Dispatch 29
Added 2024-11-19 03:42:52 +0000 UTCHere is the twenty-ninth patrons-only Dispatch. Topics include: post-traumatic stress disorder among Napoleonic soldiers, the role of women in Napoleonic armies, and the remarkable life of Lady Hester Stanhope.
Don't forget to leave any questions for the next dispatch below. And once again: thank you for your support!
Comments
Your account of why Napoleonic soldiers did not suffer as much PTSD as modern soldiers makes a lot of sense, because one of the other common causes of PTSD is abusive relationships, which also create a sense of pervasive low level terror which can fundamentally shake someone's sense of security.
m
2025-05-06 19:02:36 +0000 UTCWhat in your mind is the battle we've covered that most exemplifies Napoleon's approach to battles? The battle that isn't necessarily his most famous or strategically important but that best demonstrates his idiosyncratic approach to battle, e.g. taking a decisive approach, seizing the central position, dividing his enemies? P.S. in case you're curious, I'm inspired by this post from Bret Devereaux that covers the "Alexander battle" - https://acoup.blog/2024/01/26/collections-phalanxs-twilight-legions-triumph-part-ib-subjects-of-the-successors/
Tarun Narasimhan
2024-12-08 20:45:39 +0000 UTCBack in Egypt, we got to see a bit of general Alexander Dumas. Has he still been active in the army or did Napoleon fire him after Egypt.
Isaac Wehner
2024-12-04 00:54:11 +0000 UTCThis was quite normal for wealthier men in the past. I doubt that the women liked it, but there was not much they could do about it except grin and bear it and pretend they didn't mind. Or they took lovers of their own in some time periods. According to DNA tests of descendants, Napoleon III, for example, was not the son of Louis Bonaparte. Marriage tended to be an economic, social, or political transaction, and of course you would want to get together with someone you were actually attracted to or liked.
Dr. Martin Nicolai
2024-12-03 18:41:06 +0000 UTCSince we’ve just started the war of the fifth coalition on the main episodes, I wonder if you can go into a bit more detail into what exactly the Austrians were thinking when they went to war? It seems bizarre to me that after losing 3 wars against the French in succession they’d try again with even fewer allies at their side and with France much more dominant. Was anyone on the Austrian side going “no, this is insane, we’re gonna get our asses kicked again”?
Or Koren
2024-12-03 06:12:00 +0000 UTCIt seems like it was very common during this era for men to openly have a mistress in addition to their wives. Was this more common in some areas touched on in this show than others? How unique to this time period was this practice, and what did the wives of the men who openly had mistresses think of this?
Tristan Bavol
2024-12-02 14:23:22 +0000 UTCWhat maps did Napoleon and his generals use while on campaign? Who made them, what scales were they at, what information did they include, and how accurate were they? Did the army ever suffer from any map shortages or have to march into a region totally blind?
Adam H
2024-12-02 03:43:03 +0000 UTCHi. Are you aware of any instances of skis being used by any of the warring nations of this era? I feel like they would have been especially usefull during Napoleons wars in eastern Europe and it always irks me that I never hear about anyone using them. I mean surely the Russians must have had some skis, right? Anyway, love the show. Keep up the great work :)
Iver Støylen
2024-12-02 01:42:57 +0000 UTCA few episodes back you mentioned that Napoleon was considering switching the Grand Armée's uniforms from blue to white. But wouldn't this have made it really confusing fighting the Austrians? Also you mentioned that Napoleon stopped considering white uniforms due to the way it showed blood. Do you think this could have had any impact on the Austrian's moral, especially fresher troops?
James Tamhane
2024-12-01 12:41:46 +0000 UTCTo add to the comment above, I wonder how many Napoleonic soldiers developed PTSD simply through the brutality of daily life. Flogging, for instance, was a horrific and potentially lethal punishment routinely carried out in many armies (except the French!), often at a whim for very minor offenses. Sure, Europeans in the 19th century were more accustomed to corporal punishment than we are, but living under the constant threat of maiming or death under the lash for the smallest transgressions (like showing up on parade with filthy trousers) can't have been great for a soldier's mental health.
