Napoléon Bonaparte

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Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; August 15, 1769–May 5, 1821), later known as Napoleon I, was a French statesman and military leader who rose to prominence in France. French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary War. He was the de facto leader of the French First Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814 and was restored in 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy is enduring, and he is considered one of the most famous and controversial leaders in world history.
Napoléon Bonaparte

Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, which had recently been acquired by the Kingdom of France. While serving in the French army, he embraced the French Revolution of 1789 and attempted to propagate the revolution's ideas to his native Corsica. After suppressing the royalist uprising, he progressed quickly through the ranks of the French Army. He launched a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in 1796, accomplishing many accomplishments and becoming a national hero. He led an expedition to Egypt two years later, which served as a springboard for political dominance. In November 1799, he launched a coup and was appointed First Consul of the Republic. Disagreement with the British forced the French to enter the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. Napoleon defeated the alliance with victories in the Ulm Campaign and the Battle of Austerlitz, which led to the disintegration of the Empire Holy Roman.

The Fourth Coalition armed against him in 1806, as Prussia grew concerned about France's expanding dominance on the continent. Napoleon crushed Prussia at the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, deployed Grande Armée forces into Eastern Europe, defeated the Russians at Friedland in June 1807, and compelled the vanquished Fourth Coalition nations to accept the Treaty of Tilsit. In the War of the Fifth Coalition two years later, the Austrians opposed the French again, but Napoleon reinforced his dominance throughout Europe after winning the Battle of Wagram.

With ambitions to expand the Continental System and his embargo against England, Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula and made his brother Joseph King of Spain in 1808. The Spaniards and Portuguese rose to revolt in the Peninsular War but were defeated by Napoleon's marshals. Napoleon launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812.

As a result, the Grande Armée was tragically withdrawn from the fight. Prussia and Austria joined Russia's Sixth Coalition against France in 1813. A military campaign resulted in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 by a huge coalition army. The Coalition assaulted France and captured Paris in April 1814, forcing Napoleon to resign. deported to the island of Elba, which is located between Corsica and Italy. The Bourbons were restored to power in France. However, Napoleon fled Elba in February 1815 to assume control of France.

The anti-French coalition formed the Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. The British deported him to the isolated Atlantic Ocean island of Saint Helena, where he died in 2005. At the age of 51, he died in 1821. Napoleon had a profound impact on the modern world, bringing liberal reforms to many of the countries he conquered, particularly the Low Countries and Switzerland. Italy and Germany are currently in power. In France and Western Europe, he pursued liberal policies.

Napoleon Bonaparte Early Life

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, at the mansion "Casa Buonaparte" in the town of Ajaccio, Corsica, a year after the island was seized by the Republic of Genoa and ceded to France. Napoleone di Buonaparte was named after an uncle (the Bonaparte had a son named Napoleone who died young). At the age of 20, he changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte in order to sound more French.

The Corsican Bonaparte family descends from the little Italian nobility of Lombardia, who came to Corsica from Liguria in the sixteenth century. His father was Nobile Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer appointed to defend the island of Corsica in King Louis XVI's court. During his childhood, Napoleon was greatly influenced by his mother, Letizia Ramolino, whose harsh discipline tamed the rambunctious child.

Joseph is his older brother, and he has six younger brothers named Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jérôme. Two more children, a boy, and a girl, were born before Joseph but died at a young age. On July 21, 1771, shortly before his two-year-old birthday, Napoleon was baptized as a Catholic in the church of Ajaccio.

Napoleon's aristocratic and relatively well-off background, combined with family connections, provided him with far higher educational chances than the average Corsican of the time. Napoleon enrolled in a monastic school in Autun, on the mainland, to learn French in January 1779. He was accepted into a military academy in Brienne-le-Château in May. He spoke with a Corsican accent and couldn't spell properly, which led to him being mocked by his peers and focusing on his studies. However, according to one warden, Napoleon "always excelled in his attention to mathematics." He was reasonably knowledgeable about history and geography... This young man would become an excellent sailor."

Napoleon was admitted to the prestigious École Militaire military school in Paris after completing his education at Brienne in 1784. This put an end to his maritime dreams, which led him to explore joining the Royal Navy. He trained to be an artillery officer and, when his father died, he was compelled to complete a two-year course in a year. He was the first Corsican to receive a diploma from the École Militaire. He was examined by eminent scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace, who was later appointed to the Senate by Napoleon.

Starting a career

Bonaparte was appointed lieutenant in the La Fère artillery regiment after graduating in September 1785. He was stationed in Valence, Drôme, and Auxonne until the advent of the French Revolution in 1789 when he took a two-year sabbatical in Corsica and Paris. In May 1789, as a zealous nationalist, he wrote to Corsican leader Pasquale Paoli:

He spent the early years of the Revolution in Corsica, where he was involved in a complex trilateral confrontation involving royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. He backed the Jacobin revolutionaries, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Corsican militia, and commanded a volunteer battalion. He was appointed captain in the French regular army in July 1792, despite having overstayed his leave of absence and leading a riot against the French army in Corsica.

He returned to his country and began to quarrel with Paoli, who wanted to detach Corsica from France and hinder a French attack on the island of Sardinia, where Bonaparte was a commander. Because of the rupture in relations with Paoli, Bonaparte and his family fled to the French mainland in June 1793.

Siege of Toulon

Main article: Siege of Toulon

In June 1793, Napoleon published a pro-republican pamphlet, Le Souper de Beaucaire (Dinner at Beaucaire), which won him the admiration and support of Augustin Robespierre, the younger brother of French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. With the help of his Corsican comrade, Antoine Christophe Saliceti, Bonaparte was appointed artillery commander of the Republican army during the siege of Toulon. The city rebelled against the Republican government and was held by British troops.

He executed a plan to capture a hill from which Republican cannons could cover the city harbor, forcing British ships to evacuate. The assault on the higher position, in which Bonaparte was wounded in the thigh, resulted in the city's capture, for which he was appointed Major General at the age of 24. The Committee of Public Security (the de facto administration of modern France) took note of Napoleon, who was appointed to command the artillery in the French Army of Italy.

Napoleon spent time studying the coastal fortifications on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille while waiting for his appointment to be confirmed. As part of a campaign against the First Coalition, he devised a plot to attack the Kingdom of Sardinia. Pierre Jadart Dumerbion, the leader of the Italian Army, had seen too many generals murdered for not being enough or for holding politically incorrect opinions. As a result, he appeased the representatives en mission, Augustin Robespierre and Saliceti, who were eager to listen to the newly appointed artillery general.

At the Battle of Saorgio in April 1794, the French force marched northeast to the Italian Riviera, then turned north to conquer Ormea in the mountains, following Bonaparte's strategy. They advanced west from Ormea to surround Austro-Sardegna troops around Saorge. As a result, the French took control of the coastal cities of Oneglia and Loano, as well as the important Tenda Pass. Later, Augustin Robespierre dispatched Bonaparte to the Republic of Genoa to ascertain the country's intentions regarding France.


