_Royeaux no not the cavalry charge, after the charge where you said it displaced wellingtons troops from an advantageous position and that Napoleon could’ve taken advantage but didn’t. I always hear Ney Naysayers blame him for Waterloo.
@@ANonAmerican British allied artillery was placed along the ridge. The fact that these artillery pieces temporarily were abandoned and under French possession during the cavalry charge would show that Wellington had to give up his defensive position at the top of the ridge to form his squares. There is the famous eye witness account of Ney striking a British artillery piece with his sword over the failure to spike those cannons and make them useless for the battle.
Almost all depictions of the calvary attack on the British Allied squares are portrayed on flat terrain and in descriptions of the battle, if is described as a "plateau", what the British formed square on, which is not defensive terrain. Numerous Waterloo documentaries mention that Ney called for the Imperial Guard to attack the squares and Napoleon had refused.
To quote from wikipedia
"With La Haye Sainte captured, Ney then moved skirmishers and horse artillery up towards Wellington's centre.[175] French artillery began to pulverise the infantry squares at short range with canister
The success Napoleon needed to continue his offensive had occurred.[179] Ney was on the verge of breaking the Anglo-allied centre.[178]
Along with this artillery fire a multitude of French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions behind La Haye Sainte and poured an effective fire into the squares.
Wellington, noticing the slackening of fire from La Haye Sainte, with his staff rode closer to it. French skirmishers appeared around the building and fired on the British command as it struggled to get away through the hedgerow along the road.
French tirailleurs occupied the dominant positions, especially one on a knoll overlooking the square of the 27th. Unable to break square to drive off the French infantry because of the presence of French cavalry and artillery, the 27th had to remain in that formation and endure the fire of the tirailleurs. That fire nearly annihilated the 27th Foot, the Inniskillings, who lost two thirds of their strength within that three or four hours.
During this time many of Wellington's generals and aides were killed or wounded including FitzRoy Somerset, Canning, de Lancey, Alten and Cooke.[185] The situation was now critical and Wellington, trapped in an infantry square and ignorant of events beyond it, was desperate for the arrival of help from the Prussians."
"This man is a Lion! His courage gave me Europe!" - Napoleon said about Marshal Ney after his decisive victory in the battle of Friedland on 14 June 1807. After this splendid victory Napoleon reached the apogee of his power, he actually became the master of Europe.
Here in Spain this is our "Independence War," 10% of the population died between battles, diseases and hunger. After the war many of the former guerrillas became "bandoleros" bandits. This became such a problem that our police force Guardia Civil was founded in 1844 to combat them. This banditry problem, and the Carlist Wars meant that Spain missed the first train of industrialization and would lag behind the rest of Europe for a century. Unrelated but I went to a reenactment of the battle of Albuera shown in the video when i was a kid!
so the peninsular war was worse than say the spanish civil war?
@@username.exenotfound2943 I personally think so. While our Civil war caused more deaths and massive devastation, the peninsular war left the country politically divided. Spain was VERY unstable until the first republic was deposed in... 1874! If you ever feel like having a headache I recommend you reading this period.
@@mahesito1943 would you say the division caused by the peninsular war was a cause for the spanish civil war?
@@username.exenotfound2943 Definitely, the Carlists were stil an active political party in 1936 and the idea of a spanish republic was born in this chaotic time. Nevertheless I think that the main causes for the war were 1. the loss of the Cuba and Philipines. 2. Economic crashes, first inmediately after WWI and later the great depression. 3. The disaster of Annual and the following dictatorship by Primo de Rivera. 4. And the most important one to me, the failure of the republic to maintain stability, which alienated the military.
😂😂😂
Ney's fanaticism was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. It made him want to prove himself but it also blinded him against thinking strategically. In the end Ney's execution took the bullet that really Napoleon deserved.
Ney loved France. Napoleon loved himself.
It was becasue he understood what Napoleon was that Bernadotte turned against him. A sad fact of the kings put by Napoleon was that they should rule for the benefit of Napoleon, not of the countries they ruled. Those countries had to provide riches and soldiers for Napoleon's wars, no matter what it cost them. Well, Bernadotte thought that his duty was to the Swedish people and acted accordingly. And unlike Napoleon, he had had enough of war. He even said that no territorial gain could compensate a country for the sons it had lost on the battlefield.
