This essay is part of “(There is Nothing New) Under the Sun“ A monthly column of random, historical vignettes demonstrating that the more things change, the more they stay the same. After ...

Napoleon Absent, Coalition Ascendant covers why and how French gains in the Rhineland, Switzerland, and Italy that resulted from Bonaparte’s victories in 1797 that led to the Peace of Campo Formio ...

The Austrians occupied Switzerland on December 30, threatening the borders of France. The tide of war was running against Napoleon; in two months he lost 400,000 men. Still, he fought on.

Swiss, and others, as well as French. They were the most feared men in Napoleon’s army. Much more than personal bodyguards, they were Napoleon's weapon of last resort, and were rarely committed ...