February 13

Following the Jacobin government's demise in July 1794 in the Thermidor coup, a report revealed Bonaparte's house imprisonment in Nice for his ties to the Robespierre brothers. In his memoirs, Napoleon's secretary, Bourrienne, refuted this charge. According to Bourrienne, the charge was motivated by the competition between the Army of the Alps and the Army of Italy (of which Napoleon was second at the time). After a spirited defense in a letter to the envoys Saliceti and Albitte, Bonaparte was cleared of all charges.

He was released within two weeks and was tasked with developing strategies to attack Italian fortifications during the Franco-Austrian War. He also took part in an effort to reclaim Corsica from the British, but the French were defeated by the Royal Navy.

In April 1795, Bonaparte proposed to Désirée Clary, the sister of Julie Clary, who had previously married Bonaparte's brother Joseph; the Clarys are a wealthy merchant family from Marseilles. Around this time, he was deployed to the Army of the West, which was fighting in War in the Vendée
, a protracted civil conflict launched by anti-revolutionary royalists in west-central France's Vendée province. As an infantry commander, he was a step down from the artillery general, for whom the army already had adequate quotas, and he refused to accept the position due to ill health.

He was transferred to the Public Security Commission's Geodesy Office and tried unsuccessfully to be dispatched to Constantinople to serve the Sultan. During this time, he penned Clisson et Eugénie, a short romantic tale about a soldier and his mistress, which is the most direct parallel to Bonaparte's personal connection with Désirée. Due to his reluctance to serve in the Vendée campaign, Bonaparte was removed from the list of regular army generals on September 15. He was in a tough financial situation, so he limited his financial objectives.

After being expelled from the new government by the Cabinet of Governors, royalists in Paris began a rebellion against the Convention on October 3. Thermidor Rebellion leader Paul Barras learned of Bonaparte's military exploits in Toulon and assigned him command of the makeshift forces defending the Convention headquarters at the Tuileries Palace. He realized that artillery could be the key to resistance after witnessing the killing of the king's Swiss Guard three years before.

On October 5, 1795, or the 13th month of Vendémiaire (Picking Grapes) of the fourth year of the Revolutionary Calendar, he directed a young cavalry lieutenant, Joachim Murat, to take the heavy guns and use them to repel attacks. The remaining royalists withdrew after 1,400 died.

The suppression of the royalist insurrection removed the threat to the Covenant, allowing Bonaparte to gain renown, riches, and the patronage of a new cabinet. Murat married one of Napoleon's sisters, became a brother-in-law, and continued to serve as a general. Bonaparte was promoted to lieutenant general, given leadership of the Army of the Interior (Commandant de l'armée de l'Intérieur), and subsequently given command of the Army of Italy.

He was quickly attached to Barras' old mistress, Joséphine de Beauharnais. After breaking off his engagement to Désirée Clary, they married on March 9, 1796.

First Italian Campaign (1796–1797)


Bonaparte departed Paris two days after the wedding to seize command of the Italian Army and conduct a successful invasion of Italy. He defeated the Austrian army at the Battle of Lodi and drove them out of Lombardy. He was defeated by Austrian troops led by József Alvinczi at the Battle of Caldiero, but Bonaparte regained the initiative in the critical battle of Arcole to seize the Papal States.

Bonaparte rejected the desire of the atheists in the Council of Governors to march into Rome and depose the Pope, arguing that this would create a power vacuum that would be exploited by the Kingdom of Naples. Instead, in March 1797, Bonaparte led his army into Austria and forced it to negotiate a peace treaty. The Treaty of Leoben gave France the right to govern most of Northern Italy and the lands below the Rhine Delta (Pays-Bas, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of modern Germany and France), while a provision secretly promised the Republic of Venice to Austria. Bonaparte marched on Venice and forced it to surrender, ending the 1100 years of independence of this trading city. He also used the pretext of the French to plunder treasures such as the bronze horse statues at St. Mark's Basilica.

He was adept at using espionage with cunning to take the initiative by masking troop deployments and concentrating troops on key points on the enemy's weakened front. If he was unable to use his preferred siege strategy (Mouvement en tenaille, shifting to the flanks, and encircling the enemy), he would take the center and attack the two combined forces at the bottom line. their pawns, swarm one wing until it retreats, then turn around to face the other. During this Italian campaign, Bonaparte's army took 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons, and 170 pennants. The French army fought 67 battles and won 19 regular ones (pitched battles, in which both sides chose a place to deploy before fighting) thanks to Bonaparte's overwhelming artillery technique and tactics.

As the battle progressed, Bonaparte's influence in French politics grew; he established two journals, one for his army and one for general circulation in France. The royalists chastised Bonaparte for plundering Italy and warned him that he could become a dictator. On September 4, Bonaparte dispatched General Pierre Augereau to Paris to organize a coup and purge the royalists, which became known as the Coup of 18 Fructidor.

This restored Barras and his Republican allies to power, but it was contingent on Bonaparte, who was negotiating a new peace treaty with Austria at the time. These discussions resulted in the Treaty of Campo Formio, and Bonaparte returned to Paris as a hero in December. He met Talleyrand, France's new Foreign Minister — later serving in the same role for Napoleon's empire — and they began planning an invasion of England.

Napoleon's Expedition to Egypt

After two months of planning, Bonaparte judged that the French fleet was not yet powerful enough to compete with the Royal fleet in the English Channel and planned an expedition to seize Egypt and disrupt its access. British with business interests in India. Bonaparte hoped to establish a French foothold in the Middle East, with the ultimate goal of allying with Tippu Sultan, a British Muslim opponent in India.

Napoleon informed the Council that once he had conquered Egypt, he would form alliances with the Indian kings and fight the British in their territories. Talleyrand reported in February 1798, "Once we have captured and fortified Egypt, we will send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to India, combine with Tipu-Sahib, and drive out the British." The idea to secure commercial routes to India was approved by the council.

Bonaparte was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in May 1798. His Egyptian mission included 167 scientists, including mathematicians, naturalists, chemists, and surveyors. Among their discoveries was the Rosetta Stone, which was published in 1809 in the Description de l'Égypte.

On his way to Egypt, Bonaparte arrived in Malta on June 9, 1798, which was then under the jurisdiction of the Order of the Salvation Army. The two hundred knights of French descent refused to support the Grand Elder, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim and stated that they would not battle against their fellow countrymen. Hompesch surrendered with little opposition, and Bonaparte captured an important naval outpost with only three men killed.

General Bonaparte and his troops had to flee the Royal Navy's pursuit and dock in Alexandria on July 1. He fought in the Battle of Shubra Khit against the Mamluk, Egypt's military overlords at the time. This enabled the French to prepare defensive tactics for the Battle of the Pyramids, which occurred on July 21, 24 kilometers from the pyramid. Bonaparte's force numbered around 25,000 troops, roughly the same as the Mamluk cavalry, but he built hollow squares with supplies kept safe inside. As a result, only 29 French soldiers were killed, compared to roughly 2,000 Egyptian forces. The French army's morale was boosted by this win.


