History Hive

Who is your favourite historical NEET?

‘I am fed up with humankind... I need solitude and isolation; greatness has damaged me; all feeling has dried up. Glory already lacks lustre at the age of twenty-nine; I am all used up. There is nothing left for me to do but become a complete egoist!’ - Napoleon, aged 29

"Either Germanic ideals or Anglo-Saxon ones must prevail. Justice, freedom, honour and virtue will triumph, or the worship of money. There can be only one victor in this struggle" Wilhelm II, German Emperor, 18th July 1918

>flee to Britain before armistice >offered broadcast time on BBC >made leader of Free France despite no legitimacy >given arms and supplies >refuse to share intel with the British >veto Britain's entry into the Common Market twice after the war What the fuck was his problem?

What do you think was his greatest mistake?

Marshal Lannes was in fine form in his final battle. Captain Marbot, his aide-de-camp, reported: ‘Marshal Lannes advanced bravely over the plain, nothing could stand in his way... in one instant he captured a complete battalion, a standard and five guns.’

I would say Borodino. How many good men died because an out-of-shape Napoleon was worryingly ill, had hardly slept, and had been drinking on an empty stomach?

Wellington did write that he did not think Waterloo would have been won without him, vain, but probably true. That said, I don't think it could have been done with a different Prussian commander. Blucher was essential, his determination and belief was key to the victory