Asked who was the greatest general of his day, Wellington replied: 'In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon'. But admiration was not mutual. On the eve of Waterloo, Napoleon said of his rival: 'C'est un mauvais general'. Napoleon's underestimation of Wellington is one of the undercurrents to General Strawson's brilliant narrative as he presents us with a dual portrait of two great military geniuses. Considerable attention however is also paid to their amorous exploits as an illustration of character. For twenty years or so, the destinies of Europe were dominated by the military and political ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte. Exploiting the violent upheavals and patriotic ardour of Revolutionary France, Napoleon defeated the armies of Austria, Prussia and Russia time after time. Only England and the Royal Navy stood between him and absolute world power. England's defiance was personified by Pitt and Nelson and later by a rejuvenated British Army under Wellington. Wellington and Napoleon were exact contemporaries, born in the same year. While Napoleon played for colossal stakes and soared like an eagle - his own symbol - to unimaginable heights, only to plunge to nothingness when he was forty-six, Wellington, the archetypal English gentleman, soldier, statesman, diplomatist, went on and on from Commander-in-Chief to Prime Minister, to Pillar of State and major domo of England. The two men met but once on the field of battle and then between them they determined the fate of Europe. In an original and extremely perceptive analysis of their respective careers, General Strawson tells us which of them played the greater part in history.
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