Napoleon's means of motivating his men

Quite a depressing pod cast, it was an ordeal to listen, what did I learn other that Malia Ogawa is in love with Nabulieone ?

There is much more than just glorifying soldiers to draw them on your side, or to appeal on their love for their family and country.

Nabulieone managed to convert an army based on virtue into an army based on honour - see John A. Lynn - Toward an Army of Honor - The Moral Evolution of the French Army 1789 - 1815 (From Warfare in Europe 1792 - 1815) and a lot of other chapters related to this topic.

Nabulieone managed to convert a Republican Army into an Imperial one - by purging those critical to his person - and drawing the rest into the cult by wining in spectacular fashion the campaign of 1815.

One of his gunners, Noel, is quite puzzled when he met officers who were very critical of Nabulieone turning into admirers.

Critical voices about Nabulieone can be found, one has to look and not following the paved ways of how Nabulieone wants to see himself and his soldiers.

One can start even in memoires of Blaze - to find critical sections, or French soldiers instead of shouting vive l'empereur - vive les pommes de terres, to statements like Kleber who thinks that Boney is only a miserable charlatan to Kellermann who accuses him ruining France and so on.

Morvan : Les Soldat Imperial, two volumes might be a good start to find more critical voices not blinded by the sunray beam.

Just read the book about Polish eye witnesses of the Russian campaign of 1812, when Boney wants to warm up at a camp fire, his staff dissuades him to go there because there may be violence against him.

Did Nabulieone love his soldiers as being his children? As appealing to Kleber that he should look after them like this.

Not in my view, would a father who loves his children leave them in a mess like he did when leaving his children abandoned in Egypt?

He is shown as cold blooded human, strolling around at the battle field, among the dying whistling and singing.

He revels at the sight of the burning Somlensk, while other members of his staff are quite shocked by the destruction.