Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 60

Defense master, offense genius – 6

The battle at dawn on October 17, which began with a surprise French attack, was named the Battle of the Arlanzón River. This was the first historic battle between Napoleon Bonaparte, a continent-winning war genius, and Arthur Wellesley, the guardian deity of England and the peninsula.

It was clear that it was the French forces, including Napoleon, who first turned back and retreated. But the actual loss and damage that had to be endured was much greater on the side of the coalition. It was virtually a defeat for the Allies. Nevertheless, the leaders of the coalition bought war correspondents and launched a major propaganda campaign, claiming they had won the Battle of the Arlanzón River. This was a political decision considering external public opinion (especially Austria, Prussia, Russia, etc. that were carefully looking at this war).

On the other hand, France, the de facto winner, had plenty of time.

They ended the propaganda by sneaking up practical evidence, including the Allied flags, British-made field artillery and Allied prisoners, which they captured in the battle. It was a way to tell the neutral countries who was victorious in the Battle of the Arlanzón River and which side they should be on.

The Battle of the Arlanzón River was a battle that showed not only Napoleon Bonaparte and Arthur Wellesley’s tactics, but also their personal tendencies and values, as well as the political situation in which they were. Napoleon moved with boldness and, if he was not successful, stepped down without hesitation. He did not actively talk about the victory and worked hard to establish military discipline.

On the other hand, Wellesley put stability and moderation first, was obsessed with merit and winning, and was sensitive to foreign political opinion. This showed the difference between the Emperor, the number one in the Empire, and his enemy who was only the commander of the military, and at the same time…

– Excerpt from “History of the War on the Iberian Peninsula’ –

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Since then, the Wellesley and Napoleon Corps continued sporadic skirmishes and explorations, with the Arlanzón River between them. But it rarely occurred for the entire large corps to confront each other, like in the Battle of the Arlanzón River. Perhaps the biggest battle since then was the fight between the cavalry who were aiming for the rear supply unit. Here, Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Marshal of the French Empire, played a major role in defeating the British cavalry.

“Your bravery and determination are the greatest of the Empire!’

Napoleon praised his performance in front of everyone, calling it ‘heroic’.

It was part of the showmanship to raise the spirit of the loyal Marshal Bessières and to boost the soldiers’ willingness to fight… It was also because a large-scale battle was not taking place. Since the battlefield was so quiet, this battle between hundreds of cavalrymen had been drawing attention and was being treated as the biggest battle in the past years.

Far away in the East, there is a saying, ‘An expert recognizes an expert’.

The Napoleon and Wellesley Corps were fighting ‘timid battles’ without full-scale fights like before because they had recognized each other’s strength in one fight. Therefore, the two commanders tried to only fight at the time and place where they could benefit.

If the French were judged to have the advantage on a battlefield, the Allies withdrew without hesitation. The same was true for the other side. Both sides never tried to fight a losing battle. Napoleon had expected this to some extent while he was preparing for the expedition to the peninsula.

In the meantime, time had passed steadily and it was already the last week of October, three days before November.

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Napoleon’s army had marched over 1,000 kilometers within a month to break through the entire peninsula.

After the march and the first battle that shocked Europe, the troops remained in place for more than 10 days afterwards as if they were hibernating bears. Many words came from within the Empire or from the occupied Iberian territories, but they stayed there. Sitting in Burgos, Napoleon was enjoying his time at war here, even dealing with his duties as an Emperor.

What Napoleon was most interested in these days was observing the small but big changes taking place within the French Empire. Starting with the abolition of the Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree, Napoleon had been doing so many things, including the abolition of media and cultural censorship, the introduction of the machinery industry, and the reform of taxation and tariffs.

As each change had a ripple effect, like a bomb shaking the entire Empire, it drew a variety of repercussions. Of course, not all of them were good.

La Gazette: How is the situation in your pocket? The government promised to cut taxes, but the total amount of taxes citizens have to pay was measured to have increased…

Mont-Blanc: The removal of tariffs between the regions will eventually lead to the domination of big cities such as Paris! For balanced regional development, it should urgently be revised…

Garden of Poncede: French men freed from the military, but caught committing various crimes as they could not control their blood… Some argue that we should re-conscript them…

It was natural for side effects to multiply as massive transformation was taking place in a short period of time. The more liberal atmosphere in the media and cultural circles pointed out these issues. Despite this, however, it was difficult to find criticism or political offensive against Napoleon himself, the essential cause of the above-mentioned events.

