Napoleon Bonaparte: Speed as a Force Multiplier
“The strength of an army, like the amount of momentum in mechanics, is estimated by mass times velocity. A swift march enhances the morale of an army, increases its power for victory.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon is unstoppable.
Bonaparte will not fall. After relentless conquests, his enemies understand none can face him alone—they must unify. Too much power for one man; too upsetting to European balance.
The 3rd Coalition is born: an alliance between Great Britain, Austria, Russia, Sweden, & Naples.
Coalition forces march over the Rhine. With impossible speed Bonaparte’s army counterattacks, shocking the unprepared invaders. Overwhelmed and isolated, they are engulfed by Bonaparte's army.
Yet many more Coalition armies remain on the march, pouring in from the North and West. Bonaparte understands he must press the attack. A defensive stance will not win the war—victory requires forcing the initiative.
Napoleon decides where he will make his stand: the town of Austerlitz. Learning his intent, Coalition forces race to beat him there—and to stop him from dictating terms of the pending battle.
The Coalition army marches slow; a single, cohesive, massive unit. Orders take hours to communicate down the line.
None can match the speed of Napoleon.
His Grande Armée is divided into individual Corp units—each a fully functioning independent army; each an end unto itself. His Corps divide, move with unmatched speed and fluidity, then converge at Austerlitz.
Speed, yet again, rewards Bonaparte. Arriving at Austerlitz before the Allied forces, he personally—to great advantage—positions the battlefield on his terms.
Austerlitz. December 2nd, 1805.
As Coalition forces continue arriving and preparing for battle, Napoleon’s army is prepared. They are fed, and armed, and ready now.
Napoleon engages Coalition forces from the North. Once battle lines are established, he feigns weakness in his army’s right flank. Sensing collapse, Coalition forces engage the retreating French wing.
In their scramble for a decisive victory the Coalition overpursues; from discipline and order to complete chaos. Their line is now stretched dangerously thin—exactly as Bonaparte anticipated.
Through speed, Napoleon divides the enemy.
Bonaparte successfully splits the Coalition army with a counterattack at their overstretched center. A crippling blow; the broken Coalition line cannot oppose the French divided.
The end begins.
Napoleon’s 3rd Corp, a unit held in reserve, arrive after marching (an unprecedented) 70 miles in two days. The Coalition army—now surrounded, suffocating, and desperate—make an escape attempt across frozen lakes and ponds. Countless soldiers die as French artillery shatter the ice below them.
The Battle of Austerlitz is over. France’s victory complete.
French killed or captured: 9,000. Allied killed or captured: 36,000.
The leadership lesson is this.
Your competition is marching, preparing to steal your clients. To take your business. Waiting for you to fall behind; looking to get to the battlefield before you.
And they are hungry.
Inevitable shifts in the business landscape will always change client needs. There will always be new battlefields. You must never stop competing to keep your clients. You must obsessively anticipate their needs—and get there first.
It’s you or the competition; one will win—one will lose. Whoever identifies and adapts to change, researches, plans, and prepares for evolving client needs, who obsessively scan the horizon for challenges and opportunities—and get there first—will win.
“Force Multiplier: A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment.”
Bonaparte’s lesson is simple.
Speed gets you there first.
Get there first, and you dictate the terms.
Dictate the terms, and you hold the initiative.
Hold the initiative, and you win.
Mark Joseph Huckabee
