Napoleon's greatest foe

[@petrdv.6185]

If youtube did not exist, Lindybeige would be that kind of person who talks to the complete strangers at the bus stop because he just needs to talk.

[@ahmadmomenai1154]

I would sit next to him, he seems like a sensible chap

[@yes1sir1no1sir]

@Christopher Mikler not for me... I just watch LindyBiege

[@flacons2110]

more like the pub

[@Pangloss6413]

what makes you think he doesn't?

[@Powd3r81]

I love those people that talk with British accents online when they're not British lol

[@1xoACEox1]

I like the idea Napoleon acknowledged he was his nemesis. Like cartoon show. Every time he foils his plans, *throws hat on floor* "DAMN IT SIDNEYYYYYY!"

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

Napoleon: “DAMN IT SIDNEY!!!!” French general: “Your Grace Sydney Smith isn’t even here?!?!?” Napoleon: “well it’s still his fault!!”

[@JohnMiller-zr8pl]

😁 the Marvelous adventures of Sir. Sidney Smith against the git

[@pissiole5654]

I'LL GET YOU SIDDDNEYYYY *shakes fist at the sky*

[@_KaiTheGamer_]

"CURSE YOU SIDNEY THE SWEDISH KNIIIIIGHTTT!!"

[@sterlingbither5866]

I imagine it like jeremy Clarkson yelling "HAMMOOOOOND."

[@charlesparadise4999]

"SMITH. DID YOU SET FIRE TO THE FRENCH FLEET?" "a bit."

[@Chrisfrom_Dallas]

Only half 🙄

[@lhaviland8602]

HAMMMMOOOOONNNNNND!

[@olliephelan]

Sure he had no fire arrows !

[@brianpreval5602]

well - a bit!

[@TheDennys21]

"Only half?! Why didn't you burn all of it?!"

[@nickst0ne]

I'm French and I find it incredibly Machiavellian of you, Lindybeige, to create an hour long video about Napoleon as a decoy to attack the metric system! Maybe you thought we wouldn't notice, didn't you?

[@Rubysh88]

Gawain Sillyness Studio AH! your puny foot long beige ruler is nothing compared to my glorious meter long aluminium ruler.

[@nellyboy86.02]

"Nick Stone"....not the most French sounding name in the world 😊 (I'm not denying you your frenchness, merely observing)

[@nickst0ne]

Proper observation, NellyBoy! I truly am French though, but I've been an avid reader of Andy McNab's spy novels known as the "Nick Stone missions". Hence the English sounding nickname.

[@lindybeige]

One of these days, I will get round to explaining the imperial system in a video.

[@isakalv]

The metrik system is the best

[@wulfherecyning1282]

The most British sentence ever contender: "He sallied out...to set fire to the French fleet. A bit."

[@sigmanil]

"The metric system, what's it good for?" seems a strong contender too.

[@JBGARINGAN]

@@sigmanil could qualify for the most American sentence too, but I believe: "AMERICA FUCK YEAH!" is number one

[@dechezhaast]

Heyy this dude, I remember your pfp, I said I was going to take it

[@georgewhitworth9742]

@@JBGARINGAN Incorrect, "FREEDOM!!" is the top spot, lol

[@hughgrection7246]

@@JBGARINGAN Correction , the MOST AMERICAN sentence possible is "I eat deep fried butter with a handgun" .

[@deplorabledegenerate2630]

Starting to think this Lindybeige fellow doesn't like Napoleon.

[@cliffjones8809]

hurray for Horry!

[@jamesmerrick8198]

I don't think anyone does like Napoleon other than the French.

[@jamesuk5784]

I’m English and I’m pro Napoleon.

[@jamesmerrick8198]

Because he made history more interesting?

[@deplorabledegenerate2630]

@@jamesmerrick8198 feel the same way I do about him as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Muhammed, Charlemange, Ghenghis Khan, Timur the Lame, Hernan Cortez, Shaka Zulu, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and other conquerors or would be dictators. I can look at a man and admire his tactical abilities, strategic acumen, and political manuevering without endorsing his morals. Albeit some of those men were more moral than others...

[@lhaviland8602]

"War broke out with France... again" European history in six words everybody.

[@globul3410]

Well, also “war broke out with Germany... again”

[@meferswift]

@@globul3410 germany as united is pretty new tho.

[@Phello123]

@@globul3410 "the French are surrendering... again"

[@globul3410]

General Hux, actually, no. France has been one of the most successful nations in wartime throughout history. I suggest you enlighten yourself by reading a book about the matter and put aside your oversimplified and simple history videos.

[@Phello123]

Benoît Pothier u take things way to seriously, u realise every comment here is a joke right? I know France have the MOST successful military record, about a few dozen victories more than Britain thank you very much, I suggest U go learn some common sense Frenchman. Like Johnny English said “ the only thing the French should host is an invasion” how true, not gonna lie, most people who studied history enjoys shitting on the French as much as the brits

[@hassetjifrebro8222]

“Gustav III was ousted” That’s one way to call gunned down at the masquerade ball.

[@wardenstone6021]

Tomato tomato.

[@martonk]

That sounds nasty, I never knew.

[@arielnir2679]

@@martonk he was shoot by loads of little nails and rubbish aswell, so that he lived in agony for a few days before he died...... Pretty nasty indeed.

[@hassetjifrebro8222]

@@martonk To make a long story at least somewhat shorter. Before Gustav III there was what was known as the age of liberty. With the kings power moved heavily towards parliament, great right? Weeeeeelll this was still the late 1700s. Parliament was just the nobility, who kept increasing their power. Some would argue they were quite incompetent, but more than anything they were corrupt. To the core. So when he was made king, he staged a bloodless coup against the system, taking back plenty of power from the nobility and moving Sweden back towards a absolute monarchy. As you can imagine this built plenty of resentment among the nobility, and as Gustav III increased his power and went to war with Russia (as mentioned in here) it ended in a stalemate. With 113 officers attempting to make peace with the Russians against the kings wishes. 1 out of these 113 was executed while the rest were pardoned. But present at the execution was one Jacob Ankarström, a member of the lower nobility, and he would become a pawn in the plot by the nobles, believed to have been led by one General Pechlin. The investigation following the shooting led by one brilliant policeman Lijan Sparre (not my words but literally every book describes him as extremely competent) uncovered a larger and larger conspiracy against the king. To the point where the kings successor asked not to know who was responsible, as all he knew was that it was people very close to him. Jacob Ankarström cracked almost instantly when it was pointed out how nervous he was. He was executed and gutted. General Pechlin was arrested and put in House arrest on an island for the remaining of his life. Pechlin is an interesting character himself and of the great corruption he was responsible for, standing with whoever was in power during the age of liberty. But now I’m just rambling like Lindybeige lol haha.

[@martonk]

@@hassetjifrebro8222 I'd love to listen to such ramblings with pleasure :DD you are very good at this sort of historical storytelling. Pity that people generally don't care about these national historical episodes, they are, I think, much more interesting than the usual topics like Napoleon, the romans, etc. Thanks for this!!

[@Markot991]

If Lindybeige would tell me a bedtime story, I would stay awake all night

[@magicbuns4868]

Literally what I've done tonight xD

[@phreak761]

He would bugger you senseless.

[@user45291]

I actually do...

[@sdporres]

Spot on

[@monashsq4001]

Lindy I think was brought up being told Big Bad Bonaparte is hiding under the bed.

