Napoleon later claimed that he only ever meant to scare Britain, lull Austria and train his army, and had no real intention of actually invading. This was nonsense. Captain Édouard Desbrière’s five-volume work, Projets et Tentatives de débarquement aux îles Britanniques (published in 1900-1902), reviewed Napoleon’s invasion plans and outlined in no fewer than 2,636 pages precisely where each demi-brigade was intended to land, and, despite the misprints of ‘Frey-Harock’ for Grays-Thurrock and ‘Green-hill’ for Greentithe, makes it clear that Napoleon was not bluffing. He had books and articles published about successful invasions of England from Julius Caesar onwards, began to refer to Britain as Carthage, put the Bayeaux Tapestry on display in the Louvre and instructed Denon to strike a ‘Descent on England’ medal – depicting a near-naked Napoleon wrestling successfully with a merman – which states on the reverse: ‘Struck in London 1804’.
Source:
Roberts, Andrew. "Coronation." Napoleon: A Life. New York: Penguin, 2014. 328. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Wheeler and Broadley, Napoleon and the Invasion I p. x.
Peter Mandler in TLS 7/7/2006 p. 9.
Pelet Napoleon in Council p. 39.
Anon, ‘Descente en Angleterre’ pp. 43-4.
Further Reading:
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