Napoleon went to great lengths to adjust the record in order to represent
the outcome of the Battle of Marengo as a personal triumph. No less
than four successive official accounts were produced. The earlier versions
were ordered to be destroyed and left without trace (although fortunately
an unknown clerk chose to preserve one).
NB Napoleon repeatedly spurred troops into
battle in later years with the phrase
“Today is a happy day - it is the anniversary of Marengo”.
He named his horse after the battle and christened his favourite dish
with the same name, and the pall spread over his coffin was the military
cloak he wore at Marengo
Actually the immediate impact of the news of his victory at Marengo
was slight (Chandler terms it ‘popular apathy’) partly because
it did not result in peace (the Peace of Luneville came over 8 months
later).
However, since Marengo followed the Coup de Brumaire it was necessary
for Napoleon's propaganda that it was not only made to fit a standard
pattern of brilliance but also made into a suitably grand moment for
the start of his years of greatness .
Some of the facts of the case:
Napoleon was taken completely by surprise when the Austrians attacked
The French were outnumbered
He was lucky to win at all
Napoleon made a number of ‘near fatal decisions’ and it
was only the gallantry of Desaix and the initiative displayed by two
other marshals that saved the day.
Building the myth:
David’s idealised painting of Napoleon crossing the Great St Bernard
Pass (the Alps) on a white charger.
Splendid celebrations to accompany the coronation included a sumptuous
military review of the battlefield and the erection of a large memorial.
During this review it became clear to Napoleon what he should have done
and he decided to represent this ‘ideal solution’ as what
he actually did
In the rewrites Napoleon took care to represent himself as ‘riding
the whirlwind and directing the storm’ at every stage of the day.
Retreats were represented as ‘tactical withdrawals’ (a deliberate
changing of the lines of operation) during the fighting
The Austrians were represented as being lured to their doom by a carefully
designed plot of Napoleon’s ie a tactical retreat on the left
to lure the Austrians away from their bridges and closer to Desaix’s
approaching troops.
He also added in a completely false manoeuvre (the French right sweeping
in round the Austrian left).
“The fact that he took the trouble to (rewrite
history) shows that he was secretly very disturbed by the events of
Marengo.” (Chandler)
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