[@ThatGuyFromFlanders]

I'm starting to think he doesn't like this Napoleon guy...

[@mistahsusan2650]

Brent what makes you think that?

[@johnshorten6877]

In Ireland there are 40+ ballads about Napoleon (some in Irish, some in English), mostly praising him as a hero, "a friend to all, both young and old", a religious liberator (sic!!!!), the "Green Linnet", "Sweet Boney" ('shall I ne'er see you more?'), lamenting his death 'on St. Helena's bleak shore', and castigating those who "persecuted that hero bold" ('You parliament of England and you Holy Alliance'), and betrayed him (Marshal Ney - 'but he was bribed with gold'...) ...etc. Any comparable treasury of songs in France? Do you ever hear in a French pub (do they have them?): 'Bon, bon! Napoleon va rentrer dans sa maison!'??? It is wonderful what fantasies emerge from the alchemy of folk memory.

[@johnshorten6877]

@@Marry Christmas. Oops! I was just making the point that a ****** can morph into a hero when filtered through the fantasies of ballad makers! Personally I'd prefer Pitt and Castlereagh to the Corsican - not to mention "Our Attie!" (Wellington)

[@afrog2666]

@@johnshorten6877 Doesn`t change the fact that he was a murderous treacherous hateful sadistic villain who killed (caused the death of) millions of civilians. He was a disgusting bastard, and a ruthless selfish shit.

[@Floral_Green]

A Frog You seem quite low-IQ, my dude

[@skyskynomnom4674]

Love that this whole time Sidney was almost never in a military position but was still able to round up some chaps and go off to battle every time. Like imagine the charisma on this man that he can just go “OI, you lot! I hear guns. Who wants to go maybe die today?”

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

"I hear guns! Must be Napoleon. Let's go show 'im what for again, lads!"

[@connorfanning2956]

The wealth and power needed to form your own army in those days. Amazing. Ancient history is even more incredible. IE Crassus

[@buddermonger2000]

To be fair, it's a battle against Napoleon, and most men were pretty excited to go fight. It's a bit of a trapping of modern war where men dread to fight, and even then, it's HEAVILY dependent. When men hear the call of the colors, they very often rally. To the point that it basically split the entirety of socialism during WWI since almost all of the socialist parties of Europe, once in international contact (whose mantra was "Workers of the WORLD Unite!"), sided with their governments and went to fight. Not that uncommon, bit more strange today, but sometimes you have some gumption and some friends and when things go down, you go fight because that's what you do.

[@sirsidneysmith2158]

I must say, I rather enjoyed this video.

[@ericbluerose9381]

Good show

[@kaiserfranz9011]

Me to.Sir Sidney Smith

[@todzulu6]

Oh, Rather...

[@coaboa5339]

Lemeow

[@darrenspresney3121]

@@ericbluerose9381 tut rye rye tyyy tr ý tr tr tr yy tr tr tr yry rug yty it yyy tr y roughly yet rye yyyy tr rye yyyyyyyuý trtr trye yrye yyyryyyy rye yyyr

[@void870]

Say what you want, Lindybeige, but we all know that Napoleon's greatest foe was Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sharpe of the 95th Rifles!

[@grumpyhermit8657]

@Lightifer you savage!

[@josefschmeau4682]

Bwaaaa. HAAAAAAA haaaaaaa

[@sailingoiesauvage5484]

@Lightifer The top comment is a reference to a historical fiction novel.

[@sailingoiesauvage5484]

@Lightifer your welcome, have a good day.

[@sailingoiesauvage5484]

@Lightifer No you cannot, I think it's silly to clammer to support a multi millionaire just because he's facing competition.

[@uptonsavoie]

But tell us how you really feel about Napoleon.

[@ethanclouse2280]

He’s such a GIT!

[@Nikolapoleon]

He's obviously in love with Napoleon, and stuck in denial about it.

[@nickrangel139]

How Napoleon felt about this man proves the effectiveness of trolling.

[@enoughofyourkoicarp]

I would argue that Napoleon's greatest foe was Napoleon.

[@jacktattis143]

enough: Yes he could not stop

[@enoughofyourkoicarp]

@Pneumonocolvocanomicroscopicsilicolvocano-coniosis So is a Frenchman who lives next to a brothel but that didn't stop Napoleon.

[@wrybreadspread]

If one were to quote CS Lewis on pride, would that be too pompous (read "proud) ?

[@brianpreval5602]

that's one way of looking at it.

[@opperturk124]

His greatest foe is lindybeige

[@henningeiken5849]

My poor cold german heart broke when he didn't mention Frederic the great in the beginning.

[@fearlessmash8717]

Frederic the great had died just a little before the Napoleonic wars started

[@Gh0stily111]

Napoleon greatly admired Frederic and actually took his men to his tomb, there he said that if he was alive they would have been defeated.

[@ArgueWithTheMajority]

It really speaks volumes about your knowledge that you do these scriptless and in one take, including a bunch of informative sidetracking. Hats off!

[@boulderbash19700209]

He may have teleprompter or blackboard behind the camera.

[@dogefort8410]

His performance could possibly be more structured if he had some help, but then again it could be less spirited. Trial and error maybe? Run a few tests.

[@mikelit7613]

It's good when he knows what he's talking about but makes the video significantly worse when he doesn't.

[@manuelredgrave8348]

I would like the comment but it has 69 likes

[@Tempusverum]

He was lecturing about advantages/disadvantages between being male and female in a random video in the woods. He’s not teleprompting, he’s that good.

[@VCC1316]

" Napoleon was worst than Stalin " is the most British thing to say xD

[@christiank1251]

Because the Brits were brothers in arms with Uncle Joe.

[@fredbarker9201]

I’m English, LB is a very smart bloke, but that statement is awful.Napoleon is one of the most successful legislators in European history

[@getass3290]

@@fredbarker9201 ya that statement was just ridiculous

[@theannoyedlink5153]

@@fredbarker9201 did he really said he was worst than Stalin? He just said that he killed a lot of people when there were less in the world, and with less effective means to do it, making his killing as awful in context as that of Stalin, I don't know if that's accurate, but there's some logic to that statement

[@fredbarker9201]

@@theannoyedlink5153 Stalin’s policies killed millions even outside of war. Napoelon didn’t do purges his deaths come from only wars and a lot of the wars were more coalition driven than his own fault. So it is an awful comparison

[@doopydoopz1737]

"Clever Telephones" Good lord that is an extremely british way of saying "SmartPhones"

[@kevwhufc8640]

It's an extremely lindybeige way of saying it , Bc Nobody in England calls smartphones ' clever phones" ..

[@doopydoopz1737]

@@kevwhufc8640 Never claimed british people say that, heh

[@warfan1302]

@Colin Cleveland what impeccable luxury and surprise, I've just acquired something into my possession that can electronically open spectral portals which originally could only transfer audio but now has the exquisite possibility of transferring luminescence but not any larger form. Is there a small possibility ladies of the fairer sex that have a seductive exqusiteness to them can be nearby my general location? Procurement of this information is of course not for myself but rather people I have a good acquaintance by.

[@georgewhitworth9742]

@@kevwhufc8640 Don't look up, may miss the point going over your head

[@kevwhufc8640]

@@georgewhitworth9742 oh such a clever point too! Must be an American thing or what passes as humour Because I haven't a clue what your on about m8

[@hitomisalazar4073]

Sometimes History is stranger than fiction? Well I'm always reminded of the wisdom of Mark Twain: "History has the advantage on fiction. Fiction has to be believable."

