A. Barrau
Lithographie de l’École d’application de l’artillerie et du génie, ca. 1900
This work is an official instructional military course produced by the French École d’application de l’artillerie et du génie, intended for the professional education of artillery and engineer officers. It forms part of a broader curriculum in military art, combining historical study with strategic and operational analysis.
The second part of the course focuses on military history and strategy, covering the first major period of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, specifically the campaigns of 1796, 1800, 1805, 1806, and 1807. Rather than offering a purely narrative history, the work is structured as a didactic tool designed to teach officers how to interpret campaigns through the principles of strategy, operational movement, logistics, and battlefield engineering.
Each campaign is analyzed in terms of strategic objectives, lines of operation, troop movements, command decisions, and the use of terrain. Special attention is given to the coordination of artillery and engineer units, including siege operations, fortification design, river crossings, and defensive works—core competencies for officers trained at the École.
The introduction situates the Revolutionary and Napoleonic campaigns within the evolution of modern warfare, emphasizing the transformation of armies, the rise of mass conscription, and the increasing importance of mobility and operational planning.
Although primarily a French instructional text, the campaigns examined include operations against Coalition forces such as Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and various German contingents, including Hessian units when they appear in Rhine and German theater operations.
As a lithographed teaching manual used in advanced officer training, this work reflects the professional military doctrine of France at the turn of the 20th century and remains a valuable source for understanding how the French Army interpreted its own Revolutionary and Napoleonic military heritage.