Brennan Doherty
2024-11-29 00:50:28 +0000 UTCFirst of all, happy birthday and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was listening to the dispatch and agree that it would be hard to gauge how much PTSD was experienced during this period. Unlike modern times, Napoleonic battles typically were more decisive and finite. I do think PTSD-like cased would be found around certain lengthy occupations (think Spain) or campaigns (the French retreat from Moscow). Specifically, I think being a French soldier in the Peninsular war could have been stressful given the Spanish peoples' use of guerrila warfare. Certainly not knowing if you were going to be attacked en route to a location or defending a stronghold knowing that the guerillas applied means of gruesome torture could be unnerving. Even more so if the torture was experienced or viewed firsthand. Same for the retreat from Moscow due to the Cossacks, the mass death from disease, starvation, cold, or exhaustion, and the uncertainty of one's safety or survival. I'm almost certain that some of the French soldiers who were fortunate enough to survive this misadventure may have returned home not quite the same.
Todd Campbell
2024-11-24 21:38:20 +0000 UTCAmazing episode, I would definitely love a bonus episode talking about women in the napoleonic era.
Carla
2024-11-24 19:39:14 +0000 UTCGreat episode, as always. Loved the questions on PTSD and women in Napoleonic armies. On the latter, I've read that laundresses and seamstresses in the British Army could outearn privates. I'm curious about pensions for enlisted men in the Grande Armee. What happened to French soldiers who were too wounded, sick, or old to serve under the eagle any longer? How were they cared for? The Imperial Guard, it seems, had access to facilities like Les Invalides if they were unable to work, but what about the average French conscript serving in an inglorious infantry regiment?
Brennan Doherty
2024-11-24 05:20:57 +0000 UTCI recently heard on another history podcast a passing mention of Napoleon's defeat at the hands of a chess playing automaton. Can you give any more details on this? And why wasn't this scene included in Ridley Scott's director's cut?
Tom Dolan
2024-11-22 16:19:47 +0000 UTCAwesome dispatch as always. I just wanted to say that the 10,000 German soldiers killed in a mine explosion at Messines Ridge is a MYTH! It would be kind of insane for that many men to be killed in an instant, nearly nuclear level bomb levels of destruction. It was more likely that this 10k figure comes from a misinterpretation of data, or simply British propaganda. According to freelance historian Simon Jones, “The figure of 10,000 missing is from the German Official History which states that it covers a 21-day period ending on 10th June 1917. Furthermore, of this figure 7,200, according to British sources, were actually taken prisoner, reducing the number who were killed to 2,800. To this must be taken into consideration that many of the German casualties were caused the massive and highly effective British artillery barrages, rather than by the mine detonations.” https://simonjoneshistorian.com/did-the-messines-mines-really-kill-10000-germans/ This seems to make more sense to me given that 10,000 men is nearly an entire division and would be spread out over a couple miles.
Jack Lawless
2024-11-21 01:39:36 +0000 UTCThank you for the Lady Heater Stanhope lead. I was vaguely familiar with the name but not completely aware. A cursory review of the stories around her life (which indeed are amazing) begs the question as to why Hollywood hasn’t jumped onto her story! Talk about box office gold. Wow!
Jeff Gillooly
2024-11-21 01:16:16 +0000 UTCDo we know anything about connections between Napoleonic France and Qing era China, or South East Asia? Anything precluding the colonial expansion later in the 19th century?