When I think of Ney, I always imagine the truly epic scene from "Warerloo" where he leads the doomed mass cavalry charge into Wellington's squares. The imagery and music in that scene is just perfect.
Ive watched all of these epic history Napoleon videos so many times. Hearing you compare these marshals to US Generals, see Ney to Patton, is some of the best content. Ive been looking forward to these coming out from you!
Your recent appearance on Drawn of History was so funny! "You look like the kind of guy that sits when he pees, and stands when he poops." 😂😂😂😂
Haha I had fun doing the script he sent me.
Words to live by if you wish to be considered wise. If you live with women in the same house the most important thing you will learn is to SIT DOWN when you PEE!
@@VloggingThroughHistory yeah it was a good job, i had a loud laugh.
Just got my UK exam results today, glad to say I passed them all with a grade 8 (A*) in history. Pretty much all my history revision was watching you react to WW1 content so thank you so much Chris.
Congrats!!! 😊
Congratulations on your success
Interesting bit of history about Ney’s trial.
His lawyer and deviance council actually managed to kind of find him a way out of it.
They noted that Ney’s home region after the changes in French boarders no longer resided in France. As such they could not prosecute him under French law but would have up gain the permission of the other kingdom to prosecute him first.
On hearing this marshal Ney stood up and to his own lawyer and those around declared “I am French, and will always be French” completely killing his own lawyers defence.
Ney stood by his actions and life and in many ways he went out as a soldier loyal to his country to the end.
And while he does live up to the title “Bravest of the Brave” in many ways he also lives up to the idea of the born soldier, for Ney very clearly showed what a Born Soldier is all about.
Imagine being Napoleon's 4th best Marshal and his quote about you ends up being "I should have had him shot." 😂😂
37:06 speaking of marshals serving under Massena, in the painting of the Second Battle of Zurich, each man prominently on horseback is a marshal. From left to right you have Masena, Oudonot, Mortier and Soult.
The fact that Ney gets a shout out as the bravest of the brave in the Sharpe novels, considering the protagonist of those books, should tell you all you need to know about him
Why are you trying to compare history with fiction?
@@mattiaskarlsson1386Because it’s fantastic realistic fiction?
maybe important to notice that the quotes about the marshals were made during his exile on st helena. So he was probably be a bit grumpy when he said that about Ney and Soult
34:40 That's a quite common name within countries with latin languages:
French: Jean de Dieu
Spanish: Juan de Dios
Portuguese: João de Deus
In Italian not so much
18:40 Jomini theory of war dominated in the US military academy btw, All civil war generals studied him,
My top three favourites are Suchet, Ney and Davout. But Suchet is the one that is really interesting because he never had the chance to prove what he's worth on the biggest battles.
Nay’s story is so fascinating he deserves a movie on his own
The Neys rearguard action part of the video is really epic, the music just gave me the chills
Unlike Alsace, Lorraine had always been both a Romance-Germanic region since Middle-Ages. There were the Lotharingian dialects, but also the Lorrain dialect, as part of "Langues d'Oïl".
Been waiting for you to get to this part, Suchet and Ney are my favorites.
Right at the end of Waterloo, as the Anglo-Prussian army was overrunning the French, Ney led the countercharge, exclaming "Come and see how a Marshal of France meets his death!" He was brave to the last.
I heard a story that claims that at one point during the retreat in Russia Ney's troops refused to go and fight a necessary rearguard action. They were broken, cold, hungry, and morale was shattered. All they wanted to do was run and get away before they either froze or were caught by the Russians, but doing so might cause much greater casualties in the army.
When he couldn't rally them, Ney rode off, either alone or with a small personal guard, to face the Russians. After Ney rode away, an officer shamed the troops into rushing after Ney and repulsing the Russians long enough for the French to retreat without collapsing. The bravest of the brave indeed.
Ney reminds me of Thomas Jackson and John Bell Hood. Hyper aggressive on the battlefield and was greatly respected by the troops. In terms of generalship, when he was successful, it was brilliant and failures would see a catastrophic result.