On August 1, the British fleet under Horatio Nelson captured and destroyed nearly all the French except for two ships in the Battle of the Nile, achieving Bonaparte's goal of a reinforced French position in the Mediterranean. Hai broke up. His army succeeded in the short-term increase of French power in Egypt but then faced successive uprisings. In early 1799, he moved his army to the Ottoman province of Damascus (Syria and Galilee). Bonaparte commanded 13,000 French troops in the conquest of the coastal cities of Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, and Haifa. The attack on Jaffa was particularly bloody: Bonaparte, upon discovering that many of the city's defenders were ex-prisoners of war who had promised the honor of not avenging revenge in exchange for parole, ordered the defenders to be executed. along with 1,400 others with bayonets and drowned to save ammo. Men, women, and even children were robbed and killed in three days.

With his force weakened by sickness — primarily the plague — and a lack of supplies, Bonaparte was unable to capture Akko and return to Egypt in May. He set out to accelerate his march. commanded to make the men sick with the plague and drink poison. However, according to British eyewitnesses, the majority of these people survived and were not poisoned. His followers stated that it was vital to deal with post-Ottoman exercises, as well as the fact that those who survived were frequently tortured and beheaded by the enemy. Back in Egypt, Bonaparte repulsed the Ottoman amphibious assault at the Battle of Abukir on July 25.

Napoleon Ruler of France

While in Egypt, Bonaparte was kept up to date on European events via the press and message delivery. He was aware that France had experienced a series of defeats during the Second Coalition War. Despite receiving no formal orders from Paris, he sailed home on August 24, 1799, taking advantage of the temporary retreat of British ships from French ports. General Jean-Baptiste Kléber was given command of the remaining forces.


The Board of Governors sent him orders to return to France to avert invasions, but the letters were lost due to poor communication. A succession of triumphs had improved France's status by the time he arrived in Paris in October. However, the Republic was bankrupt, and the Council was helpless to intervene in matters that were unpopular with the French people. The council discussed Bonaparte's "defection" but was too weak to punish him.

Bonaparte was approached by one of the governors, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, to assist in a coup that overthrew the constitutional government. Heads of this script include his younger brother Lucien; a spokesman for the Council of the Five Hundred (the House of Representatives), Roger Ducos; another governor, Joseph Fouché; and Talleyrand. On November 9 or 18 Brumaire (Mist) according to the French Republic calendar, Bonaparte was entrusted with the security of the two legislative houses, who were persuaded to leave for the Chateau Saint-Cloud west of Paris after a rumor of a Jacobin rebellion was spread by the conspirators. The next day, MPs realized they were facing a coup. In the face of their resistance, Bonaparte commanded the army to seize power and dissolve them, and then a rump legislature appointed Bonaparte, Sieyès, and Ducos as interim consuls to administer the government.

French Consulate

Although Sieyès wanted to take the initiative in the new government, he was quickly surpassed by Bonaparte, who created the Eighth Constitution and achieved his own election as First Consul, and he relocated to the Tuileries. As a result, Bonaparte became the most powerful man in France.

In 1800, Bonaparte and his army crossed the Alps to Italy, where the French army was almost completely driven out by the Austrians while he was in Egypt. The campaign got off to a bad start for the French as Bonarpate made strategic blunders; a force that was besieged in Genoa but eventually broke the siege and thus captured the Austrian resources. This effort, and the timely reinforcement of General Louis Desaix, allowed Bonaparte to return to a winning streak in June at the decisive Battle of Marengo.

In Lunéville, Joseph Bonaparte negotiated peace and declared that Austria, urged by the British, would not acknowledge the recently conquered French provinces. As negotiations became increasingly strained, Bonaparte authorized General Moreau to launch another offensive on Austrian land. At the Battle of Hohenlinden, Moreau led the French to victory. As a result, in February 1801, the Treaty of Lunéville was signed, and French triumphs from the Treaty of Campo Formio were reaffirmed and reinforced.

Temporary Peace for Europe

Both France and the United Kingdom were tired of fighting and signed the Treaty of Amiens between October 1801 and March 1802. This necessitated the departure of British soldiers from the majority of the surrounding colonies. This was a difficult and short-lived ceasefire. The British refused to leave Malta as promised and opposed Bonaparte's annexation of Piedmont and his Act of Reconciliation, which established a new Swiss Confederation under France, despite the fact that none of these regions were included in the treaty. The debate came to a head in May 1803, when Britain declared war on Napoleon, reestablishing the invasion base at Boulogne.

Bonaparte also faced defeat and ultimately failed in suppressing the Haitian Revolution. The law also faced defeat and ultimately failure in suppressing the Haitian Revolution. By the law of May 20, 1802, he re-established slavery in the French colonies, which had been abolished after the Revolution. Responding to a slave revolt, he sent an expeditionary force to recapture Saint-Dominique and establish a base. However, this force was destroyed by the yellow fever epidemic and fierce resistance by Haitian generals Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. With France facing financial bankruptcy and an impending war with the British, Bonaparte found it impossible to defend the French colonies on the North American continent and sold them to the United States of America. Louisiana trade — for more than three cents per acre (about 7.4 cents per hectare).

French Empire

Main article: First French Empire

Napoleon was beset by royalist and Jacobin conspiracies, including the "Dagger Plots" in October 1800 and the "Saint-Nicaise Street Plots" two months later, both of which sought to assassinate him personally. In January 1804, the police found an assassination plot that included Moreau and was allegedly prompted by the Bourbons. On Talleyrand's instruction, Napoleon ordered the kidnapping of Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, during an incursion into nearby Baden territory. Despite his lack of involvement in the conspiracy, the Duke was executed following a secret trial.

The conspiracy was used by Napoleon to justify the re-establishment of a hereditary monarchy in France, of which he was Emperor, stating that the looming Bourbon restoration would be made more difficult if the Bonaparte inheritance was acknowledged by the constitution. The French Senate urged that Louis be proclaimed Emperor to "defend the Republic" in a formal gesture. On December 2, 1804, in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon declared himself Emperor Napoleon I and subsequently crowned Joséphin as Empress in the presence of Pope Pius VII. This turn to imperialism irritated Ludwig van Beethoven, a lifelong admirer, and he removed the Napoleon inscription from his Third Symphony.

On May 26, 1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardia in the Cathedral of Milan. To assure the loyalty of his army, he elevated his senior generals to the position of Marshal of the Empire.


War of the Third Coalition

In May 1803, Britain violated the Treaty of Amiens by declaring war on France. In preparation for the invasion of England, Napoleon established a camp at Boulogne-sur-Mer. By 1805, Britain had persuaded Austria and Russia to join a Third Coalition against France. Napoleon saw that the French Navy could not defeat the Royal Navy in a direct confrontation and devised a strategy to draw them out of the English Channel.

As a result, the French Navy would break free from British encirclement at Toulon and Brest, threatening to attack the West Indies and thus eliminating the defense of the western British Isles, in the hope that a French fleet and Spain could hold the strait long enough for the French army to cross from Boulogne and invade England. However, after his defeat in the naval action at Cape Finisterre in July 1805 and Admiral Villeneuve's retreat to Cadiz, Napoleon never considered invading British soil.

When the Austrian army was moved to Bavaria, he ordered his army stationed at Boulogne, the Grande Armée, to march in secret in a move deep into the enemy's rear — the operation. Ulm. This rang alarm bells for the Austrian soldiers preparing to attack France and cut off their communication links. The French captured 30,000 prisoners at the Battle of Ulm on October 20, 1805, but the British success at Trafalgar the next day meant that the Royal Navy had complete control of the seas.

