Did Sun Tzu's "Art of War" influence Napoleon's philosophy of war and strategy?
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According to Gary Gagliardi, Napoleon was particularly indebted to Sun Tzu for the combination of "Chang" and Ch'i.
That is, the combination of a direct attack, which could be repulsed with difficulty, followed by a "smaller," but more lethal surprise attack that would administer the coup de grace to the enemy.
On the other hand, Napoleon apparently paid less attention to Sun Tzu's precepts of climate and ground, which led to his downfall in Russia.
Upvote:6
Being a voracious reader, there is little doubt that Napoleon may have read the Jesuit translation of the Art of War by Sun Tzu. He may have dismissed the wisdom of Sun Tzu or at least never mentioned the Asian strategist, because of the preference he had for the authors of antiquity. Perhaps Sun Tzu simply confirmed that which he had already gleaned from Arrian, Polybius and Caesar; since his deep reading and reflection upon these authors would have already led him to the profound advise given by Sun Tzu. It is possible, but not cited, that the 13 chapters of the Art of War made it into his personal, portable library he used whilst on campaign. One can easily see many examples of the Art of War exercised in the Ulm/Austerlitz campaign, yet that does not mean - necessarily - that Napoleon referred to Sun Tzu alone concerning his use of deception, encirclement and surprise.
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