Jomini is a great swiss military writer...less known than Clausewitz but as brillant.
More brillant I think, he would be a perfect successor of Berthier as major general to Napoleon
Loved the Civil War stuff, but glad to be back on Napoleon era content. I just bought a bunch of books on both eras, so your videos are all part of my education journey.
For me if Suchet was given comand of armies in spain everything would turn out
different.He is my fav marshal for a reason
Some time ago I’ve read interesting paper about Ney, analyzing change in his performance in later stages of the napoleonie wars. There are valid if still debatable opinion, he could have had PTSD, at least since Great Retreat.
42:30 Arthur Wellesley didn't actually become Duke of Wellington until 1814
Earlier he had been made Viscount Wellington in 1809 after the Battle of Talavera.
He was Viscount Wellington after the battle of Talavera in 1809, which was a few months after he defeated Soult at Porto, so he can be referred to as Wellington before 1814.
About Spain, I would like to quote Benito Perez Galdos, who said, more or less "people who were accustomed to send reports such 'We have taken Eisentdat, tomorrow we march on Vienna' were suddenly writing "after two days and nights we have taken the first house of Pobleta street. We do not know when we can take the second" I quote from memory here.
My 3 favorite Marshals are Ney, Massena and Soult with #1 for me being Massena. A brilliant commander with just some bad timing. A younger him at Spain could have given Wellington a run for his money I believe
I would recommend Historymarche video on Waterloo, it is among others about the mistakes made by Soult as chief of staff and the complicated mind of Napoleon mixed with confusing orders. I personally never quite understood the role of the chief of staff and the staff roles within an army, if any of you have good recommendations on that, would love to hear it.
Also, I don't think we should judge Napoleon too harshly on appointing generals like Ney in high command, I recall Napoleon having health issues at the battle of Waterloo and I think Ney was his second in command. I also recall Napoleon having trouble finding competent generals for independent command and sometimes you have to turn to guys like Ney.
Interesting commentary! Thanks for adding thoughts and views.
Something cool about Ney and Soult, they both went on to have Royal Navy ships named after them, The HMS Marshal Ney and HMS Marshal Soult. Something cool that the brits did to show respect to two of the greatest generals from this period.
Ney likely was suffering from PTSD by Waterloo and his decision making was off.
Very interesting series. As someone whose sole knowledge about the Napoleonic wars comes from watching the movie ‘Waterloo’ (the actor who played Marshall Ney did look very like him) and the ‘Sharpe’ series, I would say Marshall Suchet seems the best to me. .
I played a board game by SPI, part of their quad series (4 battles in a campaign or war) on the Waterloo campaign. The name was Quarte Bras after the road junction where the final battle, Waterloo, was fought. The four map sheets combined so that you could play out the entire campaign against an opponent.
I read somewhere that Ney's courage at Waterloo, was a drive to die in battle, rather than what he knew would come to him if the battle failed.........
Fun fact about Soult, he created the French Foreign Legion
Not sure if Chris noticed it, but Soult's posision as the head of the council of ministers made him prime minister for almost a decade.
Finally back! Thanks Chris
49:40
Soult lives to see Napoleon's nephew lead the country.
I think Napoleon was ill on the morning of waterloo and Ney was 2nd in command and he took over
Yea i think alot of people change in war after they are wounded like the few examples you pointed out. When people are wounded they either become a bit craven and stay as far back as possible in the line or they push themselves harder for revenge
In any case, Oudinot would be part of the second choice. ^^
Actor Daniel O’Herlihy seems truly real Marshal Ney from the first moment of that epic movie "Waterloo" (1970): his straight gaze, his posture, his appearance, his thunderous voice expressed Ney's personality with incredible precision.
By the way, AFter Ney was executed, Bernadotte took in Ney's son and made him an officer in the Swedish army
Moreover, Bernadotte (at that time the Crown Prince of Sweden) assigned financial support for his former comrade-in-arms widow Aglae and her four sons. Only for that we should respect Bernadotte.
36:35 Actually, almost all of the Marshals feuded with each other, Ney included. Though something that is interesting to me is that he got on well with Davout.
