The purpose Mr. Horne gave for writing the book was to apply a fresh perspective as to how and why Napoleon and his Grande Armee could go from the dominance of Austerlitz to destruction at Waterloo in just under a decade. He provides detailed descriptions of major Napoleonic battles from Ulm to Jena and Moscow to Dresden. And the author is quick to compare and contrast the experience of the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War.
 
Horne's frequent historical analogies, such as likening the British expeditionary forces in Spain and at Waterloo to the British Expeditionary Forces of World War I and World War II, while the successful British retreat and evacuation from Corunna in 1808 is held up as comparable to Dunkirk.