Few nations have produced so long a line of famous commanders as France, from the Frankish champion who turned back an invasion in the eighth century to the emperor who conquered most of Europe. These are the great commanders of France, in triumph and disaster alike, each linked to the battle or campaign that made their name.
Napoleon Bonaparte. The emperor whose victories, above all Austerlitz, made him master of Europe before his final fall at Waterloo.
Napoleon Crossing the Alps, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1800; this version hangs at the Château de Malmaison. Public domain
Turenne. The marshal Napoleon ranked among the great captains, a master of the war of manoeuvre under Louis XIV.
Charles Martel. The Frankish leader who halted the Umayyad advance at Tours in 732.
Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732, painted by Charles de Steuben in 1837. Public domain
Joan of Arc. The Maid of Orleans, whose faith and daring helped turn the Hundred Years War.
Thirteen centuries of war
The story runs from Charles Martel at Tours in 732, through the dark days of the Hundred Years War that Joan of Arc helped turn, to the age of Turenne and the great wars of Napoleon. It is a history of dazzling victories such as Austerlitz and of hard defeats such as Waterloo, told honestly.
Joan of Arc at the siege of Orleans, a mural painted by Jules Eugène Lenepveu between 1886 and 1890 for the Panthéon in Paris. Public domain