Marshal Ney got on well also with Suchet, Lannes, Bernadotte, Mortier, Augereau, Gouvion Saint-Cyr. And - the saddest paradox - with Marmont, who twice voted for his death penalty in the Chamber of Peers.
Patton would have thought he had been a Marshal of Napoleon in another life, just as he had been the reincarnation of several soldiers and generals throughout history, since Antiquity.
At least, that's in the 1970 movie, I wonder if that's the reality.
Some historians suspect that Ney was suicidal by the end, having been horribly traumatized by the Russian retreat. It would somewhat explain his many charges that nearly killed him at Waterloo and why he didn’t take the chance to leave France.
"You think that because Wellington defeated you, he must be a great general. I tell you that he is a bad general, that the English are bad troops, and this will be over by lunchtime."
That is textbook overconfidence if I've ever seen it.
Or (just a theory) an attempt to remain positive despite the (kinda) desperate situation Napoleon was in before Waterloo. As often said in this channel, Napoleon needed to win at least 10 Waterloo to just barely (maybe) be able to negociate with the allies. Napoleon knew that, and I can't help but think he just forced himself to see things positively just to cope with what he'll have to accomplish.
Arthur Wellesley became Duke of Wellington in 1814. Prior to this he was Viscount Wellington, Earl of Wellington and Marquess of Wellington
The main reason Suchet isnt higher on this list is because he wasnt selected as marshal in 1804. It made all the difference, imagine him having command 04-11. Even if you dont include 1804 onwards Suchet had more field officership experience than Davout and was more qualified to be marshal than many other marshals selected 1804.
yeah, sure, although Davout had a certain military genius about him that made other men jealous --- including the Emperor
Masséna was the most qualified to be marshal.
But Suchet deserve to be marshal more than Bernadotte, Mortier or Augereau perhaps Brune to
@@Flo-pl5mg i like Augereau a little bit. Brune not so much, but his action at Pozzolo freed Moreau to have a good 1v1 with Archduke John at Hohenlinden.
Dan O'Herlihy plays Marshal Ney in the film Waterloo.
Napoleon kept all of his corps at different sizes so that an enemy could never estimate how many troops he was facing.
What they did to Ney was absolute horse s***.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Soult's change of conduct might not have been only about the wound at Genoa; in my opinion, the constant aggrandization and acclamations heaped on him by the Emperor might have gone to his head and his perspective of command changed to that of organization and commanding from the rear like Napoleon. He might have also perceived that it was no longer necessary for him to risk his life on the field as he was now a ranking commander within the Empire. This kind of attitude manifests in his later actions such as amassing riches and living a lavish lifestyle in the midst of a war. Personally the claims of him trying to seize the throne of Portugal might not have been too far fetched given his territorial behavior in Spain, it was as if he wanted to curve out a fief for himself in Andalusia.
Suchet and Davout at Waterloo were the only missing ingredients to Napoleon's decisive victory. They both thrived in independent command and were equally the best tacticians at Napoleon's disposal. Ney should have been tasked with pursuing Blucher with clear orders to attack him at every opportunity like at Friedland when Napoleon set him on the Russian Left flank ordering him to charge at the enemy without looking neither right nor left. Although his advance was checked it allowed for Napoleon's center to advance and rout General Count Benningsen's army.
General Beresford would later invade the Viceroyalty of the Plate River (now Argentina). He got his ass handed to him by Santiago de Liniers and the Buenos Aires people
34:47 iirc names like de dieu mean that he was unexpected; either because the mother was thought to be past child bearing age or.. unable to conceive or something; I might be wrong; I seem to remember reading that about the name dieudonné
43:44 so I was curious and looked it up; that painting is in the louvre now so france didn't return it to spain (yet)
Regarding the Peninsular War (or the French Invasions, as we called them in Portugal 🇵🇹), may I suggest the channel Redcoat History whose podcast's 3rd season is about on the front on Portugal and Spain, and History Hit's episode on the building of the Lines of Torres Vedras ⚔️
The big names during the French Invasions are Wellington (of course), Beresford, Junot, Soult and Massena (had no idea that Ney had been here as well)
Although the Invasions left the country in ruins, there are still to this day things we use from those times such as popular says (some quite funny) and gastronomy. It's truly amazing how after 200 years we still have these little bits of those times
I actually agree with Napoleon I think Suchet was probably his best General. I equate him a lot to Joseph E Johnston from the US Civil war in many ways or George Thomas. He excelled at every level of command and also excelled in independent command, administration, tactics, politics and logistics. Unlike most of the other Marshalls He also didn't seek glory over the lives of his men, didn't give Napoleon and other Marshalls headaches with constant bickering and rivalry and well liked and respected by other Marshall's and his officers. He was smart in terms of what battles he would fight he would only fight battles he knew were decisive and was always prepared. Ironically because where he went and was, things went smoothly and pretty calmly I think that's why it took him so long to get his Marshall's baton.
