French defeat in 1814 is too often shrugged off as the result of obvious and understandable factors. "Napoleon Against Great Odds: The Emperor and the Defenders of France, 1814" challenges the widely accepted notion that war-weariness and internal political opposition to Napoleon were the decisive and direct causes of French defeat. At least as important, it argues, were material shortages, diplomatic missteps, and even faulty strategic planning on Napoleon's part.

The book not only traces the narrative of Napoleon's 1814 Campaign in France, but explores the formation of the French army...