The rest is history. Napoleon wins the battle but loses the war, and his empire. He arrives in Moscow to a sea of flames. Prisoners set loose in the city with the population evacuated, he occupied the Russian capital waiting for a surrender he knew wasn't coming. With no food and the winter approaching, he was forced into a retreat. With starvation, and a relentless pursuit from the Russian military, Napoleon's Grand Armee was destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands dead in Czar Alexander's grasslands. Three years later, Napoleon loses to the British and the Prussians at Waterloo and is condemned to be exiled to Saint Helena.
For 13 years, Napoleon had built an empire to encompass most of Europe up to the Russian and Ottoman empires. He was a force to be reckoned with, winning countless battles, imposing his own civil code and constitution upon millions. He developed the French army to focus on mobility and drilling them intensely. He made war economically beneficial to the country. He did everything right, until the aftermath of the Battle of Borodino.
Bonaparte began the war in June, giving him time to defeat Russia, before the winter. He took Moscow in September, but only began the evacuation in October, with a starving army. For weeks, Napoleon underwent the conscous decision to continue the occupation of a deserted, burning city, whilst the Czar watched his army starve from St. Petersburg.
Everyone has these moments. We all make mistakes that are uncharacteristic of ourselves, perhaps not as dramatic, monumental and politically paramount as Napoleon's decision to stay in Moscow for far longer than he should have. But they are still significant, within our own lives.
Why do we make decisions that are so uncharacteristic of us? "Why did I not go to the doctor when I found that bump on my penis? I'm usually a fairly sensible person." It seems absurd that we make silly decisions in hindsight.
Despite this, I think that we should consider that these decisions are not uncharacteristic at all. In fact, these things are the very furthest reaches, as Jon Ronson puts it: our "maddest edges". And like it or not, these form a part of our character. The fact that we make these mistakes are part of our character. Napoleon was egotisitcal and overestimated his own skill - that is why this mistake was made in Moscow, and why it was intevitable that he'd fall anyway. But we need to recognise that we shouldn't shun our mistakes, we must embrace them. Absolute denial that these mistakes are part of our character is part of the problem - they're not distinctively negative, they happen to everyone.
So next time you make a stupid mistake, instead of saying "Well I won't do that again!" Look back at what happened. Understand why it happened, and work on improving that part of your character.
For 13 years, Napoleon had built an empire to encompass most of Europe up to the Russian and Ottoman empires. He was a force to be reckoned with, winning countless battles, imposing his own civil code and constitution upon millions. He developed the French army to focus on mobility and drilling them intensely. He made war economically beneficial to the country. He did everything right, until the aftermath of the Battle of Borodino.
Bonaparte began the war in June, giving him time to defeat Russia, before the winter. He took Moscow in September, but only began the evacuation in October, with a starving army. For weeks, Napoleon underwent the conscous decision to continue the occupation of a deserted, burning city, whilst the Czar watched his army starve from St. Petersburg.
Everyone has these moments. We all make mistakes that are uncharacteristic of ourselves, perhaps not as dramatic, monumental and politically paramount as Napoleon's decision to stay in Moscow for far longer than he should have. But they are still significant, within our own lives.
Why do we make decisions that are so uncharacteristic of us? "Why did I not go to the doctor when I found that bump on my penis? I'm usually a fairly sensible person." It seems absurd that we make silly decisions in hindsight.
Despite this, I think that we should consider that these decisions are not uncharacteristic at all. In fact, these things are the very furthest reaches, as Jon Ronson puts it: our "maddest edges". And like it or not, these form a part of our character. The fact that we make these mistakes are part of our character. Napoleon was egotisitcal and overestimated his own skill - that is why this mistake was made in Moscow, and why it was intevitable that he'd fall anyway. But we need to recognise that we shouldn't shun our mistakes, we must embrace them. Absolute denial that these mistakes are part of our character is part of the problem - they're not distinctively negative, they happen to everyone.
So next time you make a stupid mistake, instead of saying "Well I won't do that again!" Look back at what happened. Understand why it happened, and work on improving that part of your character.
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