Even better than the Iron Marshall ?
@@xenotypos For me they are equals in ability. Suchet to me is just as capable, competent and talented but he got along better with the other Marshall's than Davout did. Davout was constantly butting heads with Bernadotte, Berthier and Murat. Suchet was just not given as much opportunity to be put into positions where he could show his skills in the east since he was trusted with Independent command and by all rights he got given the most difficult positions imaginable especially in Spain and in the 100 days campaign but flourished and because things went so well with his leadership it ironically became a footnote.I truly believe if you put Suchet in Davout's position he would have been just as successful and quite likely there would have been less infighting.
@@xenotypos the thing is Davout was the least proven in terms of field officership experience prior becoming a marshal. Comparing it to Suchet up until 1804, Suchet was still skies ahead of him. The only difference was that Davout was given early marshal experience and command hence he had more of it. His victory at Auerstadt IMO was so overrated. Suchet’s handling of eastern spain as governor and marshal was alot harder than davouts handling paris. I dont think anything Davout did administration wise or in the field was something Suchet could not have accomplished also. But this is just my opinion.
I always feel sorry for Ney as Napoleon and others seem to use him as a scapegoat for the defeat at Waterloo.
I believe suchet also offered Ney and his wife a passport so they could get out of France after Waterloo (which Ney rejected) which may further explain his fall from favour after the Bourbon’s return
A key thing to mention regarding lorraine is that its the region that contains the birthplace of joan of arc.
Meaning that though there was a large, german speaking population there, it was the spiritual heart of france as a nation, so germany taking it, against bismarcks wishes, guaranteed effectively unappeasable french revanchism.
If I may, Domremy is in the southern part of Lorraine (French speaking area), close to the border with Champagne, and as such wasn't in Alsace-Moselle which was lost to Germany. The duchy of Lorraine was annexed to France only in the middle 18th century (so even after Alsace). The spiritual heart of France would rather be in Champagne (Reims, the place of royal coronation and anointing), if you except Ile-de-France and Paris.
"Juan de Dios" is a very common name in Spanish speaking countries. I was amused when I saw its French variant and even more amused when you mentioned it.
Iam Spaniard and no know nothing Juan de Dios is a composite name but no frecuently
Sir you should try reacting to Epic History Series "Belisarius" I'm sure you will find it enjoyable. How one general with limited support and manpower managed to secure gains all the while most of the higher ups doubt his loyalty but proved it again and again even until his death.
It's interesting that Soult had such a long military and political career after the napoleonic era. Of all of Napoleon's Marshalls he probably had the greatest political influence (after Bernadotte of course). His last tenure as prime minister ended only in 1847, so instead of the hated François Guizot ("Get rich"), it could've very well been him who faced the revolutionary masses in 1848.
Also, the title of "General Marshall of France" was the highest military honour in french history. Only seven individuals were ever awarded this title, among them Turenne and the Duke of Villars. Soult was the last one.
Just my friendly reminder through every single one of the episodes of this series that Napoleon's crossing of the Alps was recently dropped by epic history and I would love to see you react to that next after you're finished with this series.
As far as I am aware Wellington was not actually given the title of Duke until around the end of the war as a reward for his leadership in the War especially in Spain
Was literally just wondering where the next episode was 😂
You can see how the top 6 is a big step up.
Even if Massena (7th) would be there too if all his career was taken until account, as his best accomplishments happened BEFORE was made a marshall, and as this list is about accomplishments as marshalls.
What ??? Battle of Caldiero in 1805 against archiduke Charles ? Aspern-Essling resilience in 1809 ? Wagram ?