Perhaps it was because the majority of the citizens of the Empire supported him at this point, and his popularity was not subsiding due to the success of external expeditions. Napoleon’s popularity now was curiously high, even though it had faltered greatly only a while ago.

“What do people think of Carnot’s torture?”

“At least there are no words from within the Special Economic Committee. Everyone acknowledges his ability and admires the Emperor’s eye for recommending such a talented person.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Napoleon smiled lightly.

They could not attack the main culprit (Napoleon) of this social turmoil, so they seemed to be turning to the Imperial Council or the Cabinet, especially François Carnot and the advisors of the Special Economic Committee.

Since the day Carnot took office as an advisor, he had been treating the corrupt bureaucracy. The media and Parisian intellectuals disapproved of Carnot’s move and even pointed out that he was of mixed blood between Germany and France. However, Carnot performed his duties thoroughly and perfectly without batting an eye. He also took the time to write letters to Napoleon from time to time.

It could be seen as flattery in front of the Emperor, but it was impossible for the Francois Carnot Napoleon knew. It was clear that the officials of the Special Economic Committee, who had been looking at him with distrust, now understood that he had been recruited solely on his abilities.

Now, it was time for him to go beyond the inside of the committee and to be recognized by the entire cabinet and even France. Because François Carnot was such a talented person.

Napoleon thought that Carnot was very satisfied with his work (this was, of course, from Napoleon’s perspective).

“We’re just going through a transition period. Can we get rid of the evils that have been accumulated since the previous monarchy… no, the republic, and move on to a new country? Aren’t there actually positive indicators?”

“Th-that’s right, Your Majesty!”

They could not help but be embarrassed because he was directly talking about the republic and monarchy, which were topics that had been so strictly prohibited and controlled in the past.

Leaving the committee officials and secretaries alone, Napoleon could feel the beat of the ‘economy’ that had not moved for a long time. It was only a short period of time, less than a few months after the full-fledged reform system began. However, a series of measures taken by Napoleon to solidify the framework and by Carnot to fill the pieces were certainly working.

As soon as the abolition of tariffs was active, and when the easing of trade regulations began to put money in the hands of citizens engaged in commerce and industry, investment in new industries and consumption in the city as a whole increased. The rural economy, which was supplying grain and meat from them, was also revitalized.

With the abolition of the Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree, young and healthy men were discharged from the military, and the job market began to be crowded. They eagerly worked to earn a living for their families, and became the growth engine for the Empire to move forward.

‘In order to boost a long-suffering economy, it’s also a great thing to bring new life to the whole country.’

The creature of the economy was so fascinating, as it remained in place without growing no matter what policy was taken, up until a certain point.

It took a heavy step only when a shock, vitality, or strong promotion was applied to overcome the threshold of that boundary point. Such tangible results would not have been achieved without the abolition of the Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree, the abolition of tariffs between regions, investment in new industries, and the lifting of trade regulations, happening all at the same time.

Once the growth of the economy had begun, it would continue to do so, even if no further actions were taken, but it could soar more steeply if the right path was set and the obstacles in the middle were cleared.

More efforts were needed for France to enter this stage.

‘Money should circulate to increase added value. The revision of tariffs and trade laws seems to be on track, so we should prepare for a tax reform soon.’

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A rational and proper tax system was one of the most decisive factors that made the country wealthy. It was also a field in which François Carnot of the other world truly blossomed his talents.

‘I like the British model, too. But the others who led France before me, why on earth didn’t they accept the good things, and hold on to this…’

The country with the most advanced and efficient taxation and tariff systems in the world was France’s archrival, the United Kingdom. It was also the decisive reason why it was possible to fight on an equal footing with France in spite of its land area and population, which was only one-third of France. Napoleon had always argued that excellent systems and technological innovation should be accepted without prejudice, no matter which country they were from.

In Napoleon’s perspective, it was really hard to understand that many of the leaders who ruled France in the past did not accept Britain’s advances (whether in institutions or technology) to protect their pride. As long as the country was rich and its citizens prosperous, copying Britain was nothing, right?

The active imitation and acceptance of the British mechanical revolution was made in that sense. If they did not want to be eaten and to fall behind, they had to develop eventually. It was foolish to add justification and pride in that development. That was how competition was between countries.