The Russian campaign of 1812 and formation of Napoleonic legend

Napoleon's capacity to appeal to history is legendary. Throughout his career he showed himself to be deeply conscious of his reputation with a wider public, and of the importance of convincing others of his genius as a military commander. These 'others' included his own troops, foreign rulers, and, increasingly, the future generations on whom his legend would depend. The Bulletins he issued from the army were one potent source of such propaganda, to the point where many of them were deliberately misleading, distorting the truth to portray his diplomacy and his strategy in a better light.