Six weeks later, on the one-year anniversary of his coronation, Napoleon beat the Austro-Russian coalition at the legendary Battle of Austerlitz, resulting in Confederate losses of over 27,000 troops, three times the French. This fight brought the Third Coalition to its knees, prompting Alexander I to remark, "We are babies in the hands of a giant." Napoleon returned to Paris and was greeted warmly, erecting the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the triumph. The Peace of Pressburg resulted in the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire and the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, with Napoleon serving as the Public Protectorate.

It imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the defeated Habsburgs and allowed the fleeing Russian troops free passage through hostile territories and back to their home soil. Napoleon went on to say, "The battle of Austerlitz is the finest of all I have fought". Frank McLynn suggests that Napoleon was so successful at Austerlitz that he lost touch with reality, and what used to be French foreign policy became a "personal Napoleonic one". Vincent Cronin disagrees, stating that Napoleon was not overly ambitious for himself, "he embodied the ambitions of thirty million Frenchmen".

Middle-Eastern Alliances

Even after the Egyptian campaign, Napoleon hatched a big strategy to create a French foothold in the Middle East. A strategic alliance with Middle Eastern states would be advantageous for putting pressure on Russia on its southern border. Beginning in 1803, Napoleon made substantial efforts to encourage the Ottoman Empire to battle Russia in the Balkans and join his anti-Russian alliance.

Napoleon dispatched General Horace Sebastiani as a special envoy, offering to assist the Ottoman Empire in regaining lost territory. Following Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz and the subsequent partition of the Habsburg Empire, the Ottoman Emperor Selim III formally assumed Napoleon's throne, formally choosing to ally with France as his "companion." our closest and natural allies," and declaring war on Russia and Great Britain.

Between 1807 and 1809, the Persian Empire of Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar created a Franco-Persian alliance against Russia and Britain. This alliance came to an end when France joined Russia and redirected its focus to European wars.

War with the Fourth Coalition

The Fourth Coalition was formed in 1806, and Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in October. He marched across Poland to confront the advancing Russians, and the two sides clashed in blood at the Battle of Eylau. February 6, 1807, but inconclusive.

On June 14, 1807, Napoleon faced the Russian army once more at Friedland. The French army achieved a decisive victory, suffering only 10,000 fatalities and driving at least 30,000 Russian forces from the battlefield. He then signed the Treaty of Tilsit, which comprised a paper with Tsar Alexander I partitioning the continent between the two nations, as well as another with Prussia depriving it of half of its land. Napoleon installed rulers on the thrones of the German nations, including his brother Jérôme as King of Westphalia, which had just been founded. He formed the Principality of Warsaw under King Friedrich August I of Saxony in the French-controlled portion of Poland.


Napoleon intended to intensify the Continental System, a Europe-wide commercial boycott of Britain, with the Edicts of Milan and Berlin. This economic war failed because it encouraged British merchants to smuggle goods into continental Europe, which Napoleon's monopoly tariff enforcers were unable to resist.

Peninsular War

Because Portugal refused to comply with the command to blockade the continent, Napoleon was forced to invade in 1807 with the help of Spain. Napoleon invaded Spain, deposed Carlos IV, installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and installed his brother-in-law Joachim on the throne under the pretense of increasing the Franco-Spanish army to seize Portugal. Murat took over as King of Naples in lieu of Joseph. This sparked fierce resistance from the Spanish army and population, resulting in the Dos de Mayo revolt.

In Spain, Napoleon also faced a new type of war, guerrilla warfare, in which the local population, responding to patriotism and religious spirituality, took part in the war. This initial type of people's war included various forms of low-intensity combat (harassment, sabotage, armed rebellion, etc.) and assistance to the regular armies of countries allied with Spain. Dental. After the French garrison was forced to withdraw from many parts of this country, Napoleon took direct command, defeating the Spanish army. He recaptured Madrid, repelled an incoming British army, and drove them off the coast. However, before the Spanish people completely surrendered, Austria threatened war, forcing Napoleon to return to France.

In Napoleon's absence, the costly and bloody battle on the Iberian peninsula continued. Almost the entire city was devastated during the second siege of Zaragoza, and over 50,000 people were killed. Despite leaving 30,000 elite troops in Spain to combat the rebels as well as the Anglo-Portuguese army led by the Duke of Wellington, French control was eroding.

After the Coalition's victory, the war ended with Napoleon's abdication in 1814. Napoleon described the Peninsular War as the center of his eventual defeat. He wrote in his memoirs: "That unfortunate war destroyed me...All my calamities were tied to that fateful knot".

War of the Fifth Coalition and Remarriage

Austria abruptly dissolved its alliance with France in April 1809, joining the Fifth Coalition against France. Napoleon was compelled to assume command of the Danube and Germany. Following their first victories, the French struggled to cross the Donau and were defeated in May at the Battle of Aspern-Essling near Vienna. The Austrians failed to capitalize on the situation, allowing Napoleon to regroup. At the Battle of Wagram, he beat the Austrians, and the Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed between France and Austria. Despite the victory, the devastating losses in the battle of Wagram demonstrated the French army's downfall.

Great Britain remained at war with France and had several victories at sea. On mainland Europe, Britain only supported the war on the Iberian peninsula and sent an expeditionary force of 40,000 men to Walcheren (Zeeland region, Netherlands) from July 30 to December 10, 1809, to attack French naval base Antwerp and to split French forces to help Austria, but eventually had to withdraw when Napoleon brought reinforcements.

He also annexed the Papal States because the Church refused to support the Continental System; Pope Pius VII responded by excommunicating the French emperor. Later, some of Napoleon's officers kidnapped the Pope; although Napoleon did not give the above order when he learned of the incident, he did not release Pio. The pope was transported throughout Napoleon's territories, and Napoleon sent delegations to pressure him on issues including the agreement of a new covenant with France, which Pius refused. In 1810, Napoleon married Archduchess Maria Ludovica of Austria after his divorce from Joséphine; this caused further tension with the Church, and thirteen cardinals were imprisoned for their absence at the wedding ceremony. The Pope remained in captivity for five years and did not return to Rome until May 1814.

In November 1810, Napoleon agreed that Bernadotte, one of his marshals, had been voted successor to the Swedish throne. He frequently pampered Bernadotte despite the general's carelessness because Bernadotte married his previous fiancée, Désirée Clary, but he eventually regretted it for the rest of his life when Bernadotte joined Sweden with France's adversaries in the Sixth Coalition and became one of his most deadly opponents.

Napoleon Invades Russia



The Erfurt Conference was planned to protect the Russo-French alliance, and after their first meeting at Tilsit in 1807, the French and Russian emperors enjoyed a good personal relationship. However, by 1811, tensions were high. As tensions rose, the Russian elite put pressure on Alexander to abandon the partnership. The de facto rejection of the Continental System was the first hint that relations had shifted, prompting Napoleon to threaten Alexander with severe repercussions if he formed an alliance with the British.

By 1812, Alexander's advisers had proposed invading the French Empire and reconquering Poland. Napoleon boosted his Grande Armée to around 450,000 men after receiving intelligence on Russian war preparations. He ignored repeated warnings against an invasion of central Russia and prepared for an offensive assault, which began on June 23, 1812.