And even not anymore at his prime he do his job against Wellington in Portugal
In my honest opinion, I think Suchet and Soult should change places. I think even though Soult was a great independent commander but his battle record is too mixed imo
I cannot believe they are going to rank Berthier (a top notch Chief of Staff but a hopeless field commander) as in the top three. Lannes and Davout no question but Berthier?
Suchet should've been ranked higher.
He made his reputation where everyone else, fellow Marshall's very much included, lost theirs.
I was wondering if you knew if "If you want to spare me, aim for the heart." Is a common thing to say for people in high position to say facing a firing squad? This is the second marshal to have said it in this series.
cant wait to see your reaction about Lannes
Surprised he wasn't #1
Seems like suchet should be higher. He's one of the only few marshals who actually did well without Napoleon's babysitting. It's hard to argue ney is a better general than suchet.
The problem is achievements, Ney proved himself in most of the great battles of Napoleon. Suchet succeeded in everything he did, and alone, but in more modest battles and against easier targets (Spanish armies were for example not as difficult to fight as the British troops Soult had to fight). Of course, it doesn't mean Suchet wouldn't have done greatly in those jobs too, but we simply don't know as he couldn't prove himself fully. The list isn't speculative, it's about accomplishment that actually happened, but it's possible Suchet was as talented or more talented than Soult (he's not really comparable with Ney so I take Soult).
As for Ney, he had his own qualities (in his role), and wasn't the most adored commander in the army for nothing.
Nah, Suchet is great and everything but Spain isn't Germany or Italy
@@xenotypos its funny because Suchet is the only non-1804 marshal who is in this lists top 6. It means his accomplishments alone on that short span of 1808-11 onwards was enough to include him even higher than Massena. He lack more marshal command experience, thats it. Soult, Massena and many many other marshals IMO would not be able to ditto Suchets accomplishments in eastern spain because they were all stupid looters. People here do not understand how hard it is to make safe a foreign region with counter-insurgency. Suchet had to face Spanish army, insurgents, the British navy while being a marshal AND governor.
He's dropped it with a fresh shave!
If you’re interested in learning more about marshal Suchet in Spain, there are 2 books that cover the subject in great detail called “to conquer and to keep, the war for eastern spain”. I am in the process of reading them so I can’t really give a decent review
@@sjorsschrauwen5110 its a good read, Yuhan kim is a little bit neutral to Suchets accomplishments and does not over exagerrate. Try comparing it with Suchets own memoirs and also assessments by USMC.
12:50 it's worth noting that this took place in context where Spanish Monarchy was ludicrously unpopular as the king Ferdinand the 7th was attempting to reestablish absolutist rule. Much of the dissent was caused by Ferdinand's unwillingness to uphold the constitution of 1812 which was dictated by King Joseph, Napoleon's brother, because the liberal reforms contained within the document were very popular. Holding a mass to pray for Suchet's soul was an incredibly political act at the time. The 3 liberal years where the army led by many of the heroes of the Peninsular War deposed King Ferdinand had ended just 3 years ago. Perphas is was done to spite the current royal administration, perphas it was held because the people genuinely felt like they had a better lot under Suchet, I suspect it was some of both, doesn't diminish the fact that this would have been a very bold act of political resistance against King Ferdinand.
39:50
Not exactly, but it kind of reminds me of the Empty Fort Strategy.
Parker from Woodbury, MN?! No way me too
Holy I’m ready.
Im surprised Ney isnt higher on the list. He’s probably the most famous out of all of them.
If he had died in the retreat from Moscow, I bet he would have been a top three Marshal. He got exposed in the 1813-1814 campaigns.
@@Akabari100 Yeah all his worst tendencies came to the surface during that time. If he simply did nothing during the 100 days his legacy would be even greater set. Though I wonder if that cavalry charge at waaterloo was purely a poor tactical decision on his part. or did he think so highly of himself that he would try to win some glory on the field.
@@nightking0130 I personally believe that he was trying to make up for his apprehensiveness during at Quatre Bras, where he should have been more aggressive in pursuing Wellington, whose army was disorganized trying to set up defensive lines.
