From the discussion in the preceding chapter, it is evident that in this campaign Bonaparte allowed his boldness to outrun his caution. He attempted to grasp too much. This characteristic of Napoleon, here exhibited for the first time in his military operations, was in after years one of the principal causes of his fall. In his subsequent career he fought Spain and Portugal on one side and nearly the whole of Europe on the other. Though the greatest exemplar of concentration that the world has ever known, yet at times he divided his forces when he should have made peace on one side, and have concentrated on the other. In the Russian campaign, too, he was overconfident. He was not satisfied with ordinary victories or with ordinary results. His early successes were so marvellous that he began to feel that he could conquer in the face of all Europe, and in spite of the elements themselves. And yet this very boldness, coupled with a caution that seldom failed him, was one of the secrets of his numerous victories during so many years of war. The crossing of the Alps with the Army of Reserve was undoubtedly a hazardous undertaking, yet it was so carefully planned in all its details that it was completely successful. During the operations of Masséna in Italy, and of Moreau in Germany, Bonaparte had displayed marvellous energy in hastening the preparations for crossing the great chain of the Alps. In this famous passage, nothing, however trivial, that could contribute to the success of the operation was beneath the attention of Bonaparte. Referring to the activity and care displayed by the First Consul at this time, Thiers, in his "History of the Consulate and Empire," writes as follows:--