ABSTRACT
The fully matured Napoleonic strategic system was obviously the product of lengthy and intense experiences on campaign and on the battlefield. The revolutionary and Napoleonic wars left France a mixed inheritance in terms of power and reputation. With the government and the country facing foreign invasion, the stately procession that at least appeared to typify eighteenth century warfare would no longer suffice. The revolution did generate an ideological predilection for the offensive that remained a hallmark of French planning and operations throughout this quarter century of war. The new First Consul did seem to re-energize the country, crushing out the last remnants of civil war, setting the republic's woeful financial house in order. The result was the victory of Marengo, which while scarcely decisive in itself, prompted a negotiated settlement of the war. The nightmare of fighting another great war against much of Europe they sought particularly to avoid.