Man these napoleon quotes are crazy😂
I disagree a tad on chief of staff being good for a young, up and coming commander. It serves that role at times but i think its best served by a trained staff commander.
Staff work is a separate skillset that deserves as much cultivation as field command and so rather than being a waiting room for commanders who will leave the role when field command becomes available, its best served as the top of its own branch with an experienced and devoted staff officer doing the job excellently rather than merely competently.
Given who Napoleon had available for the campaign that ended at Waterloo, he should probably have had Suchet as Chief of Staff and Soult in a field command with Ney perhaps leading the Imperial Guard and Grouchy commanding the cavalry since Murat wasn't available and Bessieres was dead. And then there's one more, who certainly might have made the Prussians more nervous than Grouchy did.
Davout ?
Davout instead of Ney, Suchet instead of Grouchy.
@@tibsky1396 That's who I'd want in place of Grouchy. Can't imagine he's have been as lethargic as Grouchy was. And the Prussians would have to remember what he did at Auerstaddt.
@@Some.cases. Not how I'd do it, and here's my reasoning.
Suchet was a proven organiser and chief of staff, good at the job I don' think there's a better option among the Marshals (there are some generals who I think might work too) to take on that role.
Grouchy had been a cavalry commander, usually the deputy to Murat or Bessieres. keep him with the cavalry and not in an independent command he wasn't suited for.
Ney had history commanding Guard units, was still immensely brave but ideally suited to lead them into battle at a decisive moment.
And that leaves Soult and Davout, and I think if you put them in the places historically occupied by Ney and Grouchy you get a rather different campaign.
It's not going to win Napoleon his throne back because the Austrians, Russians, and various others are still coming. But I think it makes a better command team for the campaign Napoleon faces.
@@timnewman7591 I only stated that because Napoleon literally said in his memoir that if Suchet was there instead of Grouchy then he wouldn’t have had that outcome. I dont like Soult but he was the only effective marshal at that time to have more experience against Wellington. But his 12 hrs delay of the Charleroi plan costed Napoleon dearly. I dont really care where you put Suchet or Davout they always excel in their roles anyway.
Napoleon is right..Ney is a mad dog...extremely loved by his men, of incredible courage....but "he knows no more strategy than a simple drummer". Nevertheless...this man was devoted to the country until the end and it is a great sadness to have executed him...
Lannes is my fav Marshal
Suchet - my personal favorite!
8:12
Napoleon was smart, Marshal Marmon built roads in Croatia, taught local women on the island of Pag how to make "lace" known worldwide today as "Pag lace" rare outside of France, he gave great autonomy to the Croats, and he recruited top soldiers in elite guard
As a result, life was better than under the Hungarians and Austrians, there were no rebellions, and soldiers served in Napoleon's army.
Napoleon is quoted as saying to general Marmont: "I never had braver and better soldiers. Croatians, they are the best soldiers in the world. If I had only 100,000 Croatians, I would conquer the entire world!"
Loooooool 😂
Fake news 😂😂😂
@@Flo-pl5mg nop, the roads still exist today
@@tihomirrasperic I speak about the end of your comment
Napoleon dishonestly blamed Marshal Ney for the lost Waterloo battle. In fact, the French defeat was the complete fault of Napoleon himself, however, neither Napoleon, nor his blind admirers do not wish to recognize it. That's why Napoleon wrote such words about Ney in his memories in St. Helena.
Can you explain how it's Napoleon's fault?
Not really, he did not completely blame Ney for that. Where did you get that idea, heck Grouchy was more to blame than him, and there was D’erlon, and Soult. If Soult only did not delay the invasion for 12 hours and went with the Charleroi plan, Napoleon would have been at the central position.
@@RyanHere-fv4ho Everything was wrong done by Napoleon since the preparation for the battle campaign till the very end:
1) Napoleon sent the messenger to Paris on 11 of June inviting Marshal Ney to arrive to Belgium to command the left wing of the French army - i.e. only a few days before the battle! According to historians, there is nothing worse for any general than arrive to the battlefield on the eve of the battle. In result of that, Marshal Ney couldn't know the terrain of the battlefield etc., while Wellington, according to his own words "had this battlefield in his pocket a long time before".
