I’m honoured to have been awarded a
@LeverhulmeTrust
Early Career Fellowship at
@portsmouthuni
looking at crime and punishment in the EIC army/navy.
To everyone (friends, colleagues, patrons and followers) who has helped get me through a challenging time - a huge thank you
Between this, his insidious BS that only the 1st two books on Napoleon are relevant & historians’ views don’t matter because they weren’t there, Ridley Scott is showing a breathtakingly arrogant disdain for the efforts experts make searching for the ‘truth’ about the past. 1/
Those moments when you’re literally holding history in your hands 😍
This is the last page of the Treaty on the Independence of Belgium (aka Treaty of London), signed on 15th November 1831, by the likes of Palmerston, Talleyrand, Bülow and Von Lieven.
Sometimes this job is ace!
‘his wife slept with other men’
Please.
As if Napoleon didn’t have a string of mistresses.
Sure, he was faithful for longer, but this double standard judging of Josephine increasingly irritates me.
It also ignores the fact that J was pushed into an unwanted marriage by Barras
Alexander the Great won 9 battles
Julius Caesar won 16
Napoleon? THIRTY EIGHT
17 of them with impossible odds
Half a dozen EMPIRES had to join hands to stand a chance against him
Yet his wife slept with other men
The tragic love story of one of the greatest men of all time:
What was the most SIGNIFICANT battle of the Napoleonic Wars?
(NOT your favourite). A tricky question in terms of how to measure impact:
Austerlitz
Maloyaroslavets
Leipzig
Waterloo
Fair warning, I think Waterloo is the weakest of the contenders. Happy to hear alternatives
I’m getting bored of these outbursts from a director who is showing an over-emotional 13 year old’s attitude to what history is.
Imagine having had a love of history inspired by watching his films, only to witness this.
Ridley Scott on historians having criticisms about ‘NAPOLEON’.
“When I have issues with historians, I ask: ‘Excuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the fuck up then.’”
(Source: )
I passed my PhD viva, with very minor corrections!!!
As you can imagine, I’m overwhelmed & trying to digest the news.
A massive thank you to so many people who have made this happen.
Firstly my ace supervisors
@jgammon2
, David Brown & Chris Woolgar, & everyone
@HistoryAtSoton
‘The British were scared of him. They called him the God of War’.
This is a memo that the British rank & file never got. They’d have howled with laughter at it
Arrogance & national pride meant they were supremely confident they’d beat the French, regardless of the circumstances
A 1794(?) seven barrelled volley gun, appearing on Antiques Roadshow in 1991.
Designed by Henry Nock, it fired seven pistol bullets from one charge.
The weapon was made famous by Bernard Cornwell who wrote it into Sharpe as Sergeant Harper’s second weapon.
Early reactions from me are positive - Its not the hagiography I was expecting
Sure, it overplays his whiff of grapeshot involvement & I have issues with the Austerlitz bit.
But its epic, visually stunning, and seems quite warts & all - the arrogance is 100% there.
Can't wait
He came from nothing. He conquered everything. From acclaimed director Ridley Scott,
@NapoleonMovie
is exclusively in movie theaters this Thanksgiving. Watch the official trailer now.
Nervous smiles this morning ahead of recording for BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ with Melvyn Bragg.
Kate Astbury, Mike Rowe and I will be talking about Napoleon’s ‘Hundred Days’.
The Imposter Syndrome is strong. Should be a lot of fun though.
Genuine question, as I can’t decide where I stand on this:
Given the role of the Arc de Triomphe in commemoration, is this not… tacky?
It doesn’t feel quite right to me?
The chateau of Hougoumont farm on the battlefield of Waterloo.
The chateau, gardens & surrounding orchard were defended by a mixture of Coldstream and Scots Guards, Dutch, King's German Legion and Hanoverian troops.
Despite multiple French break ins, the farm never fell.
I was quoted in
@guardian
😱
There’s a lot I could say about Bidiss’s arguments. The comment about how Napoleon could win a naval battle & make up the number of ships captured amused me.
