Carnot builds the system Napoleon exploits

This section separates Napoleon's command talent from the military system that made his campaigns possible. Guibert had anticipated the strategic potential of a national army, but Lazare Carnot used conscription to create the levée en masse and turn it into a trained, disciplined organization. Dividing the mass army into independent formations let it move faster, attack flanks, and threaten enemy communications. Many of Napoleon's generals learned their trade within Carnot's system before Napoleon combined its potential with Enlightenment military ideas. Organizational reform and force generation can matter as much as a famous commander's battlefield choices.