Napoleon's exceptional qualities as a military leader developed while he served in the Republican Army during the French Revolution. He learned the modern methods of warfare and, as he gained power, developed the strategies and tactics that made the French army the premier power in Europe.
Napoleon was the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Armée, directing the army's maneuvers. He would dictate orders to his chief-of-staff, Marshal A. Bertier, who would draw up the orders for the various corps.
"Napoleon in His Study" by Jacques-Louis David, 1812. In the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
By courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., the Samuel H. Kress Collection; photograph, Giraudon--Art Resource [1]