Napoleon was famous for not being a naval commander 🤦♂️
Majorly oversimplified, but about as good a representation of Austerlitz as you could expect from Hollywood in 2 mins, & not as bad as I was expecting.
Could do with less of this ice nonsense though. Napoleon had the ‘lakes’ (actually fish ponds) drained: they found two bodies.
A look at the Battle of Austerlitz from Ridley Scott’s
#Napoleon
. See this scene and more in Premium Large Formats, Screen X, 70mm and IMAX November 22. Get tickets now.
And that, as they say, is that.
Adios
@HistoryAtSoton
. Its been a great run. I first walked through your doors as a a spotty teenager in 2010. Twelve years later, I'm a Dr.
Who knows what the future holds now...
Wellington as an old man
This is an early version of a photograph - it remains one of the most prized possessions of the Wellington family (according to the current Duke).
This image is available on the National Army Museum's website
During the Napoleonic Wars the British were not the avenging angels they tend to be portrayed as.
Napoleon was a better general than Wellington, but by slim margin. Both could be unpleasant humans and I’d go drinking with neither of them.
Oh, and Trafalgar isn’t quite all that
What is the most iconic depiction of Napoleon?
David - Napoleon crossing the alps
Gillray - Plum Pudding in Danger
Canova - Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
Delaroche - Napoleon at Fontainebleau
Open to other suggestions (especially from Napoleon’s ‘Rod Stewart’ phase)
This attitude comes as a particular disappointment considering I’ve spent months urging people to recognise there will be some historical inaccuracies in ‘Napoleon’ due to artistic licence and the nature of Hollywood - his film is meant to entertain, rather than educate 2/
The 28th Regiment at Quatre Bras, by Lady Butler.
One of the best paintings of conflict in my honest opinion. Look closely for the guy grey from blood loss, the one in a euphoric state, and the officer grimly doing his job by pointing out targets.
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
On this day, 1854, the charge of the Light Brigade
I’ve just heard that, for the 2nd time in my career, I’ve been awarded
@HistoryAtSoton
’s &
@hartleyspecialc
’s Wellington Prize for my PhD. The first time was in 2012 as an undergrad. It’s come as a total shock, & I’m a mess. Huge thanks to the judges & the 9th Duke for the award.
The Napoleon Movie: Impressive for the way it made one of the most compelling stories in history seem boring.
I unleash my thoughts on the Ridley Scott monstrosity. In summary: I could have forgiven the historical inaccuracies if the film had a sole
However, with these comments, Scott shows that he doesn’t understand what historians do, and cares even less. For him it seems that history is not ‘a set of lies agreed upon’ as Napoleon supposedly claimed, but rather is just whatever you want it to be. 3/
Irrespective of your thoughts on casting, tone and much more besides, we’ve waited a long time for a Napoleonic blockbuster.
Popcorn. Suspend historical precision (it’s going to be inaccurate in places). Enjoy
Joaquin Phoenix takes the crown. Watch the new trailer for
#Napoleon
, from acclaimed director Ridley Scott. See it in Premium Large Formats, Screen X, 70mm and IMAX this Thanksgiving.
That's a wrap. After over 4 years in the making, I've submitted my PhD thesis.
I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has got me through it, including all of you, the gang
@hack_history
& especially my supervisors
@jgammon2
Chris Woolgar & David Brown
@HistoryAtSoton
First Ridley Scott, now Steven Spielberg…
Napoleon is getting the full Hollywood treatment at the moment.
Wellington, Blucher & Tsar Alexander all just left the chat in jealousy 🤣
And yes I am available as a historical advisor. Not that anyone is asking, listening or cares🤣
After two years my court martial database covering the GB Army for 1808-1818 is complete!
At 9,228 cases it's the largest study of GB Army crime in the Napoleonic Wars.
A worrying number of the accused had the surname 'White'!
Next step? Get it online! Oh, and finish the PhD!
So: historians.
We have a life.
It’s dedicated to the past.
To uncovering people’s stories so that others care & share in their joy and heartbreak
So that we remember, reflect & try to learn
It’s more honest & important than just making it up because it looks cool.