[@samditto]

History is never stranger than anime

[@DYLANKNAPP94]

Sam Ditto Why do you think Japan was so screwed up to make anime lol those kids In WWII saw some terrible shit.

[@Gerbs1913]

How to get blackout drunk in one hour: Drink every time he goes on a tangent. Feels a bit like a Monty Python member giving historical lectures which is why I find these so enjoyable.

[@77thTrombone]

Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Chaplain - my sense exactly as well!

[@mdh6977]

Yep, n not the first time either

[@kieranh2005]

The tangents are what makes him so entertaining

[@lukeskywalker3329]

These tangents seemed to be more opinion than fact . Quite mediocre opinions at that . Needs to stick to facts Jack.

[@kpbarrow]

Watching a Lindybeige video describing French military defeat with a character assassination of Napoleon, whilst eating a fish finger sandwich washed down with a good, strong, cup of tea. Gentlemen, I have reached utmost Britishness.

[@SyoaranBarker]

I had to go check my wallet and make sure my various ID's were still American after watching this video. All's well, I'm still a Texan.

[@jrd33]

Well done, old chap!

[@zaftra]

What did he say factually wrong about Napoleon.

[@fearlessmash8717]

@@zaftra he’s just a little too critical and blame happy with Napoleon such as when he places all of the deaths of the Napoleonic wars on him despite Napoleon only starting the 6th coalition war

[@zaftra]

@@fearlessmash8717 They are not called the Napoleonic wars for nothing.

[@fearlessmash8717]

Lindy:”Napoleon brought the most death proportional to population” Gengis Khan and Timur the lame:”Rookie numbers”

[@Jaxck77]

There could be an entire museum called “Fuck These Guys” which has entire halls devoted to why Ghengis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and many others were such cunts.

[@martinborgen]

For all his character flaws, of which there were many, he did implement his Code Napoleon, which is the closest most of europe had to the Bill of Rights, in that it solidified the rights of the common people - across large parts of Europe (Many Europen countrie's still base many of their laws on the Code Napoleon). It could therefore be argued that through this one act he did an awful lot of good, in addition to all the death he caused. Also it's interesting how Sidney Smith is such a hybrid warfare specialist - his victory at Svensksund is very much a littoral waters victory in archipelago waters, and a large part of the victory is integrating the Swedish navy (Örlogsflottan, the regular open water navy), the swedish coastal navy (galleys and small gun boats) as well as coastal artillery and land forces. If I recall correctly he commanded a gunboat of some sort during the engagement, where they disembarked the gun, and started shooting from the shore.

[@CarrotConsumer]

It's not like he was solely responsible for the code, he didn't even write it.

[@MrKonfekta]

Yeah ! Napoleon implementet a shitty code and hitler created jobs, great guys these dictators.

[@littlejack2233]

You misunderstand. It's *historical significance* is understated even - it's one of the most important legacies of Napoleon. France's ancien legal system was archaic and still heavily based in roman law, and this was true in most of Europe. The Code Napoleon was the only significant legal reform for centuries and was implemented in most of the countries he absorbed - and still forms the basis of their law today.

[@MrLittlelawyer]

+MrKonfekta Napoleon wasn't much of a dictator though, and unlike Hitler he didn't start most of his wars/most of his wars were defensive in nature. He didn't really commit any genocides, and any crimes he did/his government committed were less or were far restrained compared to the revolutionary government (he put a stop to a lot of revolutionary shenanigans).

[@Kamfrenchie]

what ? hitler kept the war going even when he was clearly defeated with no hope of winning, getting berlin and most of germany burned in the process, while hitler committed suicide to avoid being judged. Napoleon also didn't persecute polish people, in fact he create the duchy of varsaw, and is still mentionned in polish anthem.

[@archaeologistify]

I like what the video name and author in the recommended column say: Napoleon's greatest foe Lindybeige.

[@janedunster5156]

Udrakan Morturim Get the feeling he doesn't like Napoleon much

[@VRichardsn]

You know, Flaubert once said "Napoleon is like the great pyramid, he stands alone in a desert and jackals piss at his feet and writers climb up on him."

[@alittlebitofhistory]

Everyone knows Napoleon's greatest foe was Richard Sharpe.

[@nellyboy86.02]

Norfolk lad ❤💯

[@nellyboy86.02]

(When is either Lindybeige or Matt Easton gonna make a vid on Sharpe....*sighs*.....either one or both together would be soooo cool!!)

[@johnmcmanus7809]

He's a Londoner in the books.

[@TheSteelEcho666]

Between Sharpe and Hornblower, Boney was well buggered.

[@Aramis419]

"Do you want to see a guillotine in Piccadilly? Want to call that raggedy-ass Napoleon your king? You want your children to sing the "La Marseillaise?"

[@oldgymrat71]

I discovered Lindybeige a couple of weeks ago and have enjoyed his talks immensely. I am 75 and think his talks superior to most historical productions using fil or literature. He is terrific!

[@nazamroth8427]

I am not entirely certain, but i seem to get the feeling that lindy dislikes Napoleon...

[@lednybeeg3474]

bcause napolin woz a git

[@GoranXII]

You may be right in that respect, there is a certain amount of dislike there. Of course I'd say it was probably wrong to say Napoleon was the worst butcher in history. I happen to feel that the title ought to actually go to one J. Caesar, who butchered (by his count) a million people in Gaul, at a time when the total population of Gaul was only about 5 million.

[@xenotypos]

It's not only that Lindy was wrong, but his statement is just plain ridiculous/funny. Lindy becomes kind of stupid when he begins the british-patriot act.

[@GoranXII]

_Which_ statement?

[@slamblamboozled1245]

Napoleon=French. Lindy=British. It'd be weirder if he liked him.

[@petersmythe6462]

I think a revolt against a revolution is called a counter-revolution.

[@panduwidagdo7051]

He also said about the thing that detects detector and call it detector detector.

[@tomcahill3617]

Yes, but also it's a person who's generally counter to revolutions, revolutionary or what might be called progressiveness or something in today's terms. Of course in the Russia we call the staunch Communists right wing, so it's a lot down to perspective. Lindybeige's very a-political, which I like as he keeps people onside, opposite to my way of doing things, but history's important and a-political, military history, whilst limited is still important to know about, even though he's a lot pedestrian with the deeper side to it, so it's like something you'd learn in school, like "England wanted to attack France to gain territory." rather than some scum decided to start a war to sell both sides weapons, get both sides in debt, lend money to them and have them kill each other to maintain both countries in a less than optimal state to exploit the various classes in various ways, to maintain the parasitism.

[@WalterLiddy]

But a revolt is not a revolution. It implies localized skirmishing, not a nation-wide movement with real hopes of taking power.

[@martind349]

Don't think too hard.

[@GödekeMichels_72]

So Sir Sidney Smith was basically trolling Napoleon.

[@TheRobdarling]

Yep

[@jamespfp]

*YES,* and not one of those lame sock puppet trolls either!

[@martind349]

@@jamespfp Quite right shoe.

[@sehrguterkommentator3619]

"One thing you can do to improve yourself, is to get a little Tolstoi in you" - Lev Tolstoi, Tinder-Bio, ca. 1850

[@dabtican4953]

Lol

[@martonk]

Interestingly in his years as a young army officer he was a pretty extravagant womaniser.