Nikhil Vyas
2024-11-20 21:41:06 +0000 UTCHello and happy birthday! I can only imagine how busy this podcast must keep you but I had a question if you happen to find the time. I was wondering about the role (if any) of mercenaries during the Napoleonic wars. I know there are companies today that will basically hire out ex-soldiers and I am wondering if there was anything equivalent to that during this era? Or did they exist, but in a less formal structure? Thank you for your hard work, I truly appreciate this show. Andrew
Andrew Haworth
2024-11-20 20:56:40 +0000 UTCHappy belated, cheers for another great episode! Your last comments on Hester Stanhope and the Near East got me thinking - apart from Egypt, did Napoleon have any other plans for India/the rest of the subcontinent please?
Alex David
2024-11-20 18:19:14 +0000 UTCHello, I speak Spanish and actually specialize in 18th century Spanish from Spain. I've studied this for literary and religious works, but I wouldn't know where to search for information on old weapon laws. If you could let me know where to look or what was giving you trouble, I'd be happy to translate.
Hobert Carleton
2024-11-20 14:14:59 +0000 UTCMarshal Augereau’s VII Corps was virtually destroyed by the Russian artillery at Eylau. He never recovered. PTSD seems the most likely explanation for his absence of higher command after 1807.
Mike Ruttle
2024-11-20 06:46:55 +0000 UTCWe share a birthday, Everett! HBD to you and what a great present to have this episode drop
C Wiggs
2024-11-20 02:46:57 +0000 UTCHappy birthday Everett!
Blake
2024-11-19 23:33:39 +0000 UTCThank you for answering my question, very interesting and detailed. It’s very exciting to have been picked! Happy birthday and thanks for making such a great podcast
Joseph Stewart
2024-11-19 22:42:49 +0000 UTCNew patron and very excited to explore this podcast series with you all !
Eoghanii
2024-11-19 22:25:12 +0000 UTCGreetings from the Republic of Moldova and Happy Birthday to you, Ev! Dispatch question: I've seen a Russian historian (who claims specialist in this era) saying that Napoleon personally verified all (!) the bills from all over the Empire calculating on paper in order to fight corruption , finding sometimes as little as 2 francs stolen by an official and returning them to treachery. However unbelievable it seems. Do you know of any such practices by Napoleon and could elaborate?
Alexandr Mateaş
2024-11-19 21:25:47 +0000 UTCHappy belated, and thanks to you for all the work you put into this great show.
thurgave
2024-11-19 17:40:41 +0000 UTCWhere do you get the name of your podcast? Does it come from The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant and their volume on Napoleon?
Nathan Bennett
2024-11-19 16:17:43 +0000 UTCLady Hester does seem like an interesting character. Happy birthday!
Martin Conway
2024-11-19 13:55:05 +0000 UTCHappy late Birthday
Steve Verdoliva
2024-11-19 10:47:01 +0000 UTCThank you so much for answering the question about women with the army. I had the exact same question after the last episode.
Gabriel L Manga
2024-11-19 09:39:03 +0000 UTCFascinating, this is one of, if not thee best dispatch to date. Very thoughtful and insightful commentary on a range of 'less visible' topics.
Stuart Mathieson
2024-11-19 07:43:40 +0000 UTCHappy Birthday!!!!!
Maxwell Neely-Cohen
2024-11-19 06:57:03 +0000 UTCThanks for making my Tuesday! This remains the best podcast I’ve come across! Thank you for continuing to churn out such wonderful content!
George Wells
2024-11-19 05:01:23 +0000 UTCRegarding PSTD - I thought your coverage was appropriate - spot on, in fact. Having written my dissertation on Junot, I faced a lot of these challenges (and there's literature on his mental health going back at least a century). But that's not my primary comment. Readers/listeners might want to check out primary source material centering around the second French siege of Saragosss. All of the marshals/generals involved talked about how morally depressing the siege was (Lannes, Moncey, Junot). Soldier accounts on both sides were understandably more intense. As you mention though, Saragosss might have been an exception to the rule of prolonged, intense, CLOSE combat for this period.
Charles H MacKay
2024-11-19 04:26:53 +0000 UTCHappy birthday! Thank you for such a great podcast
Luke Pitner
2024-11-19 03:58:41 +0000 UTC
