Western Civilization II / Unit 8 WC2 0704 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Total War Paid by Loot: A Million Soldiers by 1812
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The idea
The levée en masse became permanent. Conquest paid for the next conquest: loot, indemnities and puppet states' levies financed armies that reached, by the anchor's count, a million men by eighteen twelve, the largest force ever assembled.
In practice
Rule depended on victory, so victory could never stop.
Where people slip
The anchor's weakness for Napoleon: he could not end a war.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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