Napoleon dubbed the campaign the Second Polish Campaign in an attempt to attract additional support from Polish nationalist patriots. The First Polish War was an insurrection of Polish nobles against Russia led by the Bar Federation in 1768. Polish patriots desired that the Russian territory of Poland be merged into the Principality of Warsaw and a Polish state be established. This was refused because Napoleon had assured his ally Austria that it would not happen. Napoleon similarly refused to release the Russian serfs, knowing that doing so might spark opposition in his army's rear. When the French soldiers fled, these serfs treated them severely.

Napoleon's ambition for decisive combat was rejected by the Russians, who instead retreated deeper and deeper into Russian territory. In August, a small resistance attempt was staged in Smolensk; the Russians were defeated in a series of conflicts, and Napoleon continued his attack. The Russians continued to avoid combat, although in some situations this was largely due to Napoleon's unusual reluctance to engage when the occasion presented itself. The French found it increasingly difficult to locate sustenance for themselves and their horses as a result of Russia's scorched-earth tactics.


The Russians then initiated battles on Moscow's outskirts. September 7: The Battle of Borodino kills 44,000 Russians and 35,000 French, making it the deadliest day of hostilities in history up to that moment. Despite the fact that the French won, the Russian army faced and held fast in the head-to-head conflict that Napoleon had thought would be decisive. "The most terrible of all my battles was against Moscow," Napoleon wrote. The French showed their worthiness for victory, but the Russians demonstrated their invincibility."

Russian troops withdraw from Moscow. Napoleon entered the city, expecting the fall of Moscow to end the war and Alexander to negotiate peace. However, the governor of the city, Feodor Rostopchin, ordered the burning of Moscow, not surrender. After a month, worried about losing control in France, Napoleon and his army withdrew.

The French sustained massive losses during the disastrous withdrawal, which was exacerbated in part by the Russian Winter. The French army began with more than 400,000 men at the front, but by the end of November 1812, only 40,000 had crossed the Berezina River. In the conflict, the Russians lost 150,000 men, while hundreds of thousands more civilians were murdered.

War of the Sixth Coalition


The winter of 1812–1813 saw a respite in hostilities as both the Russians and the French rebuilt their armies; Napoleon was then able to field 350,000 troops. Encouraged by France's defeat in Russia, Prussia formed a new alliance with Austria, Sweden, Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. Napoleon assumed command of the German front and gave the Confederacy a series of losses, culminating in the Battle of Dresden in August 1813.

Despite these victories, the situation continued to grow increasingly hostile to Napoleon, and the French were locked in by a force twice as large and thus lost at the Battle of Leipzig. This was probably the largest battle of all the Napoleonic Wars, and it resulted in 90,000 casualties.

Napoleon retreated to France with his army reduced to 70,000 men and 40,000 men falling out of formation, against a Confederate army more than three times larger. France is besieged: British forces are pressing in from the south, and other Union armies are aiming to attack the German vassal states. Napoleon won a series of brilliant battles during the Six-Day Campaign, but they were not significant enough to change the game. The Allies defeated Napoleon in important battles at Laon and Arcis-sur-Aube and captured Paris in March 1814.

When Napoleon proposed marching to the capital, his marshals decided to mutiny. On April 4, Field Marshal Ney led the overthrow of Napoleon. Napoleon insisted that the army follow him, and Ney replied that the army would follow its generals. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate. He decided to cede the throne to his son, but the Confederacy refused, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate unconditionally on April 11.

Exile in Elba

The victors exiled him to Elba, a Mediterranean island of 12,000 people 20 kilometers off the coast of Tuscany, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. They granted him the power to control the island while retaining the title of Emperor. Napoleon had been attempting suicide with the medication he was carrying since he was almost apprehended by the Russians during his retreat from Moscow. However, after a few years, its toxicity lessened, and Napoleon survived. He accepted exile, but his wife and son fled to Austria. During his first few months in Elba, he established an army and a small navy, developed iron mines, and issued ordinances on advanced farming practices.

Hundred Days Napoleon


Despite being separated from his wife and son, who were already under Austrian control, the pension guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau was cut off, and rumors arose that he was apparently deported to another country. On a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean, Napoleon escaped from Elba on February 26, 1815. He landed at Golfe-Juan on the French mainland, two days later.

On March 7, 1815, the 5th Regiment was dispatched to halt him and rejoin the path south of Grenoble. Napoleon approached the troops alone, dismounted, and exclaimed, "I'm here. If you desire, you can assassinate your Emperor."

The soldiers marched with Napoleon to Paris, chanting "Long live the Emperor!" ("Vive L'Empereur!"). Louis XVIII fled. On March 13, the great powers declared Napoleon an outlaw at the Conference of Vienna, and four days later, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia joined once more to send 150,000 troops each to the battlefield to conclude the battle. Put a stop to his rule.



On March 20, Napoleon landed in Paris and began what is now known as the Hundred Days' Reign. By early June, he had gathered 200,000 troops and resolved to launch an attack to free the British and Prussian armies from their grip. The Army of the North crossed the border into what is now Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

On June 18, 1815, Napoleon's army clashed with the Coalition forces led by Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington's troops withstood and defeated consecutive French attacks. While the Prussians arrived to reinforce and breakthrough Napoleon's formation's right flank. Napoleon was defeated because he was forced to battle one-on-one against an army that had taken a strong defensive posture on wet, muddy terrain.

His health that day may have affected his presence and enthusiasm on the battlefield, in addition to the fact that his subordinates may have caused him to fall. Another event that had an important influence on the outcome was that the cavalry force led by General Grouchy did not respond in time. Even so, Napoleon was very close to a lightning victory. Outnumbered, the French army withdrew from the battlefield in chaos, which allowed Union forces to enter France and restore the French throne to Louis XVIII.

After considering a possible escape to the United States, Napoleon publicly requested political asylum from British colonel Frederick Lewis Maitland aboard the battleship HMS Bellerophon on July 15, 1815.

Exile in Saint Helena

Napoleon was imprisoned and subsequently exiled to Saint Helena, an Atlantic island 1,870 kilometers (1,162 miles) off the coast of West Africa. He spent his first two months in the Briars estate in a shanty owned by a man named William Balcombe. Napoleon developed a close relationship with this family, particularly with his youngest daughter, Lucia Elizabeth, who went on to write Memoirs of Emperor Napoleon. This connection was shattered in 1818 when British officials suspected Balcombe of serving as a go-between for Napoleon and Paris and expelled him from the island.


Napoleon moved into Longwood House in December 1815; it has fallen into disrepair, is damp and drafty, and is harmful to health. The Times published articles hinting that the British government was trying to make him die, and he often complained about living conditions in letters to the governor and custodian of Mr. Hudson Lowe.

Napoleon composed memoirs and criticized his captors, particularly Lowe, with the support of a few followers. Scholars such as Frank MacLynn criticized Lowe's depiction of Napoleon. Lowe added to Napoleon's anguish by restricting his movements, asking that no gift be sent to him if it mentioned his title of emperor, and requiring supporters to sign a contract demanding that they stay with the prisoner permanently.