End/
I'm excited & privileged to have been awarded 3rd place by the judges of the
@SMH_Historians
'Edward Coffman First manuscript prize'
They seemed to enjoy my PhD thesis on crime & punishment in Wellington's army during the Napoleonic Wars
I really should turn it into a book...
Historianing isn’t all glamour:
The face of a man as he realises that the small mountain he just climbed is the wrong one and has no historical significance whatsoever. 🤦♂️
Still vaguely worth it for a very impressive view of the Vittoria battlefield.
I’m very excited to have just been invited to speak on ‘In Our Time’ from
@BBCSounds
I’ll be debating Napoleon’s ‘Hundred Days’ with two other historians of the period (don’t know who yet).
Rest assured I’ll mythbust the hell out of the ‘British vs Prussian Victory’ debate
Who was Napoleon's greatest marshal?
This year's Napoleonic Wars pod Xmas special is a contest of Napoleon's finest, & you can be on the show
Many options are already taken, but I'm looking for people to champion Lefrebvre & Bessieres
If you're interested, reply below
#WaterlooLive
#OTD
Right Now: 18th June 1815 14:30
Just as D’Erlon’s corps reaches the allied ridge, and is trying reorganise its formation, its swamped by the charge of the Allied Union and Household brigades. The charge is devastatingly successful.
@lisaocarroll
So this is what 'taking back control' looks like, is it?
Anyway, what happened to the 'oven ready' deal? I thought they said doing a trade deal would be incredibly easy? And when are we going to see the £350 million a week. Surely these politicians didn't lie to us? 🤔😱
He came from nothing. He conquered everything. From acclaimed director Ridley Scott,
#Napoleon
is exclusively in movie theaters this Thanksgiving. Watch the official trailer now.
Happy Easter!
What's the biggest 'What if?' of the Napoleonic Wars?
- Nelson intercepts Napoleon en-route to Egypt
- Britain & France honour the peace of Amiens
- Napoleon doesn't attempt the continental system
- Napoleon doesn't invade Russia
Happy to hear other contenders...
The Battle of Salamanca fought
#OnThisDay
22nd July 1812.
Wellington’s best day at the office
After days of marching, often within cannon shot of the French, & having been on the back foot, Wellington spotted an opportunity & struck like a viper.
Here I describe that moment
There will also be things that are missed out. You can’t tell Napoleon’s life fully in ten hours, never mind two.
But that’s not the line Scott takes. His remarks spit in the face of the expertise and hard work of skilled intelligent people who devote their lives to the past 5/
I have just, finally, been to see Oppenheimer.
Frankly it does a better job of retelling the life of Napoleon Bonaparte than the Ridley Scott production did.
#WaterlooLive
#OTD
Right Now: 18th June 1815 09:30
Napoleon realises his attack will have to be delayed further, as his army is still moving up to the battlefield, and delays the attack until 11:00. He orders D’Erlon to break the Allied centre and advance on Brussels.
I now own a historical artefact!
This 1796 light cavalry pattern was almost certainly produced pre 1815, & belonged to an officer (blueing still just visible on the blade in places)
With notches to the blade, it’s clearly been swung. I love the worn leather on the grip! 😍
What's the best on screen depiction of the Napoleonic Wars? There are many contenders, so feel free to add suggestions beyond these four... I'll then do a poll in two days time...
War and Peace (2016 TV)
Sharpe (1990s TV)
Master & Commander (2003 Film)
Waterloo (1970 Film)
To be clear, there is always a balance to be achieved. I can understand setting the Battle of the pyramids far closer to the tombs than it was in reality. I get why he’s playing into myth with the ice at Austerlitz scene. It’s dramatic. It’s visually stunning. That’s Hollywood 4/
Fox News anchor: "I remember, 20 years-old, going to Trier, Germany and trying to find the home of Karl Marx 'cause, you know, 1848, he wrote Mein Kampf. I wanted to know what was all about. So, that's part of the education in America."
I'm honoured to have been awarded an 'honourable mention' (runner up) by the judges of the International Commission for Military History's Corvisier prize for my PhD thesis.
That makes it one first place and two runners up for the thesis. Good job the book is in the pipleline...
