Quote Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube
For the record, Napoleon was taller than the average frenchman of the day. Then again, he wasn't french. He was Corsican.
Yeah, and Hitler wasn't German but from Austria.

Napoleon was certainly not the best general ever (although he won a fair amount of battles). He's rather remembered for being one of the smartest politician and ruler of the 19th.
That's how I see things at least.

As for his military skills, I don't know really. I guess one of the factors was the moral of his soldiers.
I don't mean to imply that French troops were better than British, Prussian or Russian ones, but the French were fighting an ideological war : they had to protect their country and the ideals of the 'Revolution' against the Monarchies of Europe. Add to that the fact that Napoleon was faithfully respected by his army.

About is height :

Contrary to popular belief (perpetuated by the above-mentioned caricatures), Napoleon was not especially short. After his death in 1821, the French emperor's height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches in French feet. This corresponds to 5 feet 6.5 inches in English feet, or 1.686 meters, making him slightly taller than an average Frenchman of the 19th century. In addition to this miscalculation, his nickname le petit caporal adds to the confusion, as non-francophones mistakenly take petit as meaning "small"; in fact, it is an affectionate term reflecting on his camaraderie with ordinary soldiers.