Dear Bernard, I hope you had a good Christmas and New Years. I have a couple of questions that I hope you don’t mind answering for me. Firstly, what is your opinion of Napoleon? I ask this because I was watching an interview you did a few years ago on youtube and you mentioned something along the lines of wishing Napoleon had lost or died in his first battle. I’ve always been fascinated by him but I found it interesting to see that you perhaps don’t.

My second question is about the sale of commissions. Do you know if this practice was undertaken in France? Did wealthy Frenchman buy their ranks like the British did? I know French imperial armies used that system but I’m unsure whether it was still in place after the revolution and under Napoleon.

Also, do you know how often Napoleon promoted an NCO into a commissioned officer? I know he did – Ney started his career in the ranks and in Sharpe’s Devil you had him say that Sharpe would have become a general in his army – but I don’t know how regularly he did it.

Can you recommend any books pertaining to the sale of commissions across the European armies of the era? Thanks for your help, Rhys Wood.