So I saw a particularly [off the cuff tweet] (https://i.redd.it/4c67c2ur14e61.png) about the current Gamestop stock debacle and my inner pedant and semi-ironic Bonapartist leapt into action. Random tweets by unverified Twitter peeps are fair game, right?
First off, Napoleon did not invent mass conscription (henceforth referred to be the delightful French term Levée en Masse). The order was proclaimed by the Revolutionary government's National Convention on August 23rd, 1793, conscripting all unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 25 into the army. I won't go into the systems of conscription used by previous governments of other states (Like the Roman Republic) because it's not my area, but neither Napoleon nor the National Convention invented conscription either.
At the time of this decree, Napoleon was an unknown junior officer serving in Provence. He would achieve prominence later that year when he commanded the recapture of the naval anchorage at Toulon. But Napoleon wouldn't be in charge of the state, and thus in a position to make policy (like implementing Levée en Masse), until he and his fellow conspirators seized power in the Brumaire Coup of 1799.
Levée en Masse was a crucial party of France's early success in the Revolutionary Wars, most famously at Valmy. Napoleon continued to use it during his campaigns as a French officer and then during his time in power, but to characterize his victories as being attained through quantity over quality is doing him a great disservice. Rather than do a review of his battles to highlight his tactical skill, let us instead examine this alleged numerical superiority. The following is a list of his most famous victories (and Eylau) and the troop numbers for each side in the battle, with the more numerous side in bold.
| Battle | Napoleon | Allies |
|---|---|---|
| Rivoli | 19,000 | 26,000 |
| Marengo | 24,000 | 31,000 |
| The Pyramids | 20,000 | 25,000 |
| Austerlitz | 75,000 | 95,000 |
| Jena | 40,000 | 50,000 |
| Eylau | 75,000 | 76,000 |
| Friedland | 60,000 | 84,000 |
| Eckmühl | 70,000 | 75,000 |
| Wagram | 171,000 | 172,000 |
| Somosierra | 45,000 | 20,000 |
| Borodino | 190,000 | 160,000 |
| Six Days' Campaign* | 30,000 | 120,000 |
| Ligny | 68,000 | 84,000 |
(All numbers from Wikipedia, using the high estimates for both sides.)
*This was a series of four battles fought over Six Days, not a single battle in which he was outnumbered 4:1, but the point still stands and he was outnumbered in 3 out of 4 of the battles.
Call me crazy,
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For all I know this is well known in the hobby/game/lore but I couldn't help thinking about the grim dark future while reading this from 1793 France.
The Levée en Masse. August 23 1793. The first time that war would become 'total'. Involving all elements of a society.
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From this moment until that in which the enemy shall have been driven from the soil of the Republic, all Frenchmen are in permanent requisition for the service of the armies. The young men shall go to battle; the married men shall forge arms and transport provisions; the women shall make tents and clothing and shall serve in the hospitals; the children shall turn old linen into lint; the aged shall betake themselves to the public places in order to arouse the courage of the warriors and preach the hatred of kings and the unity of the Republic.
The national buildings shall be converted into barracks, the public places into workshops for arms, the soil of the cellars shall be washed in order to extract therefrom the saltpeter.
The arms of the regulation caliber shall be reserved exclusively for those who shall march against the enemy; the service of the interior shall be performed with hunting pieces and side arms.
The saddle horses are put into requisition to complete the cavalry corps the draft horses, other than those employed in agriculture, shall convey the artillery and the provisions.
The Committee of Public Safety is charged to take all necessary measures to set up without delay an extraordinary manufacture of arms of every sort which corresponds with the ardor and energy of the French people. It is, accordingly, authorized to form all the establishments, factories, workshops, and mills which shall be deemed necessary for the carrying on of these works, as well as to put in requisition, within the entire extent of the Republic, the artists and workingmen who can contribute to their success.
The representatives of the people sent out for the execution of the present law shall have the same authority in their respective districts, acting in concert with the Committee of Public Safety; they are invested with the unlimited powers assigned to the representatives of the people to the armies.
Nobody can get himself replaced in the service for which he shall have been requisitioned. The public functionaries shall remain at their posts.
Indonesian law allows the government, authorized by the president, to institute a mass conscription; President Rakhmatia will not miss this opportunity. While Malaysia is pacified, we still need to keep considerable troop numbers in Borneo for further pacification and the maintaining of peace and tranquility.
Rakhmatia has put into effect her plan- dubbed The Dual Threat Solution- to conscript enough men to send mostly to Borneo, while the established Indonesian armed forces move to Mainland China (along with some of the conscripts).
100,000 active duty soldiers will be raised through this mass conscription, along with 100,000 reserves, who will receive light training.