[@6noelita]

would leave a like but you have 69 and I don't want to ruin it.

[@Ant1815]

Whatever your views on Napoleon claiming that he was responsible for all those deaths is a bit of a stretch. 1805 Austrians declare war on France. 1806 Prussians declare war on France. 1809 The Austrians decide to declare war again. 1812 The Russians renague on a peace treaty and force Napoleon in to war. I suppose Napoleon should have just capitulated in 1805 to save all those lives.

[@thecashier930]

eh... He shouldn't have started conquering and killing shit in the first place. You don't really get away with telling people, that they are at fault, when they break a truce, that you forced onto them. That's a bit like saying the gauls are at fault for the deaths of Caesars conquests, because they broke the peacetreaties he forced them into. There is a reason why forced contracts are not legal.

[@English_Thespian]

Anthony Martin Well to be fair to the Coalition, in 1792 France started it by declaring war on both Austria and Prussia. Now Napoleon had nothing to do with that of course, but it was definitely the French's fault that (what would become) the Napoleonic wars started.

[@2adamast]

Same with Hitler. Attacked by the French and English he had to defend himself from Russia. Life is so unfair.

[@thecashier930]

+Adamast Well, what should he have done? Accept a jewish conspiracy to form in his country and destroy it from the inside? Nobody can afford that, while defensively conquering Europe. The solution was forced onto him!

[@CarrotConsumer]

Napoleon didn't have to go to war in 1812 just because Russia wanted to trade with the UK.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Wot?

[@joachimmacdonald2702]

back off mate

[@lifeisgood12341]

>whispers< Smith....

[@BakaGaijin66]

git

[@chrisrus1965]

This thread is very amusing, but if I might just interrupt to I'd ask why the French don:t look back on Napoleon like I donno say for example the Germans look back at Hitler.

[@Calsopify]

Because their french

[@sabberi]

I'm going to re-watch this. With the mindset that Napoleon is Lindy's nasty ex-girlfriend, Sid Smith his new honeymoon-phase wife - and all the stories are just analogies and metaphors of their lives.

[@slothstradamus89]

I have to echo many of the other commenter's sentiments when they say, "I wish I had had a history teacher like this guy when I was in school" lol. He's amazing. However, I'd also like to take this moment to acknowledge how great some of my history teachers really were themselves. Always made history entertaining.

[@comradegeneralvladimirpoot1313]

*"Kléber was it seems, honourable."* Kléber: "wElL It'S aLl RiGhT fOr yOU, bUt iT ONlY CoMEs uP tO mY WaiSt."

[@mustafayldrm3449]

The Pasha mentioned here got the nickname"slasher" (though more accurately "Butcher") because when he was a young officer, he tracked and killed around 70 revolting Beduins as a revenge of his murdered commanding officer.

[@kagtkalem7115]

Mustafa Yıldırım Burada Türk bulabilecegimi hic dusunmemistim.

[@tochukwuifeanacho3843]

Damn!!That's hardcore!!!

[@techpriest8965]

A general's greatest enemy? His most hated and respected adversary? His Achilles heel? His kryptonite? Well... It's logistics.

[@tiaandeswardt7741]

Techpriest An army does,in the end, march on its stomach.

[@christianschwalbach7561]

Mountains n rivers n swamps n such

[@joshuahadams]

That tends to be the issue with large empires. They’re just too big to handle most times.

[@Riceball01]

Tiaan De Swardt Now a days I'd argue that they march on paperwork, lots and lots of paperwork.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Tiaan De Swardt he wouldn't understand that quote as the Cult Mechanicum armies has dispensed with pathetic organic flaws like digestive systems as they are far too inefficient. Also: #KelborHaldidnothingwrong

[@strictlyunreal]

2:03 Actually, at that time it was still called Constantinople. The name was changed to Istanbul in the 20th century.

[@Whurlpuul]

Doesn't it mean the same thing anyway?

[@strictlyunreal]

@@Whurlpuul Well, if you want to go down that road... Constantinople means "the city of Constantine", while Istanbul, according to Wikipedia, is derived from a Greek phrase meaning "to the city".

[@alexh2947]

@@strictlyunreal the turks would actually call it konstantinyye I believe which meant as you mightve guessed "the city of Constantine"

[@OkachaWasTaken]

No it was istanbul and i am a turk

[@hannibalburgers477]

Actually it was called Constantinniyye. Literally means Constantinia.

[@raylast3873]

Napoleon‘s greatest enemy: obviously Horatio Hornblower. D‘uh

[@chrisoddy8744]

Richard Sharpe was his major opponent on land, Hornblower on the sea.

[@CortxVortx]

Jack Aubrey gave him a bit of trouble, too.

[@stefanfilipovits21]

@@chrisoddy8744 Richard sharpe beat him at Waterloo. That’s soldiering...

[@napoleonbonaparte3492]

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet, then brown the roast beef for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Preheat the oven th. 6/7 (200 ° C). Arrange the roast beef in a baking dish with the peeled and chopped shallots. Bake 20 minutes. Wrap the roast beef with 2 sheets of aluminum foil and set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature. Serve sliced, sprinkled with fleur de selt and crushed pepper, with fries or homemade mashed potatoes.

[@VRichardsn]

J'aime l'oignon frit à l'huile, J'aime l'oignon quand il est bon. J'aime l'oignon frit à l'huile, J'aime l'oignon, j'aime l'oignon. [REFRAIN] Au pas camarades, au pas camarades, Au pas , au pas , au pas, Au pas camarades, au pas camarades, Au pas , au pas , au pas. [REFRAIN] Un seul oignon frit à l'huile, Un seul oignon nous change en Lion, Un seul oignon frit à l'huile, Un seul oignon nous change en Lion. [REFRAIN] Mais pas d'oignons aux Autrichiens, Non pas d'oignons à tous ces chiens, Mais pas d'oignons aux Autrichiens, Non pas d'oignons, non pas d'oignons [REFRAIN] Aimons l'oignon frit à l'huile, Aimons l'oignon car il est bon, Aimons l'oignon frit à l'huile, Aimons l'oignon, aimons l'oignon [REFRAIN]

[@winstonchurchill624]

NapoleonBonaparte Doesn't sound half bad, but it's really off topic.

[@arudegesture]

@NapoleonBonaparte Maybe that's why you got stomach-cancer; Eating British "food"?

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

+A Rude Gesture The British cook better French food than the French do.

[@arudegesture]

@Henry *"The British cook better French food than the French do."* HAHAHAHAHA!!

[@papaburger]

Is that a giant pencil in the background ?

[@collerdgreens]

MY PENCIL

[@Trevor_Hill]

Mehoy menoy

[@vladdrakul7851]

Yes but Lindy uses it as a stake for impaling French people and those English foolish enough to like them!

[@azh698]

Yes and it's a giant metaphor.

[@ajorsomething4935]

I know a guy who has a giant spoon.

[@BenjaminEmm]

I have probably watched this video 7 times over the past year. It’s such a fantastic story and Lloyd retells it so well that I find myself rewatching again and again.

[@perperson199]

I've just seen it some five times. It's a great story, told by a great storyteller

[@oisin3495]

Yeah same I can’t tell you exactly why I love this video so much but I’ve regularly came back to it.

[@BenjaminEmm]

@@oisin3495 I was thinking about it just the other day with the new Napoleon film being advertised!

