AI helps decipher Napoleon-linked letter revealing troop positions and strategy
An 1809 coded letter linked to Napoleon Bonaparte has been deciphered after remaining unread for 217 years. Carter Church, an engineer at SentinelOne, used AI to interpret the handwritten symbols and numbers, revealing military intelligence and advice for General Auguste de Marmont during rising tensions with Austria.
The message, sent by Napoleon’s stepson Eugene, listed the positions and strength of French and allied forces, including 80,000 French troops near Bayreuth and 60,000 near Ulm and Donauwörth. It said Austria was threatened from several directions and urged Marmont not to be intimidated despite his isolated position in Dalmatia. Church said the AI completed the work in six hours, starting from a single image.
- AI deciphered a 217-year-old coded military letter.
- The message mapped French and allied forces in 1809.
- Napoleon urged Marmont not to fear his isolated position.
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This letter was written in 1809 by Eugene, Napoleon's stepson, to General Auguste de Marmont, a senior commander, during the Napoleonic Wars when France was in conflict with Austria. The message was written in code using handwritten symbols and numbers to keep its contents secret, and it went unread for 217 years because no one could decipher it.
The decoded letter reveals military intelligence including the positions and strength of French troops deployed in different regions, along with assessments of the military situation and threats from Austria. For historians, this document is valuable because it provides rare direct evidence of how Napoleon organised his forces and what strategic thinking guided his military decisions during this critical period of the wars.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Napoleon’s code is cracked after 217 years: Scientist uses AI to read a mysterious letter written by the Emperor in 1809”.