Today is a significant personal anniversary: On this day in 2022, I passed my PhD viva examination, becoming Dr White.
Not that I really use the title except when in arguments with the bank 🤦♂️
The inimitable mug was a present from
@churchill_alex
Saying the first two books ever written about Napoleon is not just untrue, it’s like saying ‘there’s no point watching Gladiator because I’ve seen Ben Hurr and all Roman films are the same’.
It’s an illogical point. It also misses the point on why historians write books 6/
Who was the biggest scoundrel of the Napoleonic Wars?
Talleyrand
Metternich
Napoleon
Sir Home Popham
It will be interesting to see how people choose to define ‘scoundrel’.
I’m open to arguments for other contenders, including the British government as a whole.
The 2nd December was Napoleon's best day in the office:
1804: He crowned himself Emperor of the French.
1805: He shattered the Austrian-Russian Army at the Battle of Austerlitz in one of the most impressive battles in all of military history.
A decade long dream is being realised.
I’ve just booked part one of a Peninsular War road trip for May.
Lisbon, Torres Vedras, Roliça, Vimeiro, Bussaco, Almeida, Fuentes D’Oñoro, Ciudad Rodrigo & Salamanca (or bust!) & for 3/4 of it I’m staying within sight of a battlefield 😍
This week Spotify tried to destroy the Napoleonic Wars Podcast.
The listeners have risen in revolt against this tyranny.
Here's how you can help me reconnect with my lost audience.
Unfollow 'The Na Po Le On Ic' & follow the correct version. Correct link replies below
The castle wall of Badajoz.
On the night of 6th April, Picton’s division was tasked with making an escalade of this point in the city’s defences.
Originally intended as a diversionary attack, their eventual success, rather than the breach assaults, was partly why Badajoz fell
On this day 1810 the Third French invasion of Portugal ground to a halt before the Lines of Torres Vedras.
The brainchild of (then) Viscount Wellington, these 3 lines of fortifications were manned with militia, with the army behind the lines waiting to pounce on breakthroughs.
Guess who was responsible for the first account of Napoleon’s life?
Napoleon himself.
Just like you wouldn’t expect Johnson, Trump, Wellington or Ceaser to have been objective about their lives and achievements, you can’t expect Napoleon to be either when dictating his. 10/
The Lion's Mound on the Waterloo battlefield.
Marking the place where the Prince of Orange was wounded, it also sits on part of the ground where the first wave of Napoleon's Imperial Guard were defeated.
More stunning drone footage dropping soon.
As for ‘you weren’t there’. NEITHER WERE YOU RIDLEY!
Ffs 🤦♂️
But there’s an important difference with historians: we’ve spent years of our lives reading the accounts of the people who WERE there.
And that’s what’s missing here: an appreciation of why history matters 15/
The Art of History vs Ridley Scott.
Four historians respond to to Ridley Scott's comments on historical accuracy, and how historians know what they know.
Featuring
@ClareSiviter
@lureynol
&
@KKriegeBlog
Recording at the BBC went well (I’ll share pics later)
Thank you to everyone for the messages of support, to my friends who helped me combat the imposter syndrome, & to Kate Astbury for recommending me to the BBC
In Our Time: Napoleon’s Hundred Days will broadcast Thursday 19/4
In Our Time: Napoleon’s Hundred Days
Today 9am BST
Melvin Bragg is joined by me, Prof Kate Astbury
@100Days1815
& Prof Michael Rowe to discuss Napoleon’s final gamble.
Extended cut (with more on the Battle of Waterloo) available on BBC Sounds
Salamanca is quite simply the most beautiful city I have ever seen.
Like a fusion of Cambridge and York, but prettier, with a Spanish charm about it. And warmer.
Every street you turn down has an utterly stunning surprise in store.
😍😍😍
Who was the WORST commander of the Napoleonic era?
Villeneuve (Trafalgar)
Dupont (Bailen)
The Duke of York (Flanders Campaign)
Tsar Alexander (Austerlitz)
As ever, open to alternatives (I’m bound to have missed some great contenders), and let me know you reasoning why.