The Times claimed in 1818 that a false rumor of Napoleon's defection was met with simultaneous candle lighting in numerous London residences. In the British Parliament, there was sympathy for him: Baron Holland delivered a speech requesting that inmates be treated humanely. Napoleon continued to read The Times and hoped to be released when Holland became Prime Minister. He also obtained assistance from Baron Cochrane, who was active in the Chilean and Brazilian independence fights and planned to help Napoleon construct a new empire in South America, a prospect wrecked by Napoleon's death in 1821.

There were other conspiracies to release Napoleon, including one from Texas, where exiled veterans of the Grande Armée wanted the Napoleonic Empire to be revived in America. There's even talk of using a crude submarine to save him. During Napoleon's imprisonment, Baron Byron penned poems in which Napoleon was portrayed as the personification of the romantic hero, imperfect genius, solitude, and maltreatment. Many British families were moved by the news that Napoleon had begun gardening in Longwood.

Death and Burial

The former Emperor showed signs of disease as early as the end of 1817, due in part to a lack of exercise. Napoleon was suffering from stomach cancer symptoms. Napoleon's personal physician, Barry O'Meara, informed the authorities about the prisoner's deteriorating health, blaming it on the severe treatment of the "guard," Lowe, who had imprisoned Napoleon for months in the damaged and wet Longwood house. O'Meara kept secret contact with a British Admiralty secretary, knowing that these letters were seen by high leadership. He hoped to warn the government in this way, but reality brought nothing. Furthermore, O'Meara moved away and was replaced by a Corsican doctor named Francesco Antommarchi.

In February 1821, Napoleon's health quickly deteriorated; he was bedridden. In April, Napoleon Bonaparte read out his last will, which included the words: "I wish to keep my bones lying on the banks of the Seine, among the French people whom I love so much. I die prematurely, killed by British oligarchs and hired killers". On May 2, two British doctors, who had just arrived nearby, cared for him but could only prescribe painkillers. He died two days later, after undergoing confession, anointing with holy oil, and administering the Eucharist in the presence of Bishop Ange Vignali. His last words were "France, armée, tete d'armée, Joséphine" (France, army, army commander, Joséphine). Napoleon died at 5:49 p.m. that day, less than 52 years old. His body was dressed in his favorite military uniform and covered with the gray cloak he wore at the Battle of Marengo.

Despite his wishes, the British governor insisted on burying him at St. Helena's Willows Valley. Hudson Lowe insisted on the inscription "Napoleon Bonaparte" on the headstone; after the exiles, Montholon and Bertrand wanted the Emperor's title "Napoleon" to be written with simply his first name. As a result, the name on the tombstone is blank.

Louis Philippe, I obtained British permission to bring Napoleon's remains to France in 1840. The bones were conveyed by the battleship Belle-Poule, which had been painted black for the occasion, and arrived in Cherbourg on November 29. The remains were then transported by steamer Normandie from Le Havre to Rouen, along the Seine to Rouen, and finally to Paris.

A national funeral was held on December 15. The hearse moved from the Arc de Triomphe along the Champs-Élysées, through the Place de la Concorde to Les Invalides, and to the dome at the chapel of St. Jérôme, where it remained until Dr. Louis Visconti's tomb was finished. The remains were deposited in a porphyry in the vault beneath the dome of the Palace of Invalides in 1861.

Napoleon's Cause of Death

An autopsy revealed that stomach cancer was the cause of the death. However, Napoleon's private physician and the person in charge of the autopsy, François Carlo Antonmarchi, did not sign the official report. Napoleon's father died of stomach cancer as well, though this was presumably unknown at the time of the autopsy. Antommarchi discovered indications of a stomach ulcer, which was the easiest explanation for the British government, which wished to avoid criticism of the French emperor's care.



In 1955, the diary of Napoleon's valet, Louis Marchand, appeared in the press. The description of Napoleon in the months leading up to his death led Sten Forshufvud to suggest other causes of death, including gradual arsenic poisoning, in an article in Nature in 1961. Arsenic was used as a poison in that period because it could not be detected when applied for a long time. Forshufvud, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, notes that the emperor's body was found to be surprisingly well preserved when moved in 1840. Arsenic is a potent preservative, and thus this strengthens the poisoning hypothesis. Forshufvud and Weider note that Napoleon once tried to quench his unusual thirst by drinking a lot of orgeat syrup, which contains cyanide compounds in almonds used for flavor.

They claim that potassium tartrate, which is used to keep these compounds from being excreted by the stomach, causes thirst, which is an indication of poisoning. Their belief was that Napoleon was overdosed with calomel (hydrogen chloride, HgCl2, historically used as a laxative), killing him and causing substantial tissue damage. According to toxicologist Patrick Kintz, the arsenic detected on Napoleon's hair shaft was the most toxic, inorganic variety, which supports the notion that his death was an assassination.

Wallpaper used at Longwood contains high concentrations of arsenic compounds used for coloring by British manufacturers. The adhesive, which was harmless in British conditions, would have probably gone moldy in the much wetter climate of St. Helena and emits toxic arsin (arsenic hydride, AsH3) gas. This theory was ruled out because it did not explain the arsenic absorption data found in other analyses.

Nonetheless, recent research appears to favor the initial anatomical data. In 2008, researchers examined hair samples from Napoleon's family and contemporaries throughout his life. Arsenic values in all samples were around 100 times the mean. According to these researchers, Napoleon's body was highly poisoned with arsenic as a young kid, and the high amounts of arsenic in his hair were not produced by any intentional poisoning; humans can be continuously exposed to arsenic through glues and dyes throughout their lifetimes.

Napoleon's Reforms

Napoleon implemented long-lasting reforms, including the creation of the Bank of France (Banque de France, the country's central bank), higher education, a tax code, and roads and sewers. In an effort to win over the predominantly Catholic population during his reign, Alexander formed the Covenant of 1801 with the Catholic Church. It was passed concurrently with France's statute governing common belief, the Basic Articles (Les Articles Organiques). The French Academy of Sciences was now led by Napoleon Bonaparte, who also named Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre as its permanent secretary.

In May 1802, Napoleon established the Legion of Honor (French: Légion d'honneur, meaning "Honorary Legion") as a replacement for the previous royal decorations and knighthoods in order to promote both military and civilian accomplishments. This medal is still the highest distinction in France to this day. The X-Year Constitution, which he drafted, gave him more authority: "Article 1. Napoleon-Bonaparte is appointed by the French people and confirmed by the Senate as First Consul for life. He is frequently referred to as Napoleon rather than Bonaparte because of this text.

The Napoleonic Code, also known as the Code Civil, was created by two legislative bodies under the direction of the Second Consul, Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès. Napoleon actively participated in the Council of State meetings when the manuscript was being edited. The creation of the code marked a fundamental shift in the civil law system, emphasizing laws that are easily readable and understandable. Napoleon also created further legislation to codify both criminal and commercial law, including the first-ever procedural Criminal Law Guide.

Among Napoleon's reforms, the most significant were the law and the system of measurement. For the significance of Napoleon's reforms, see Heritage.