[@jolonghthong]

ive watched it countless times its just my comfort video and i love it

[@Hebdomad7]

An hour long video of Lindybeige? Better put the kettle on....

[@pp-wo1sd]

Phill Along with a matching kettle hat

[@PaulPaulPaulson]

I'm not ready for this yet! Need a coffee, my couch and my cuddly blanket first!

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

gay

[@arildedvardbasmo490]

Saw this -> put on coffee -> went to the shop and bought chocolate -> got home and started watching

[@kilppa]

Oh yeah, just had my first and only cup for the day to accompany this. Coffee and Lloyd go hand in hand.

[@richtheunstable3359]

MrZapparin teddy bear hot water bottle combo

[@inlikeflynn7238]

I disagree with Lindybeige on one point and that is the idea that Napoleon was a coward (implied at various points during this video); cruel (certainly), dishonorable (he surely had his moments), vindictive and petty (absolutely), but a coward would not fight all of Europe and cause such an upheaval if he were merely a craven man entirely removed from that temper of character that gives men the courage to venture their life for what they may perceive as glory.

[@TheMattork]

Regarding the siege of Jaffa and Napoleon's execution of the prisoners: Many of the prisoners he executed had been released by him previously, swore oaths to never take arms against him again and they went back on it. He used the local customs and laws to justify his execution since these men had broken their oaths. Doesn't make what he did any less abhorrent by our standards today but back then it was just part of the war.

[@Elador1000]

Plus aleast according to wiki, the commander of the Jaffa executed the Turk Napoleon sent to negotiate and then tortured and killed other french messengers.

[@kanedakrsa]

I'm sure that's an easy thing to prove ever happened. Right?

[@greatlordbalder788]

+kanedakrsa No one is denying that Napoleon killed those men.

[@davidhalabi664]

Shows how much British Bias Lindy is presenting here.

[@Nimmermaer]

While Napoleon was busy conquering Europe the British traders were busy making a quarter of the Chinese population addicted to opium to satisfy their greed, with the sanction of the British crown.

[@somebloke4027]

I’m impressed by how many times you said ‘git’ in this video instead of the word you were thinking of. Brilliantly entertaining story. Btw If anyone wants a good book about the Barbary pirates, White Gold by Giles Milton is the utterly fascinating, almost unbelievable story of Cornish fisherman and white slave Thomas Pellow.

[@techpriest8965]

Look at this beige non-biased man non-biasedly teaching us about a career of a officer in a totally non-biased way.

[@asneakychicken322]

Isn't that part of the appeal, he's unapologetically British, and that implicitly means hating the French

[@UnbeltedSundew]

Techpriest You mean being honest? Yeah truth and honesty are terrible things.

[@perperson199]

@@asneakychicken322 All decent nations dislike the French

[@Mitaka.Kotsuka]

@@perperson199 i agree

[@Hulaabeo]

To answer your question on whether orn not anybody saw Napoleon as a good guy, I dhould mention that from the perspective of the Polish, Napoleon was a hero. Mind, we were partioned at this point in history between various European powers, so when the French Revolution came into full swing, many Poles saw this as a spark of hope. I don't have exact dates or anything, but at one point Napoleon reinstated the Duchy of Warsaw, so we were sort of a thing for the first time in a century or so. I should probably mention he still gets a shout out in the Polish anthem?

[@vatonage1599]

To most people, Poland only exists as some dumb country that gets invaded by the Nazi

[@Blade57331]

Yeah, well... fuck those people.

[@PobortzaPl]

Polish word for emperor is "cesarz". Whenever Polish person uses word "cesarz" without any name to follow it, it means said Polish person speaks about Napoleon Bonaparte.

[@josephteller9715]

Also, despite modern memory, America was all for supporting Napoleon's wars against the English etc.... since they profited from it until that pesky adventure to take over Canada in 1812 turned into an invasion of America and the burning of Washington DC. Without Napoleon America would not have gotten the Louisiana Purchase.

[@TranscendentLion]

'Most people' should also remember that when Poland was invaded by Hitler, the Poles put up a damn good fight and took down hundreds of Nazi tanks. They then flew alongside British planes and provided much of the codebreaking expertise that was estimated to shorten the war by a number of years.

[@niamh_20]

Sir Sidney Smith certainly lived his life to the full.

[@jacktattis143]

Niamh: And was bitterly disappointed when he was not given a perrage

[@drogerflav6350]

Never forget he lost to the terrifying andrew Jackson, america will always have great britans number

[@lukewilliams1666]

@@drogerflav6350 Remember 1812 😂

[@capnstewy55]

We can only hope that Sir Sidney Smith makes an appearance in the upcoming Napoleon movie.

[@jolonghthong]

exactly what made me come to this video he needs some recognition

[@tomasdawe9379]

Well hopefully he doesn't get a film like Napoleon...

[@FGDireito]

48:55 "you can't trade with the British", Portugal was like "you can't tell me what to do lol" Portugal openly refused to join the Continental System. In 1793, Portugal signed a treaty of mutual assistance with Britain

[@Mitaka.Kotsuka]

The treaty is still on today (probably the longest alliance ever)

[@admiralsquatbar127]

@@Mitaka.Kotsuka it is the oldest treaty in the world that still stands today.

[@Double0Anims]

@@Mitaka.Kotsuka Fitting for the two nations with the oldest alliance in the world. Us Portuguese and the Brits have been allied since 1373. This even caused Portugal to help the Allies despite the neutrality in World War II. This was during a Portuguese Extreme Right-Wing Dictatorship as well. The funny thing is that this alliance is based on "Fuck the Spanish."

[@elias_xp95]

You could say the Spanish are the Portuguese's Frenchman

[@mickey4125]

@@Double0Anims The Brits (of which I am one) can be... unreliable as allies though. See the British Ultimatum to Portugal of 1890, demanding that Portugal withdraw from parts of Africa so GB could take an even bigger slice. Sorry guys! :(

[@VexChoccyMilk]

Lloyd, have you ever considered doing a podcast? The format is strikingly similar to yours, you could ramble on for an hour and you wouldn't even need to record video!

[@noahwick3217]

lindybeige has convinced me; git is the perfect insult.

[@olliephelan]

What did he convict you of ?

[@ishashka]

It's also the perfect version control system

[@jameswilliams3241]

I've always wondered if the fact that Hitler wasn't German, Stalin wasn't Russian and Napoleone Buonoparte wasn't French had any influence on the course they took in their lives?

[@НастасМилошевић]

Hitler was German doe Austrians are a kind of germanic people very closely related to South germans(bavarians)

[@jameswilliams3241]

@@НастасМилошевић Hitler became a German citizen around the time he became chancellor of Germany before that he was an Austrian citizen, so while he was Deutschervolk he was born in Austria so strictly speaking not German just as Stalin was a Georgian and Napoleon a Corsican was the point I was making

[@1ena585]

Wasn't Corsica part of France in 1769 ?

[@jameswilliams3241]

@@1ena585 yes it was, and a very unhappy part then and for a long time after. They always felt put upon by the French effort to create Frenchmen of them with such arbitrary laws as making it mandatory to give your children French given names as opposed to Corsican ones. The Corsican French relationship was always very troublesome and disruptive.