Spare a thought for the soldiers of Moore's & Soult's armies, who right now in 1809 were trekking through the Galician mountains as Moore's men rushed to evacuate Spain via Corunna - they'd been marching since 24th December in freezing conditions.
NAM. 1956-02-328-1
The most audacious cavalry charge of the entire Peninsular War?
Fought on this day, 23rd July 1812, a mixture of courage, impetuosity and blind luck saw cavalry of the King’s German Legion shatter two squares, mauling Foy’s division.
A classic example is Waterloo. It has been done to death & it is only very occasionally that a genuinely new insight is offered by an author. The worst accounts merely perpetuate the myths and misunderstandings of the last 200 years.
So does that mean Ridley is right? No. 8/
#WaterlooLive
#OTD
Right Now: 18th June 1815 06:00
Napoleon’s attack is delayed to 09:00 as his army has not concentrated yet. Meanwhile, Wellington leaves Waterloo, heading for the Mont St Jean position.
Benedict Arnold.
*Ducks*
But seriously, if you want to explore the complicated internal dilemmas people went through when deciding who to side with during the Revolution, Arnold serves as an avenue to explore the ‘loyalist’ cause. Not that he seemed to need huge encouragement
With today's premiere of "Franklin" on
@AppleTV
starring Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin, we want to know: What other Revolutionary figure would you want to see depicted in a TV series or movie? 🤔
Sure, some people jump on the bandwagon and write ‘hack’ versions of history - ultra basic accounts that don’t do much more than tell the story badly. That’s not an attack on narrative accounts of events, they can be done of the best history books out there. Yet done badly…😬7/
‘Ou est Grouchy?’
Oh wait, he’s fighting the Prussian rearguard like you told you to, Napoleon.
Filmed from Napoleon’s observation point panning from Frischermont toward Papelotte and on towards the allied centre. Prussian IV corps attacked from the right of this shot
The answer is Napoleon. It just is.
Anyone citing Waterloo is ignoring that Waterloo-N was well past his best.
N’s best day was probably Austerlitz. W never had his Austerlitz, though he came close at Vimeiro, Salamanca & Vittoria.
There styles were totally different though.
Today history is about analysis & evaluation.
Carefully assessing the motives for the source, weighing its trustworthiness, weeding out the bias (of both source & historian). There’s a reason it takes years to become a professional historian.
This was not so 200 years ago 12/
And so it begins…
The Waterloo memorial in London Waterloo railway station.
I rarely pass through without pausing to remember.
Over the next few days I’ll be focusing on a number of the battles that made Wellington. My Peninsular War road trip starts here.
There is a distinction to be made between the books that offer nothing new, and the ones based on deep research. It’s only by bothering to read them that you can tell which is which.
The first two books are often the worst for a very simple reason: bias. 9/
#OnThisDay
last year, I passed my PhD viva.
Kinda apt for the ‘crime & punishment in Wellington’s army’ historian considering that it’s also the anniversary of Badajoz.
Still not used to ‘Dr White’ - generally only use it irritate people in arguments 🤦♂️🤣
I went nuclear: Not sorry
Language, spoiler & explicit content warning
The Napoleon movie is better viewed as historical fantasy than biopic
Although visually stunning, the awful dialogue, pig-grunting seduction & sloppy consistency mean this film is better with the volume off
😡MOVIE RAGE INCOMING😡
BONUS: Hitting Ridley Scott where it hurts.
@ZwhiteHistory
dived by to vent about the Napoleon movie, Trenches, Josephine and whether pig noises are suitable for seduction.
SPOILER WARNING: Zack White Rips Apart the Napoleon Movie
Basement envy? Please.
You had all that space and didn’t turn it into a library. Talked about a missed opportunity. 🤦♂️
And if you’re going down the weapons route, at least make it classy and break out the antique swords and muskets 🙄
I don’t wish to cause alarm, but it has just been brought to my attention that Naval & Military Press have an extra 25% off all Napoleonic titles.
There will now be a minute’s silence in memory of my bank balance…
Some titles are on sale for under £3. Sacrifices had to be made