How are Clausewitzian concepts (if any) illuminated by Napoleon's experience - Essay Example

How are Clausewitzian concepts (if any) illuminated by Napoleon's experience? Napoleon's reign as the most powerful man in Europe embodied Clausewitz's most famous maxim that war is politics by other means. The early 19th century saw Napoleon and France lead an empire that stretched across most of the Continent and reshaped the ways millions of people lived their lives. Clausewitz's concept was at the heart of Napoleon's activities. Without this maxim, Napoleon's legacy would be one merely of suffering and death.

Napoleon was a military general and emperor like no other. Not only did he fight fierce battles and conflicts using wholly original military strategy, he did not simply leave behind him in his wake subject nations and peoples. Instead, he used his military victories over neighbouring countries to instill in them new institutions and codes of law. He introduced new forms of education and ways of doing politics. The introduction of various civil codes throughout Europe were perhaps his greatest achievement (McLynn, 255).

He himself believed his Civil Code would long outlast any of his military glories (Wanniski, 184). But they could not have been introduced without the wars that preceded them. Napoleon was a genius when it came to warfare and operations, but he had a larger vision too (Archer, 380). Napoleon had a vision for Europe and for France. He felt that certain principles should be at the forefront of the Continental way of life. He was clearly an operational genius with respect to military affairs, but he also embodied, more than anyone, the Clausewitzian maxim that war is politics by other means.

Work consulted Archer, Christon I.; John R. Ferris, Holger H. Herwig. World History of Warfare. University of Nebraska Press, 2002. McLynn, Frank. Napoleon. Pimlico, 1998. Wanniski, Jude. The Way the World Works. Regnery Gateway, 1998.