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On the morning of August 4 [1796], Napoleon was at Lonato with only 1,200 men when more than 3,000 lost Austrians, who had been cut off from Quasdanovich’s command, suddenly blundered into the town. Napoleon calmly informed their parlementaire (officer sent to parley) that his ‘whole army’ was present, and that ‘If in eight minutes his division had not laid down its arms, I would not spare a man.’

He supported this ruse by issuing orders to Berthier about grenadier and artillery units that Berthier knew were entirely bogus. The Austrians only discovered once they had surrendered and been disarmed that there were no French forces nearby, and that they could have captured Napoleon with ease.


Source:

Roberts, Andrew. "Victory." Napoleon: A Life. New York: Penguin, 2014. 112. Print.

Original Source Listed:

ed. Bingham, Selection I p. 106.


Further Reading:

Napoleone di Buonaparte / Napoléon Bonaparte / Napoleone I°, per la grazia di Dio e le costituzioni Imperatore de' Francesi e Re d'Italia (Napoleon I, thanks to God and the Constitutions, Emperor of the French and King of Italy) / Napoleon I

Lonato del Garda

Louis Alexandre Berthier

>On the morning of August 4 [**1796**], [Napoleon]( https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) was at Lonato with only 1,200 men when more than 3,000 lost Austrians, who had been cut off from Quasdanovich’s command, suddenly blundered into the town. Napoleon calmly informed their *parlementaire* (officer sent to parley) that his ‘whole army’ was present, and that ‘If in eight minutes his division had not laid down its arms, I would not spare a man.’ >He supported this ruse by issuing orders to [Berthier]( https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Louis-Alexandre_Berthier%2C_Prince_de_Neufch%C3%A2tel_et_de_Wagram%2C_mar%C3%A9chal_de_France_%281753-1815%29.jpg) about grenadier and artillery units that Berthier knew were entirely bogus. The Austrians only discovered once they had surrendered and been disarmed that there were no French forces nearby, and that they could have captured Napoleon with ease. ________________________________________ **Source:** Roberts, Andrew. "Victory." *Napoleon: A Life*. New York: Penguin, 2014. 112. Print. **Original Source Listed:** ed. Bingham, *Selection* I p. 106. ________________________________________ **Further Reading:** [Napoleone di Buonaparte / Napoléon Bonaparte / Napoleone I°, per la grazia di Dio e le costituzioni Imperatore de' Francesi e Re d'Italia (Napoleon I, thanks to God and the Constitutions, Emperor of the French and King of Italy) / Napoleon I]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon) [Lonato del Garda]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonato_del_Garda) [Louis Alexandre Berthier]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Alexandre_Berthier)

6 comments

[–] E-werd 3 points (+3|-0)

As long as you don't pull this all the time, you can successfully bluff from time to time.

[–] TheRedArmy 1 points (+1|-0)

Yes. The fictional "Empty Fort Strategy" that Luo Guanzhong had Zhuge Liang use in his novel version of the historical Three Kingdoms period was based on this concept.

Basically, Zhuge Liang ordered his nation's forces to attack somewhere, and he had to draw all the troops from another city as part of the attack. Sima Yi, his rival in the state of Wei, approached the undefended city. Zhuge, knowing there was no hope in any kind of conventional fight, ordered all the city gates opened, all flags brought down, and all soldiers to lay down their arms and join the city's populace in normal activities. When Sima Yi approached the city with his army, scouts reported the situation, and said that "Zhuge Liang was sitting atop the city gates, playing his Zither (a stringed musical instrument) calmly, with no sign of any enemy forces.

Sima Yi ordered a war council to be held with his nearby advisers and generals, and discussed the situation. After much argument, Sima decided that there must be an ambush afoot, and elected to withdraw his forces. A defense force rejoined the city a few days later and the area was secure. When Zhuge told another general in his kingdom about the incident, the general was astounded, and asked how he knew Sima Yi would retreat. Zhuge said something like "I have commanded the Shu forces for many years; and when I command the armies in the field, I am cautious and always in control of the situation - because I have built up this reputation over many years, Sima Yi had to respect that I was maintaining that strategy, and so retreat was the proper course of action for him."

In a more real-life example, Dan Harrington also writes about how in poker, you make the easiest money when you play opposite of your normal playing style. If you're a conservative player, people don't expect you to go into a hand with something like 6-5 suited. So when you get a straight on the flop with such a hand, everyone assumes you likely have a high pair, or two over-cards. And then, you're able to extract money out from others effectively because of the unexpected nature of your hand.