Napoleon's hat sells for record sum at French auction

Great marketing synergy for the upcoming movie

He went to Moscow and then the wheels came off.

JJEToday 07:35 am JST

He went to Moscow and then the wheels came off.

But not before burning it to the ground.

Incorrect. The military governor of Moscow, Rostopchin, organized the burning (including his own house) to prevent any quarter to the invaders.

JJEToday 08:15 am JST

Incorrect. The military governor of Moscow, Rostopchin, organized the burning (including his own house) to prevent any quarter to the invaders.

Still burned to the ground in the end.

Let me refresh my memory. As I recall the Russians marched into Paris at the culmination of that conflict. Alexander I of Russia came there as a liberator and saved Europe. The British even named Queen Victoria after him (Alexandrina) and the Germans had the common sense to name the main parade in Berlin, Alexanderplatz, in the same spirit. He even participated in something called the Concert of Europe.

JJEToday  09:02 am JST

Let me refresh my memory. As I recall the Russians marched into Paris at the culmination of that conflict. 

If you can remember that you must be very old indeed.

JJEToday 09:02 am JST

Let me refresh my memory. As I recall the Russians marched into Paris at the culmination of that conflict. Alexander I of Russia came there as a liberator and saved Europe. The British even named Queen Victoria after him (Alexandrina) and the Germans had the common sense to name the main parade in Berlin, Alexanderplatz, in the same spirit. He even participated in something called the Concert of Europe.

Yes the Germans do like celebrating their own.

The takeaway point from not just this movie, but a study of Napoleon, is he and his La Grande Armée made a fateful and fatal error in crossing the Niemen river. The rear guard were lucky to be commanded by Marshal Ney. The Wehrmacht failed to heed the lesson.

From my limited looks at the available trailer sequences of the movie, it appears to include Toulon, Austerlitz (could be Jena too), Waterloo and that's it. The Iberian campaign doesn't seem to warrant mention or even the biggest; the Russian campaign - which featured the biggest, bloodiest one day battle of European history and the entire Napoleonic Wars (Borodino). It appears to show him leading a cavalry charge which is odd, as he was artillery. But it does pay homage to him putting down the aristocrat rebellion.

Even the Minions movie included the Russia Campaign (Bob or whatever tipped over the cannon and blasted Napoleon and the whole crew of minions got chased by a French infantry bayonet charge and retreated into a cave).