58
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Accepted
How were Martello towers supposed to work?
That was the whole idea behind it. Not every bit of coastline is liable to invasion. Only on certain beaches troops could be landed. Steep cliffs and dangerous shallows didn't need protection. Place a ...
- 20.9k
43
votes
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Capturing a much larger ship?
Yes, the bit in Master and Commander was based upon the real life action between the 14-gun H.M.B Speedy and a Spanish 32-gun Xebec-frigate named El Gamo in 1801.
The British commander, Lord Thomas ...
- 19.3k
33
votes
What is the context for Napoleon's quote "[the Austrians] did not know the value of five minutes"?
In his book Pushing to the Front (1894), Orison Swett Marden wrote:
Napoleon laid great stress upon that ‘supreme moment,’ that ‘nick of time’ which occurs in every battle, to take advantage of ...
- 4,656
32
votes
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Are there historical instances of the capital of a colonising country being temporarily or permanently shifted to one of its colonies?
You might count Free France from 1940–1944:
Capital:
Brazzaville (1940–1943)
Algiers (1943–1944)
Like Byzantium (that is Roman Empire capital becoming Constantinople), Trier ...
- 80.8k
32
votes
How much louder was a Napoleonic era cannon than a musket?
From inspecting the French and Russian Orders of Battle for Borodino, I get a rough total of 113,000 musket-armed French with 700 guns against 106,000 musket-armed Russians with 614 guns. In total, ...
- 72.3k
30
votes
Accepted
Which general rebuked the King of England over logistics?
This is a famous if apocryphal letter, traditionally attributed to Wellington during the Peninsular War, though I wouldn't be surprised if a variant floating around transposed it to America a ...
- 9,112
28
votes
Accepted
Did Napoleon plan to invade India?
The answer is a very solid yes although I'd prefer the word Intervene rather than invade.
India was one of the key possessions of British and Indian trade was crucial to British economy at that time....
- 8,185
28
votes
How were Martello towers supposed to work?
I think that the towers have to be considered in context. They were just part of the defenses, which included gunboats and inland fortifications, that were intended to repel a French invasion during ...
- 19.3k
26
votes
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What are these hats and the function of those wearing them (worn by the Russian imperial army at Borodino)?
Those seem like the mitre caps which would be part of grenadier uniform in many armies of the time, including imperial Russia. I don't have a good source there but here's an example of a very similar ...
- 1,323
20
votes
Are there historical instances of the capital of a colonising country being temporarily or permanently shifted to one of its colonies?
Taipei
Kuomintang's Republic of China moved its capital from Chengdu (and originally, from Nanjing) to Taipei, Taiwan on 7 December 1949, after several defeats against Chinese Communists.
Officially ...
- 5,839
19
votes
Accepted
Why did United Kingdom not keep the colonies after Napoleon's defeat?
Unlike the earlier European wars of the 18th Century, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, from a British perspective, were not about acquiring or retaining territory. The purpose of war for ...
- 19.3k
17
votes
How much gunpowder could the average Napoleonic ship of the line carry?
A quick search on the HMS Victory leads us to militarynavalhistory.net, where they have this to say concerning the armaments of the Victory:
The armament comprised thirty 32-pound cannons in the ...
- 38.7k
16
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of this pre-industrial naval depiction
Based on your reading of the signature I did some googling and can offer the hypothesis (just a guess, really) that the artist might be Rudolf Claudus. He was a naval painter of note who was ...
- 25.7k
15
votes
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Why did Napoleon divide his army during the retreat from Smolensk?
Organization of disorganization
First of all, we must note that armies in general tend not to travel in one enormous body of men, horses, vehicles etc ... This was true in Napoleonic times as it is ...
- 11.2k
13
votes
During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?
The French revolution was truly revolutionary, it replaced the monarchy with a regime based on popular support. A king had to hire mercenaries, the revolutionary regime could draft patriotic citizens ...
- 16.8k
13
votes
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Why did water stored on premodern ships "go brackish" or "go bad" while at sea?
I think there are a few issues to consider.
Firstly, how pure is the water to start with? Even in their home ports, the water was often taken from local water sources that wouldn't be considered ...
- 19.3k
12
votes
During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?
The French Revolution was more empowering than debilitating. Put another way, it awoke a sleeping giant.
At the time of the Revolution, France was the second most populous country in Europe (after ...
- 104k
11
votes
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Why were some Napoleonic battles fought at sea?
By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, most of the European nations had overseas empires and trade missions. International commerce was reliant on sea transport (and even what was essentially 'internal' ...
- 19.3k
11
votes
Until when did Russia occupy Paris after 1814
It would appear the 1814 occupation of Paris lasted for 2 months, beginning on March 31,1814, the culmination of the Battle of Paris
On March 31 Talleyrand gave the key of the city to the Tsar. Later
...
- 38.7k
11
votes
Accepted
Where did France build up its fleet in 1805-1814?
Where were these 80 French Ships of the Line constructed? In all of the same ports, harbors and rivers of France that the previous ships had been, with the addition of other construction yards in ...
- 19.3k
10
votes
What is the context for Napoleon's quote "[the Austrians] did not know the value of five minutes"?
Marden is possibly cribbing from chapter 7 of John Gibson Lockhart's The history of Napoleon Buonaparte which seems to have been published in 1829 and reissued many times since. Lockhart wrote about ...
- 5,819
10
votes
Accepted
What do we know about the squadron that evacuated Moore's force after Corunna?
The Naval Chronicle (Vol 21) gives some additional information on the rescue fleet (that gives a significantly larger value for the number of transports).
Plymouth, Jan. 23.
Arrived this morning ...
- 19.3k
10
votes
How much louder was a Napoleonic era cannon than a musket?
The noise of a firearm comes from the free-air expansion of high-pressure gas escaping the muzzle. The sound from multiple guns does not add up linearly. Each gun's sound is a single pulse of pressure....
9
votes
How accurate is the book "Rifleman Dodd"?
Rifleman Dodd is a work of fiction that is based upon and in real world events. Forester was a keen history buff and he did a lot of research which went into his books. For example, his more famous ...
- 19.3k
9
votes
Why did Napoleon march to Moscow instead of Saint Petersburg?
Napoleon's initial objective was defeating Russian army in a border battle. Immediately after that he was planning to start negotiations and, among other things, to restore the alliance with Russia. ...
- 4,308
9
votes
Accepted
During the Peninsula War, what British material aid was given to Spain/Portugal?
The most significant contribution that Britain made to the Portuguese and Spanish military was in the form of cash. This allowed them to recruit & pay their soldiers and supply them with food &...
- 19.3k
9
votes
How were Martello towers supposed to work?
From BBC History site:
Martello Towers were the idea of Captain William Ford of the Royal
Engineers and they were sited roughly 600 yards apart and each mounted
a long-range 24 pounder cannon. ...
- 6,313
8
votes
Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?
Without getting too involved in a discussion of terminal ballistics, the Napoleonic period armour certainly offered some protection against firearms, but it was only effective up to a point. This ...
- 77.3k
8
votes
Why was France given such a lenient peace after Napoleon was defeated?
Moreover, the aim of the coalition wars was not only to stop the revolution before and Napoleon after, but also to restore the monarchy in France, because the ideas of the revolution put at risk all ...
- 286
8
votes
Why did the other Continental European powers keep trying to fight Napoleon before 1813 despite being beaten by him so often?
There are some assumptions you've made, which are all too easy to do when judging historical events from a modern lens:
Hindsight is 20/20. We know that Napoleon would beat them again and again, but ...
- 14.5k
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