Nineteenth-Century Precedents

Abstract

This chapter examines three Napoleonic case studies: first, Saragossa (1809), where the employment of disciplined and well-led conventional forces demonstrated that even the most fanatical resistance may be overcome by persistence, tactical adaptation and an almost fatalistic willingness to accept heavy casualties; second, Fuentes de Oñoro (1811), which demonstrated that numerical superiority alone does not necessarily ensure victory and that unquantifiable factors such as superior morale, inspirational leadership and determination can serve as powerful force-multipliers, so mitigating the advantage of numbers in an unequal contest; and, third, Plancenoit (1815), a component part of the wider struggle at Waterloo, which demonstrated that the already impressive fighting qualities of elite troops operating in an urban environment are exponentially enhanced when operating in both attack and defence.