ABSTRACT
In the spring of 1809 Jerome Bonaparte’s recently formed Kingdom of Westphalia and its fledgling army faced the daunting prospect of war. But before the king and his army fired a shot against the enemy, they were beset by several insurrections at home that were intended to topple the kingdom, capture the king, and start a wave of general uprisings against French hegemony in Germany. The Westphalian army was created during these early crises and, much to the surprise of many of the participants and observers, it reached a high level of military effectiveness. The issue of the success of the Westphalian army is an important one and goes beyond institutional military history – although it does have implications for the institutional and operational aspects of the Napoleonic campaigns. The reason that the success or failure of the Westphalian army has broader implications is tied to its pivotal position both geographically and chronologically. The Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia was located in the heart of Germany. Napoleon envisioned this state as a keystone of the “third Germany,” the Rheinbund, which would serve to check the ambitions of the other two traditional “Germanies,” namely, Austria and Prussia.