Napoleon's Code

Even after Napoleon was defeated, the Napoleonic Code was upheld across most of Europe, though only in the nations he had conquered. "Waterloo will erase the memory of so many such victories," Napoleon famously observed, "but...that will last forever, that is, my Civil Code." Over 25% of the world's legal systems, including those in Europe, the Americas, and Africa, still rely on the Code today.

Dieter Langewiesche evaluated the law's impact on Germany and referred to it as a "revolutionary project" that promoted the growth of bourgeois society in that country by extending the rights to private property and hastening the end of feudalism. The Confederation of the Rhine, which Napoleon created out of the former Holy Roman Empire's more than a thousand varied and minor territories, served as the model for the German Confederation and the unification of Germany in 1871.

The movement towards national unification in Italy was similarly spurred by Napoleon's rule. These changes contributed to the general development of nationalism.

Measurement System

The official promulgation of the measurement system in September 1799 was not well known among many classes of French society, and Napoleon's rule strongly encouraged the adoption of the new standards not only in France but also in territories within the French sphere of influence. Napoleon finally took a step backward in 1812 when he passed legislation that introduced mesures usuelles (traditional units of measurement) for retail transactions — a system of measurement similar to those before the Revolution but based on kilograms and meters; such as the "livre metric," which equals 500 g instead of 489.5 g—the livre du roi (the king's table). Other units return in the same manner. This, however, at least established the basis for the definitive introduction of the metric system across Europe by the mid-nineteenth century.

Napoleon and Religion

Napoleon was baptized on July 21, 1771, in Ajaccio. He was brought up in a devout family and got a Catholic education. However, as a young child, his teachers failed to instill in him a sense of religious belief. Napoleon was characterized as a "theist with involuntary faith and reverence for Catholicism" as an adult. The Roman Catholic Church, in particular, has "magnificent rituals and higher morals than statutes that affect the imagination of the people better than any other religion," in the words of the author. He had never believed in an existing God; to him, God is an absent and distant God, but he pragmatically acknowledges that organized religions are a key component of the social order.

On March 9, 1796, Napoleon wed Joséphine de Beauharnais in a civil ceremony without a religious ceremony. General Dupuy, who campaigned with him, later revealed after the death of Pope Pius VI the political reasons for such treatment: "We are deceiving the Egyptians with our pretense of interest in their religion; neither Bonaparte nor we believe in religion. This religion believes more than we do. During the Egyptian campaign, he showed more tolerance for religion than any other revolutionary general, discussed it with Muslim scholars, and authorized religious services. Similar language was used by Bonaparte's secretary, Bourienne, to describe the French general's religious concerns in his memoirs.

His own well-known phrase best captures his religious opportunism: "It was by becoming a Christian that I restored peace to Brittany and Vendée. I did that by becoming a Christian. In Italy, I overcame the spirit of the Italians. I gained control over Egypt by converting to Islam. I ought to have rebuilt the Temple of Solomon if I were the head of a Jewish state.

On December 2, 1804, Napoleon declared himself Emperor Napoleon I in Notre Dame de Paris with the approval of Pope Pius VII. Napoleon wed the Austrian princess Marie Louise by ordinance on April 1, 1810. Napoleon expressed materialist views on human origins and questioned Jesus' deity in a private conversation with General Gourgaud while he was exiled to St. Helena. He also said that it was absurd to think that Socrates, Plato, Muhammad, and Anglicans should be cursed because they were not members of the Roman Catholic Church. When he was close to passing away, Napoleon was nonetheless anointed by a priest.

Concordat of 1801

Seeking national reconciliation between the Revolutionaries and Catholics, the Concordat of 1801 was signed on July 15, 1801, between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII. It consolidated the role of the Roman Catholic Church as France's majority church and restored most of its secular status.

The Church became a part of the state and was freed from the authority of the Pope when the French National Assembly confiscated church property and passed the Law on the Civil Organization of Priests during the French Revolution. The alteration in the connection between the Catholic Church and the French government was met with animosity by the Vendées as a result. The conventional Gregorian calendar and Catholic holidays were removed by later regulations.

While the concordat restored some ties with the Pope, it mainly benefited the authorities; the balance of the state-church relationship was tilted in favor of Napoleon. Now, Napoleon could reap the benefits of Catholicism in France while simultaneously controlling Rome politically. Napoleon once told his brother Lucien in April 1801, "Skillful conquerors are not entangled by priests. They can both restrain them and use them". As part of the Covenant, he introduced a parallel set of laws called the Basic Articles.

Religious Liberation

Napoleon liberated Jews, as well as Protestants in Catholic countries and Catholics in Protestant countries, from laws restricting them to seclusion, and he extended their rights to property, creed, and profession. Despite anti-Semitic reactions to Napoleon's policies from foreign governments and a section of public opinion within France, he believed that emancipation would benefit France by attracting Jews to his country, where there are no restrictions like in other places.

He previously said: "I will never agree to a plan that would compel the Jewish people to leave France, because, to me, Jews are just like any other citizens of our nation. Assimilation of the Jews will make the country stronger rather than drive out the Jews. He was so well-liked by Jews that the Russian Orthodox Church declared him to be "an enemy of God and an anti-Jesus."

What Was Napoleon's Legacy

Napoleon Military Successes

Napoleon made extensive use of earlier theorists like Jacques Hippolyte and the reforms of France's predecessors in the realm of military organization, while also improving much of what was already in place. He kept up the Revolution-era practice of promoting people based on merit.

The corps replaced the division as the largest military unit, and self-propelled artillery was integrated into the reserve batteries, the personnel system became more flexible and the cavalry returned as an important formation in the army. French military theory. These methods are now considered essential features of Napoleon's military doctrine. Although he reinforced the modern practice of conscription introduced by the Directoire, one of the early Bourbon Renaissance edicts was to end it.

Napoleon's opponents learned from his innovations. The increased importance of artillery fire after 1807 stemmed from his creation of a highly mobile artillery force, an increase in the number of guns, and a change in their use. The result of these factors was that Napoleon, instead of relying on infantry to erode enemy defenses, could now use concentrated fire as a spearhead to cut a hole in the enemy's defenses and then exploit that hole with infantry and cavalry support. McConachy rejected the argument that the increased reliance on artillery by the French army starting in 1807 was a natural product of the declining quality of French infantry and, later, of France's numerical weakness. Cavalry. Weapons and other military techniques remained largely unchanged during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, but the combat movement of the eighteenth century saw significant changes. Napoleon's greatest influence was in the way he directed the war. Antoine-Henri Jomini explained Napoleon's methods in a widely used textbook that influenced all European and American militaries. Napoleon is regarded by the influential military theorist Carl von Clausewitz as a genius in the art of waging war, and historians rank him as one of the greatest military commanders. Wellington, when asked who was the greatest general of the day, replied: "In this age, in all ages past, as in any, it was Napoleon".

Under Napoleon, there was a shift toward emphasizing enemy destruction rather than tactical dominance. Larger fronts saw invasions and the encroachment of hostile territory, making conflicts more expensive and conclusive. The war's political repercussions rose dramatically; losing to a European force was far more consequential than losing to isolated buffer nations. All national endeavors are interwoven with harsh peace agreements like the Carthaginian Peace, which amplifies the total war phenomenon of the Revolution.