[@neinno8172]

​@@jameswilliams3241 The big outlier in those comparisons is Hitler. Austrians were/considered themselves German to the extent Bavarians did until the end of WW2 It's also why a majority of Austrians approved the Anschluss. They were German but had their own state, the same way if Bavaria was its on state. Hitler wanted to(and did) join the German army in WW1 and had always believed Austria needed to unite with Germany from a young age. Neither Napoleon or Stalin held such nationalistic views about their places of origin. Unlike Hitler, Stalin and Napoleon both initially believed their nationhood lied solely in their birthplace. Napoleon was a Corscian nationalist and pretty anti-French up until the fiasco with Paoli which irreversibly changed his identity. Stalin also wanted Georgia to be independent of czarist Russia. However, through the party he joined and marxist literature he favoured sovietisation. He personally worked to eliminate Georgian nationalism during the civil war. Both spoke with accents of their places of origin, which Stalin was embarrassed about and Napoleon made fun of while growing up in continental France.

[@rockyh8795]

I'm an American and I've honestly never heard Napoleon's character so vehemently denounced as in this video. I suspect that Americans, at the time, were still in pissing contests with the English and so downplayed the English low opinion of Napoleon as propaganda. That and Napoleon's attitude towards the New World meant that we doubled the land area of our nation for a ridiculously low price. It's difficult to hate someone who made you fabulously wealthy. I've always thought of Napoleon as conniving, sneaky, shrewd, megalomaniacal, even petty at times, but I've never heard him accused of being spiteful, duplicitous, dishonorable or a git. I'll have to do some more research into the man's life. And I'd definitely never heard the name Sir Sydney Smith. Thanks for the video.

[@6272355463637]

Since the young USA profited both from the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, it's reasonable to assume that Napoleon has a fairly good image over there. For me as a German, he's actually something of an ambivalent (though more negative than positive, certainly) figure. On the one hand, he was the enemy and set the stage for a bunch of major wars long after his death. On the other hand (and this is, of course, part of the reason for those later wars and probably not seen as positive by, say, the French...), he cut down a good part of the crippling regionalism in what would later become Germany, breaking down the Holy Roman Empire and what weak grasp the Habsburg dynasty had over it and creating the conditions a Prussian-led unification after the Prussians emerged as one of the major continental European powers after the Wars of Liberation.

[@xenotypos]

I think the bias isn't exactly where you think it is. Lindy isn't really known for his objectivity to anything related to the french. I highly recommend you do some more research yourself indeed.

[@arudegesture]

@rocky H The Brits have a special relationship with history that might be unknown to most Americans; They indulge in historical revisionism where they try to paint themselves as "good guys".

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

A Rude Gesture The French are the ones that have the tricolour-tinted glasses clues on. We just wear shades and be better than them.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Lindibeige is so fanatically English-nationalist that we should have not expected otherwise, however even I was surprised and it's truly a pity that he destroyed such a good story about Smith with so much bigotry.

[@ziomudru]

Kutuzov! the russian general was Kutuzov. Ironic that you missed this in the same video where you advertise (appropriately) "War and Peace" :-)

[@nicholasrowe6322]

"Napoleon at Acre pointing the way to his soldiers' deaths" "Sir Sidney defending Acre" ... Goddamn cheeky Brits.

[@trippbloodworth4217]

Kaiser Nikolaus Napoleon's spitefulness and stupid pettiness sounds a lot like president Orange Orangutang. Hmmmmm..Let's go invade somebody. Anybody..

[@willspencer8694]

Tripp Bloodworth who's orange oranutang

[@huntermcdonald7411]

@@trippbloodworth4217 when has the president invaded a country during his presidency

[@fudgeslicer9264]

Tripp Bloodworth When you talk about Trump but refer to him as things like ‘Orange Orangutang’ it really just makes you sound like a cringy child

[@paulmurphy216]

Fascinating. You have a real gift for telling a long, detailed story and keeping the viewer interested throughout. I usually get impatient after 15-20 minutes - whether I sit through a 40+ minute history video after then depends on how interested I am in the subject. I was sorry when this one finished. Jolly good show, what?

[@decoryder]

Wonderful commentary and analysis, a worthy tribute to the much under-appreciated Sir Sidney Smith.

[@jeanmcgillicuddy4486]

_Eris_Eternal_ see

[@Dbobcol]

I admire how truly British that Lindybeige is, in that he still hates the French just because they're French

[@liamdoyle5363]

bearjew speaking french

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Hahahaha!

[@seangotts6470]

even though he was praising Kleber and saying he was a good general .. and he was saying napoleon cause the deaths of 2 million french .. yeah sounds like he hates them .. you sir are a dipshit

[@ellingsindre2485]

He didn't say anything bad about the french. Just Nappy Boney, who for the record, was a fucking lunatic.

[@stansmith2771]

The frenchness of The French is enough reason to hate them. Not sure why Hitler invaded.

[@tomstafford7510]

One hour of lindybeige on Napoleon. Heaven.

[@armag3ddon]

This is madness!

[@tomstafford7510]

It is getting out of hand....

[@thecashier930]

Didn't he say in a 45 minute-ish video, that there won't be a longer one? He's mad.

[@tomstafford7510]

Mad, but gold

[@laughingachilles]

Here I fixed this for you . One hour of lindybeige. Heaven!

[@dasflieger3103]

46:34 well, unlike in other countries, when he came into the territory of today's Slovenia, he made slovene one of the formal languages and also had a university built. So, if looking from a Slovenian patriot's perspective, he wasn't so bad (at least in this area). Otherwise I truly agree he's done more harm than good.

[@gerald216]

It might have been that he finally realized that not killing everyone who isn't French works better than, well killing everyone who isn't French.

[@nicolasbuhler8285]

What a glorious British victory on the evil Frenchman ! Surely, an individual with such low regard for human life deserved defeat and exile. The British, strong of their humanist principles, were the uncontested natural rulers of 19th century. The Irish potato famine and various Indian famines which killed millions of British subjects ? Not spite, no, that was merely business as usual, laissez-faire, the efficient economic policy of the glorious British empire ! Trouble yee not, the invisible hand will rescue the starving in time and hour. For now, let's continue feeding on Irish beef and Indian wheat ! God save the King !

[@lillyann2818]

Not to mention massacring Australian Aborigines to make room for dumping British convicts on their land. What fine Kingdom runs it's home shores so well that its starving citizens who stole a loaf of bread end up overflowing the jails? And solves the problem by changing it's home policies in the UK. Oh no wait, they solved their social problems by ignoring them, and just finding someone else's land to dump their problems onto.

[@baptistebrigand5882]

yes

[@josephyates9936]

Yeah the Brits those superb soldiers armed with rifles, artillery, and rocket batteries who lost to the Zulus who were armed with ..... leather shields and spears. I guess the loss was for humanitarian reasons.

[@ddjay1363]

"Think any man your enemy who speaks ill of your King, and treat every Frenchman like he was the devil himself" - Lord Horatio Nelson

[@babacloanza]

You are right: "Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, GCB, GCTE, KmstkSO, FRS was a British naval officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars, he later rose to the rank of admiral. Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing later in his life, said of him: "That man made me miss my destiny" Indeed, very-very strange! Thank you. Great video! History is fascinating.

[@egm01egm]

Napoleon's greatest foe was Napoleon himself, especially in the late game

[@leathery420]

What`s the old saying? History is written by the victors? Kinda like the myth about Napoleon being extremely short when in reality he was about average height?

