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Why did Napoleon do it? Hubris, security dilemmas, brinksmanship, and the 1812 Russian campaign. (2011)

“Of all of Napoleon’s blunders, none was more destructive and self-defeating than his decision to invade Russia. So why did Napoleon do it? Of course, Napoleon never imagined such an apocalyptic outcome.

Professor William Nester, Department of Government and Politics, St. John’s University, New York City.

Diplomacy and Statecraft, Volume 22, Issue 4, 2011. Publishers Taylor and Francis Group.
Published online 06 Sep 2013

Of all of Napoleon’s blunders, none was more destructive and self-defeating than his decision to invade Russia. The statistics are mind-boggling. Of the 600,000 troops that he led across the Niemen River in June 1812, only about 20,000 could be accounted for when the remnants of that grandest of his armies stumbled back half a year later.

So why did Napoleon do it? Of course, Napoleon never imagined such an apocalyptic outcome. Yet his anticipation of victory rather than defeat does not explain why he organised the largest army then in history and invaded Russia. His reasons for doing so were complex but boiled down to a toxic psychological mix of hubris, security dilemmas, and brinksmanship.

Access the full article here: Why did Napoleon do it?

Further reading on this site at: Napoleon’s tragic march home from Moscow: Lessons in hubris

 

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