2) Napoleon wrongly assigned Marshal Soult as his Chief of staff. Considering the fact that his former Chief of staff Marshal Berthier at that time was already dead, Napoleon would behave wisely appointing Marshal Suchet for that role, well-known for his perfect administrator's skills.
3) Napoleon wrongly assigned Marshal Grouchy to command the right wing of the army and pursue Prussians at Ligny. As we know, Grouchy completely failed to perform his task. If instead of Grouchy was Marshal Davout, the battle would be won.
4) Napoleon refused to commit his Imperial guard on the right moment and accused Ney that he behaved "like a madman leading the cavalry charge without infantry support".
Therefore, Marshal Ney was blamed from "both sides of the barricade": he was considered guilty for the lost battle and even the lost Empire by the ardent Bonapartists - from one side; and considered guilty by the returned Royalists for his supporting Napoleon - from the other side. In result of that, his memory was constantly and undeservedly defamed on both sides.
that doesnt change that ney fcked it up at waterloo
@@Marguerite-tv4tq i agree with your statement on Suchet and Davout. But Soult was the right guy for the job though, he faced Wellington the most compared to other marshals. But on that as well, you could blame Soult for the 12 hrs delay of the invasion because he went for the Mons plan instead of the Charleroi plan, Napoleon would have been on the central position if it were not for that blunder by Soult and so the other factors would no longer have been significant, Ney, Grouchy, D’erlon.
Personally, I feel Suchet not only should’ve been the commander over all forces in the Spain/Portugal campaigns instead of Masséna, but should be ranked above Ney and Soult. Suchet was not egotistical or had other terrible personality traits, more or less got along with everyone, hardly lost any battles (in Spain of all places where others failed constantly), was extremely capable of independent command, had massive experience dealing with Guerrilla warfare, in great health/prime years, great administrator, and treated the Spanish population with fairness and compassion. The opening quote on Suchet’s portion was, in my opinion, the best compliment any Marshal received from Napoleon himself, alongside being acknowledged as his best marshal. The only downside with Suchet is that he was passed over by Napoleon as he wasn’t apart of his inner circle, which ironically is the same issue Napoleon faced in his earlier years of the military (Not what you know, but who you know). This led to Suchet being recognized much later than he should’ve been. As good as Napoleon was in evaluation of his marshals, just as the case with MacDonald, Napoleon grossly under-appreciated Suchet until it was too late to right his wrongdoing(s). He’s definitely my favorite amongst the marshals ( I saw the last three as well).
As for Ney, he was undoubtedly the heart of Napoleon forces. His resilience was beyond human, and was always fighting side by side with his men, which boosted morale of the troops to levels they couldn’t fathom. In addition, he was a brilliant mind in his own right. In my opinion, every leader needs someone that is borderline psycho in walking the walk just as much as they talked the talk. Lol. However, one of my problems with Ney is that he was also prone to abandoning orders or assistance towards other marshals as well as Napoleon himself on a whim. No logic, just straight gung-Ho behavior, or as Chris mentioned a high risk, high reward character. Not to mention, he was short-tempered and was proven to not be a good army commander unless Napoleon had firm control over him. I find it ironic that Ney in his earlier years would pass over promotions, because he didn’t think he was deserving, yet gave other marshals a hard time that tried to order him around, until it was time for Ney to be in their shoes and he faltered badly. When there’s a fire, Ney is your savior. When there’s no fire, Ney will start one and will be unable to save anyone including himself. However, he definitely deserved his ranking, but I wouldn’t put him above Suchet nor would I put Soult above Ney.
Finally, with Soult. He was dominant for the first half of his career and diminished greatly as time went on, similar to Masséna. Both Soult and Masséna’s health deteriorated to a point they shouldn’t have had the power they possessed, or at least, been more so advisors to Napoleon. That imprisonment changed Soult forever, and on top of that, he was another egomaniac that cared little for others and his constant pillaging
is a perfect example of that. Overall, he was a Marshall that Napoleon could personally rely on and didn’t have to babysit, but his prime passed him by, and unlike Suchet he did everything a Marshall shouldn’t have done during the Spain campaign, including disobeying orders for his own agenda. I would put Suchet at Soult’s spot of No. 4.
Loosers😂