Talk:Coup of 18 Brumaire

message: I think a much better job needs to be done of introducing the "two Councils". The first mention of them uses just those words, and it isn't until several paragraphs later that they both are named.  No description of their roles or membership is given (except that one evidently has 500 members).  I know we don't need to recapitulate the article on The Directory here, but surely a sentence or two on each council is not out of order. Mdotley 13:22, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I added a parenthetical remark "that is, the upper and lower houses of the legislature". - Jmabel | Talk 22:50, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Two Councils 

message: Having just finished William Boyle's Oxford History of the French Revolution, I was surprised to read here in this article that a coup was involved. It wasn't mentioned in this well regarded telling. Shenanigans perhaps, but coup?  Boyle has it that Bony's installation as First Consul (of three) was nearly by acclamation. He had just made short work of winning all of France's continental wars for her against heavy odds!
:I would like to see a citation for this claim of a coup involving troops. wgoetsch (talk) 05:24, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Doyle discusses the Brumaire coup in pp.374–375 (2nd edition). I added a few citations here. SteveStrummer (talk) 07:39, 24 July 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: In fact Napoleon had been sent off to Egypt after his first victorious Italian campaign. While he was away the French were getting clobbered militarily in Europe. Napoleon returned and staged his coup - then a few months later embarked on his second victorious Italian campaign - Marengo.  This wiki article describes one of them. Napoleon did not command of the German Front and he lost the Near East to the British. It certainly was a coup in every sense of the word. Napoleon deserted his army in Egypt with the goal of taking power in France. When he returned was immediately seen by many as a potential saviour of France and he had many political backers ready to propel him into a leadership role in order to reverse the rapidly declining situation in France. In secret negotiations with an inner circle of plotters, Napoleon began carefully planning the coup. This article does not do justice to the extraordinary planning Napoleon made in carefully assigning military units throughout Paris in strategic locations. The majority of short descriptions about the 18 Brumaire never show how calculated Napoleon planned the junta takeover. His 2 political co-conspirators clearly saw themselves as fifth wheels when Napoleon made it known to them that he did not require them thereafter. Yes, France was saved at that point, but they had a dictator in control who then stylized himself as an Imperial dynasty along the lines of the Emperor Francis and Tsar Alexander. So, the article really needs more substance rather than citations regarding troops used. I recommend the book "Napoleon on Napoleon" by Somerset de Chair, p.138-156. It gives great detail on the event based on Napoleon's description of his plot.--Joey123xz (talk) 11:57, 21 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bonaparte coup?!