[@kenkastlekausmo701]

History isn't written by victors. If I'm mistaken by this comment, then best tell me. Otherwise, I'm leaving this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fITcdKFvaKiag5o

[@aprioriaposteriori3676]

That's a dumb vid... What the phrase means is that the victors will be the dominant force from where facts spring - not the same as that all facts spring from it.

[@turinturambar864]

He was actually an inch above average.

[@98765zach]

leathery420 well he also unfortunately surrounded himself with tall soldiering types and men in tall hats. Not great and easily twisted one might say.

[@Alucard-gt1zf]

leathery420 the height thing wasn’t written after victory..... It was used as propaganda against the French during the war when no one could know who would win so maybe you should look up facts first

[@maldoran9150]

I get the sneaking suspicion this bloke might not like His Imperial and Royal Majesty The Emperor of the French, King of Italy very much.

[@vaclav_fejt]

And I hoped he would love the Cannibal of Corsica.

[@druisteen]

"They are only french when we beat them, and not french when they beat us." - British national ideology.

[@michajurczuk6265]

This comment reeks of cheese and wine

[@anothercynicalbrit6451]

"The enemy are here, wave the white flag" - French national ideology

[@druisteen]

@@anothercynicalbrit6451 Charles de Gaulle ?

[@anothercynicalbrit6451]

@@druisteen Charles Huntziger?

[@druisteen]

@@anothercynicalbrit6451 Charge of the Light Brigade

[@Face2theScr33n]

25:00 "One of Napoleon's Maxims was never to abandon your guns." If Nappy had Maxim guns, he may have fared better! 😎

[@state_song_xprt]

This is incorrect - Napoleon's greatest foe is of course a swarm of hungry domestic rabbits. Look it up.

[@MrSamulai]

Right. One rabbit soup, coming right up!

[@innocentbystander6620]

That rabbits dynamite!

[@Peasant_of_Pontus]

Constantinople was Constantinople (Kostantiniyye in Turkish to be exact) unitl 1923. Turkey didn't exist until 1923 either, Ottoman Empire did.

[@zwetschge9669]

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is a 1953 novelty song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. Written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, the lyrics humorously refer to the official 1930 renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul." [source:Wikipedia-"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)]- It's a reference to this song.

[@morbly]

Wait! so They Might Be Giants was just doing a cover?!?! Aww I'm sad.

[@nutyyyy]

The Ottoman Empire was often referred to as Turkey throughout the period.

[@nicobruin8618]

Common turkish inhabitants did refer to it as Istanbul. In Ottoman government documents however the city is refered to as Konstantiniyye. So after the conquest in 1453 it really had two names.

[@Peasant_of_Pontus]

The Redcoat He says Turkey multiple times, though you might've missed that among the heaps of british propaganda that has nothing to do with historical research.

[@apostate855]

We get it Lloyd, you're English.

[@onogrirwin]

The best summary of this video

[@afrog2666]

Brits are more nationalistic than the nazis and the arabs put together

[@onogrirwin]

I wish they were more so tbh. Nationalism does not necessitate insane ideologies like nazism. They are often conflated, but taking pride in your nation and heritage is a very good thing. I can't think of many nations that can't lay claim to some valuable contributions to humanity. Nationalism also does not necessitate having a colored and inaccurate understanding of history, a crime Lindybeige is occasionally guilty of. I mean no offense to Lindy, I am after all watching these videos of my own volition, and while I'm sure we disagree on some thing, they're still entertaining and informative. Plus, I'm american, so we're bound to disagree on some things :P

[@jacobhayes5245]

@@redbaron4908 Yes because as we all know the truth is whatever the highest amount of people agree on.

[@jacobhayes5245]

@@redbaron4908 No that is like sklavenmediocritatrm. Your thinking aligns against Lloyd who aptly put it "democracy is 5 wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for lunch.". Read hoppe brah

[@hamletjahn]

The more you describe Napoleon to me the more it reminds me of a former friend of mine that behaved exactly like Napoleon

[@samotten9874]

Napoleon's greatest crime was the popularising of boring flags; I consider him to be to blame for the number of unimaginative tricolors found in Europe and, as a result of colonialism, the rest of the world.

[@Tetemovies4]

Tbh at that time it was pretty damned creative.

[@davidhalabi664]

Better than some of the messed up flags in europe during the time.

[@bluelobster56]

OMG, you have developed a new metric : "atrocities per capita",,, perfect for that historical perspective 👍😁

[@MaiussX]

5:37 cant help but think there might be slight british bias involved ; )

[@Wanderer628]

Sarrus You watch any French or American video and there is clear bias and no one seems to mind. Shock, horror and outrage when a British guy, who is clearly doing it to take the mickey.

[@stephenwoods4118]

Quel surprise

[@CarrotConsumer]

Wanderer628 People threw a fit because [ INSERT COUNTRY HERE] wasn't in the latest Battlefield game.

[@bobbythebobtail]

The enthusiasm Lloyd conveys in his storytelling is both joyous and infectious. More of the same please.

[@GeorgePennellMartin]

I think we all know Napoleon's greatest foe is really Lindybeige

[@alcofribasnasier1838]

He wish he was for sure, he screams at us the fact he feels insulted by his historical existence.

[@Allocated_Brain]

Only an hour of Lindy? Good enough I guess.

[@The_Lump]

Whoa, more like LONGdybeige. Really looking forward to sitting down and watch the whole thing this evening. Great stuff.

[@adamyoung6797]

longdybiege ;)

[@TheJoshuaLavenderShow]

I always love hearing an Englishman talk about Napoleon.

[@josephyates9936]

Yeah it's funny to see Napoleon living in their head rent free....

[@everpiek1163]

lindy: the russian guy was General KUTUSOV...just thought i'd mention that. lol

[@jonoxes8662]

Mikhail Kutuzov AND Levin August Von Bennigsen. Atleast those are the two major commanders, Kutuzov being the one most credited for Napoleons defeat in Russia 1812. However Bennigsen did hold command for a long time, notably being crushed at the battle of Friedland, retiring only to come back for the battle of Borodino, though Kutuzov held command at Borodino, Bennigsen defeated Murat's Corps at Tarutino but the Russians still lost again at Borodino. He yet again retires, but after Mikhail Kutuzov dies in 1813 Bennigsen resumes command and is defeated at Bautzen and Lützen. But then finally, along with the rest of Europe defeats the French forces at Leipzig. He later oversaw the surrender of The Iron Marshal, Nichola Davout at Hamburg. As far as i can tell Bennigsen never commanded a battle again. But he held command through 1815-1818 when he finally retired for good, went blind, then died years later in 1826.

[@jonoxes8662]

@Weebo DX Well it was. A phyric victory. Most people would say a victory in name only. A tactical victory for the French but strategic victory for the Russians. The entire Russian Campaign was a DISASTER for the French, doesn't matter if Napoleon had won 10 battles like Austerlitz or just 1 like Borodino, in the end it would be a victory only in name due to attrition losses and the will of the Russians never to give up their lands. Rather burning them to the ground. It's like the battle that Ulysses S Grant faught towards the end of the US civil war where he knew he had infinitly more man power so he could lose more men and eventually the Confederates couldn't sustain their losses. Same as the Soviets did during ww2, the Germans won battle after battle but the Russians could sustain their losses whilst Germany couldn't. Same thing the Russians did to the Swedes when we invaded. Point is, the battlefield was left in French hands, so by technicality the French won the battle. But they couldn't sustain the losses up untill that point, and the retreat back across the border was even worse.