Bonapartism

There are two definitions of Bonapartism in French political history. The word may refer to Corsican descendants of Napoleon and his nephew Louis as well as those who sought to reinstate the French Empire under House Bonaparte's authority. Napoleon III, Emperor of the Second French Empire, and Louis the First, both benefited from popular nostalgia for the Napoleonic era. In a larger sense, Bonapartism is connected to a large, moderate, or center-right political movement whose core tenet is the defense of a powerful, centralized state built on populism.

Criticize

Napoleon put an end to the chaos and disorder that followed the Revolution. His adversaries, however, viewed him as a usurper and a tyrant.

His critics said that he was unmoved by the possibility of war and the deaths of thousands, converting the quest for a rule of consensus into a series of wars across Europe. and disregard agreements and accords. His participation in the Haitian Revolution and the decision to bring back slavery in the French overseas colonies sparked debate and harmed his reputation.

Napoleon institutionalized looting in conquered lands; treasures of art taken by his forces from around Europe were found in French museums. To build a fantastic central museum, artifacts were taken to the Louvre; his example eventually served as an inspiration to more infamous imitators. Adolf Hitler and he have been compared, most notably by historian Pieter Gray in 1947. Expert on Napoleonic history David G. Chandler, however, objected to the parallel, saying that "nothing can degrade the former [Napoleon] and add value to the latter [Hitler]".

Critics also argue that Napoleon's true legacy must reflect the loss of France's status and the needless deaths brought about by his rule. Historian Victor Davis Hanson writes, "Considering that, finally, the military record is undisputed: 17 years of war, about six million dead, France bankrupt, overseas colonies lost". McLynn notes to readers, "He can be viewed as the man who slowed down European economic life by an entire generation because of the upheaval caused by his wars. However, Vincent Cronin responds that the indication of Such a quote is based on the incomplete premise that Napoleon was solely responsible for the wars that bear his name, when in fact France was the victim of a series of alliances aimed at destroying the ideals of the Empire. On the other hand, an opinion poll published in Le Figaro newspaper in 2005 found that nearly 40% of French people consider him "a dictator who has gone to great lengths to satisfy his lust for power. ".

Propaganda and Remembrance

Napoleon's astute use of propaganda played a significant role in his ascent to power, the justification of his rule, and the creation of his legacy. His propaganda strategy aims to portray him as putting his life in danger to bring about the peace and stability that the French people have long yearned for. Strict censorship, which restricts the expression of books, newspapers, theater, and the fine arts, is just one component of this strategy.

Rhetoric changed with political events and with Napoleon's air of authority, focusing first on his role as an army general and his specifications as a soldier, and then on that of him as an emperor and civilian leader. Because of his particular focus on the popular public, Napoleon cultivated an important, but not easy, relationship with the contemporary art world, taking an active role in ordering and controlling art products in various forms to ensure their propaganda purposes.

In 2004, scholar Hazareesingh looked at the socio-political backdrop of Napoleon's image and memorial. As a result, it was crucial in the widespread political struggles against the Bourbon monarchy from 1815 to 1830. People from all backgrounds and parts of France, notably veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, remember Napoleon's legacy and its connections to the principles of the 1789 revolution.

Rumors of Napoleon's return from the island of St. Helena quickly spread. As an inspiration for patriotism, individual and collective freedom, and political movement, Napoleon appeared in disobedient materials, particularly in the expression of the tricolor (revolution) and rose (Bonaparte) motifs. He has also appeared in activities that celebrate the anniversaries of his life and reign while undermining the royal holidays and that shows the goal of success and the prevalent political movement.

Heritage outside of France

Many Old Regimes (Ancien Régime), or traditional European monarchies, were overthrown by Napoleon, who also extended the orthodox principles of the French Revolution to other nations. Napoleon's French nationalism in particular had an impact on the rise of nationalism in other areas, frequently unwittingly. Fichte's German nationalism, which contested Napoleon's occupation of Germany, is one instance. During his reign over this nation, Napoleon also laid the foundation for the blue, white, and red tricolor of Italy.

The Napoleonic Acts were a compilation of the laws that he imposed on the conquered lands, including civil law, family law, and criminal law. This code was still in use after Napoleon's reign in many nations, including the Dominican Republic, the US state of Louisiana, and the Canadian province of Quebec. It also continued to exist in the Netherlands, Belgium, some regions of Italy, and Germany.

In Poland recollections of Napoleon are strong, due to his support for autonomy and opposition to Russia, his legislation, the end of serfdom, and the creation of a middle-class bureaucracy. modern.

Several leaders were influenced by Napoleon. Muhammad Ali of Egypt sought an alliance with Napoleon's France and sought to modernize Egypt in the ways of the French government. In the 20th century, Adolf Hitler once paid homage to Napoleon by visiting his grave three days after Germany captured France (1940) during World War II. Hitler is said to have said that this was "one of the greatest moments of my life". The next day, Hitler visited Napoleon's grave again during a tour of Paris, and during the war, the Nazi leader placed sandbags around Napoleon's grave to avoid damage from bombs.

Marriage and Children

Joséphine de Beauharnais and Napoleon were married in 1796; they were both 26 years old. She was a 32-year-old widow whose first husband had been beheaded during the Revolution. She was known as "Rose" when she first met Bonaparte, a name he didn't appreciate. She got the name "Joséphine" since he called her that. During his campaigns, Bonaparte frequently wrote love letters. He set up royal weddings for her stepson Eugène and her cousin Stéphanie after legally recognizing them. Hortense, a daughter of Joséphine, married Louis Bonaparte's brother.

During Napoleon's campaign in Italy, Joséphine had a number of mistresses, one of whom was Hippolyte Charles, a lieutenant from Hungary. While in Egypt, Napoleon discovered the entire depth of her connections to Charles, and the British read a letter he sent to his brother about it. Much to Napoleon's embarrassment, the letter was published in the newspapers of London and Paris. Napoleon had his own connections as well. During the Egyptian campaign, he had a mistress named Pauline Bellisle Foures, who was the wife of a low-ranking officer.

Joséphine failed to have a child while his mistresses did, maybe as a result of her fixation with being imprisoned during the Age of Terror or the time she had an abortion at the age of 20. Napoleon ultimately decided to get a divorce so he could be married again and have a child. He married Maria Ludovica, Archduchess of Austria and granddaughter of Maria Antonia of Austria, through an overseas ceremony in March 1810, making him a member of the German royal dynasty.

They stayed together until his passing, but she did not accompany him to Elba for exile, never seeing her husband again. Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles, who was born King of the Romans and lived from 1811 to 1832, was their only child. Napoleon II, who ruled for just two weeks in 1814, was the kid who eventually assumed the role. The prince, who was given the title of Duke of Reichstadt in 1818, passed away at the age of 21 from TB without ever bearing children.

Napoleon also recognized two other illegitimate children: Charles Léon (1806–1881), born to Eléonore Denuelle de La Plaigne, and Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), by Countess Maria Walewska. He also had four other illegitimate children, such as Karl Eugin von Mühlfeld by Victoria Kraus; Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte (1816–1910) by Albine de Montholon; and Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire, whose mother is currently unknown.

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