[@jonoxes8662]

@Weebo DX to be fair to Kutuzov, he was one of the most experienced and best commanders of the era (and so was Bennigsen). In some battles Kutuzov lost i belive it's cause other commanders undermined his advice to be careful.

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

We've paid in hell since Moscow burned, as Cossacks tear us piece-by-piece. Our dead are strewn a hundred leagues, though death would be a sweet release. And our grande army is dressed in rags, a frozen starving beggar band. Like rats we steal each other's scraps, and fall to fighting hand-to-hand. Save my soul from evil, Lord and heal this soldier's heart. I'll trust in thee to keep me, Lord, I'm done with Bonaparte.

[@JanHgh]

Are you SURE you're not Mark Knopfler?

[@vespadavidson2315]

Jan Høgh He's not.

[@markstuber4731]

Thank for telling Sidney Smith's story. It deserved to be told.

[@Aikendakidd]

I just have to say how wonderful it is to watch a video without relentless ads every minutes . Then to have such a knowledgeable attention keeping presenter on top is such a relief

[@CENTURION-xs6ky]

Love your enthusiasm, reminds me of my History teacher, the only teacher (I've ever met) who loved his job and the subject he taught. He gave me a deep and abiding love for the subject too, every pupil no matter the age needs a teacher like you and him. Thank you so very much, these videos are absolutely brilliant.

[@Tomsgate101]

Hello Lloyd, first of all thank you for all the effort of making all those videos I very much enjoy. Especially love the british humour! To me, nagging on the French is part of it, these exchanges have become a sort of tradition between Brits and Frenchies. But: in this video you claim very many things regarding Napoleon, presenting them as facts and not personal opinions, so I'd like to know your sources on these reports. Are they by any chance all british, and expressed during that time period (french revolution)? I think it would be interesting to read reports on Nelson from the French of that period of time, wouldn't you think? "This vain creature who had no respect for his own spouse, a pityful excuse of a man who had the audacity to fool around with another's wife and just beat the french navy by pure luck". Does that sound like a fair portrayal of the man to you? Hmmm... Not saying Napoleon was perfect, far from it, or that what Wikipedia has to say about the reasons for the massacre of Jaffa is more reliable than what you say... but I can't help noticing that you're conveniently omitting quite a few facts, or opposing opinions here. Maybe his emissaries did get decapitated and their heads put on spikes, and how should he then feel about his enemies? He still shouldn't have slaughtered them, true, but it does shine a different light on the events. And that is just one example... Yes, he did grapeshot civilians in Paris, an awful thing to do...then again they were a mob of armed royalists who would happily slaughter the sons of the revolution, and he was sworn to defend it (the revolution). Yeah... Wanna talk about some niceties that took place in the british colonies? ;) So this video raises a question (which then reflects back on all the other videos you made): do you talk about past events, facts and personalities in a rational and objective way... or are your videos all about personal opinions and interpretations? Am I watching a historian/scientist/philosopher/sociologist with a sensible approach to things... or a showman, an entertainer? I'd like to know. ps: sorry about my English, it isn't my native language. Still love it. And the Brits (and their humour)... and the French :)

[@purpleanex]

Tom's Gate.... history's written by the victors. .....I'd be surprised if there were any history books in France at all, judging by how often they lost.

[@Tomsgate101]

purpleanex Oh so true! I'm from Luxembourg. No wonder we are never mentioned at all. When did we ever win anything? ;) Still: I'm a bit sad about all this bias coming from one of my favorite KZbinrs. I guess its also what gives Lloyd's videos some of their "spice". It just happens to fall on a historical figure I know quite a bit about. From various sources, not just french or english... So it stands out.

[@Kamfrenchie]

are you joking or are you being serious ?

[@Dynahazzar3]

As much as I love seeing him destroy Napoleon, I agree that pointing out when he is using biaised sources would be nice. And we DO have history books. They mostly say "Yeah, Napoleon and De Gaulle were great mans and brought victory to France against overwhelming odds. Also, the brits burned Jeanne d'Arc. The End."

[@flybeep1661]

Kamfrenchie are you? Idiot.

[@GruSzabolcs]

The metric system is the best system. Well, I know imperial, I learned it, I'm just happy we use the metric in our country, it is better. Imho. ---- About Sir Sidney Smith all I can say he seems like an almost mythical superhero. He was almost everywhere to clash against Napoleon again and again to defeat him. And almost no one knows his name. How could this happened? Seriously. How?

[@andycaylor12]

I appreciate how Lindybeige isn't the least bit biased against Napoleon

[@knightshousegames]

Damn. That letter from the prison to Napoleon was so badass.

[@waahaah861]

I mean as a man with Wellington as my profile picture i'm going to actually be defending napoleon real quick. The prisoners he executed were executed because they all had already fought and lost against the french and vowed to not fight again but they did and so Napoleon and his commanders deliberated for a week and finally decided to set an example so that this promise would never be broken again. Napoleons complex mind makes him quite a decisive figure, he has his goods and his bads I'm neither against him nor with him.

[@davidhalabi664]

Thank you Sir Arthur

[@VRichardsn]

Quite on character for Wellington to say that. When asked who he thought was the greatest general that ever lived, Wellington answered “In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.”

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

Richardsen Because of the manners of the period (watch Barry Lyndon to get an idea) it was natural for enemies to over-flatter each other. I can guarantee you however, the Duke of Wellington took a piss in a chamber pot with a picture of Napoleon in it.

[@VRichardsn]

Maybe. But if he truly were the genocidal maniac Lindy puts him to be, Wellington wouldn´t have said those words. I mean, polite flattery was a thing, but there are limits. Maniacs do not get that treatment.

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

+Richardsen Winston Churchill said Josef Stalin was such a nice man that he’d call him uncle joe....perhaps then, over flattery, even with monsters, is just a British thing.

[@WarIsHellYT]

Didn't Britain declare war on Napoleon first both times?

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

just like they declared war on hitler...and 96% of countries on earth at a moment or another...all that for liberalism enligthenment and freedom of trade of course

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

and then when the soviet gobbled up poland the proud anglos freedomers let it go...strange how that is...i guess the ethnic composition of the soviet leadership have something to do with it eh =)

[@michaelstern5206]

Ragimund VonWallat Actually the Brits didn’t have much to say about the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe seeing as the USSR had the single most powerful land army in the world at the time. Churchill did in fact advocate a nuclear strike against the Soviets, but that idea was scrapped for being far too bloody and treacherous.

[@Kamfrenchie]

ragimund that's nonsense. If it was all about an ethnic group ruling the world, there wouldn't have been a coldwar with various hotspots, and hitler wouldn't have been able to break the versailles treaty.

[@Kamfrenchie]

except your beloved nazis allied with the "commies" to annex Poland. Without germany's rampage, the USSR wouldn't have occupied half of europe because it could have united against them

[@kwanchan6745]

youtube keeps presenting this to me to watch time and time again but this is so good, I've actually listened to it 3 times now

[@zoesdada8923]

"Clever telephones" I'm calling it that from now on.

[@dudel39]

i cant believe ive just watched the whole video. This hour felt like 20 minutes. Brilliant :D

[@SimonDudley]

Lindy, I just wanted to say thank you for this video, and many many others. Fascinating, and wonderful delivery.

[@Kalense]

There were a couple of moments there when I felt you gave the impression that you take rather a dim view of Napoleon. But I think you got away with it.