Napoleon was one of the most important figures in European history. As one of the greatest military leaders, Napoleon did many things to modernize the European nations he ruled.
In 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica. His middle class family was of Italian descent. After completing his education, Napoleon went to France to become a solider.
In Napoleon’s first battle as leader of an army, he became famous. By pointing artillery at the British, Napoleon drove them out of Toulon. The Directory then sent him to Italy to attack an army of Austrians. After this victory, Napoleon gained more fame and was known as a hero.
Along with his
…show more content…
The first was the Battle of Trafalgar. In this war, Napoleon was defeated by the British navy. This defeat ensured Britain’s control of the seas. Next was the Battle of Austerluz. Napoleon defeated an Austrian Army three times the size of his. This was considered his masterpiece victory.
After these two battles, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the First Empire of France. It was then that he adopted the name Napoleon I. As the emperor, Napoleon developed the Continental System. This system forced all countries controlled by France to close their ports and forbade trade with England. This was done because England was Napoleon’s mortal enemy.
In 1808, Napoleon began his conquest of Spain. The Guerilla war led to an uprising by the entire population. French troops, were raided and killed by the Spanish. The French retaliated the attack with executions.
Two years later in 1810, Nationalism became an issue in Germany. Small German states began two rise against the French. They had a deep sense of pride in their culture, and did not want Napoleon to destroy it.
After battling with Britain, Spain, and Germany, Napoleon invaded Russia. The purpose of this invasion was to enforce the Continental System. In 1812, a Russian winter and the Russian strategy of Scorched Earth defeated Napoleon and his army of 500,000 men. This was Napoleon’s worst defeat. It
Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the heart of many French nationals as one of the greatest military leaders that the nation has had when it comes to warfare history. In 1799, Napoleon launched a series of wars, which historian call, “Napoleonic wars” in a bid to extend the territory of France in Europe. Many historians argue that the Napoleonic wars were a continuation of the earlier war under the tag, French revolution in 1789. The French revolution in itself had so many influences in Europe, especially with the armies who felt the greatest impact of the revolution. The revolution brought with it many changes, especially in the production of modern mass weapons with the conscription in place. The new improvements in weaponry made Napoleon seek hegemony in the entire Europe sparking his quest to expand and increase the revolutionary and territorial borders of France. Napoleon, Corsican aristocrat, who was a minor, rose to the position of emperor in France because of the revolution and his idea was to sweep the entire Europe with the reforms brought about by the revolution (Dwyer 32). The idea was to liberate the continent so that all citizens had a chance to take the helm of leadership and do away with the issue of kinship rule. Napoleon was a symbol of change, and although at some point, he comes out as a dictator, he was progressive and created rationalization of governance and all the social
13) Battle of Trafalgar= This was the only major battle napoleon lost. It was a naval defeat because Napoleon's navy was no match for Britain’s, off the coast of Spain. He lost to british commander Horatio Nelson, who split the French fleet in half and he captured Napoleon’s ships. This ensured the dominance of the British Navy for the next 100 years, no one was able to defeat the British navy. This also forced Napoleon to give up plans to take over Britain which instead he thought Russia was a better
- After his triumph driving the British out of Toulon Napoleon was made a brigadier general. With two successful campaigns 1796 he drove the Austrians north of Italy. He was able to make the government of France very dependent on him. His dealings with Italians produced a "Cisalpine" republic modeled after the French with Milan as its capital. After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. ending when Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup d'état and declared himself the ruler of France. Essentially, Napoleon ended the French Revolution. Napoleon was successfully leading military campaigns, succeeding both abroad and squelching counter-revolutionary activities at home. While the people
Napoleon was one of the most influential people in the history of the world. He has affected people throughout the globe in many ways. He rose through the confusion of the French revolution to become Emperor of the French. His goal was to conquer all of Europe. Through out his lifetime he nearly succeeded in his goal. Napoleon was probably one of the greatest military leaders that ever lived. Napoleon Bonaparte, who is also known as the "little Corsican", was born on August 15,1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica. He was known as the "little Corsican" because of his height of 5 feet 2 inches. He had 7 brothers and sisters. His original name was Napoleon Bonaparte in Corsica but it
Napoleon won battles in Italy and Austria early in his rule, but eventually, the French Emperor attempted to conquer other major powers in Europe. Napoleon lost major battles in Russia and Britain, and the French people’s perception of their king began to change. Document 5 shows a painting of Napoleon in 1812, during the French invasion of Russia. Napoleon is depicted very negatively: he appears to be short, almost small, overweight, and certainly not the heroic image he carried early in his rule. In Document 7, Napoleon is controlled at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, dancing like a puppet. The painting was published in 1815, the year Napoleon was officially removed from power. As Napoleon’s initial success faded, so did his
Because of the win and the way he strategized and handled himself got him into a position to get recognized by the French Council "aka" The Directory. They appointed Napoleon the second in command of the army in Italy in the artillery unit. In 1795 at 26 years of age his job was to defeat the royalist and stopped the royalist mobs on the streets of Paris. He killed 1,400 of the Royalists in the street and sent the others running. From that point on then he started to win the love of the French people. Because of the win over the Royalists and the fact that he took the enemy that was ravaged, hungry and not paid their wages, and he paid the army with money taken for the territories they occupied without the approval of the directors. This action and the win over the royalist cemented the love towards Bonaparte for the French people. At that point the Directors had to honer that the French people had embraced his success and what he had done for them and there was very little the directors could do at that point to control Bonaparte. They were compelled to celebrate his success as a war
During the Napoleonic Era, from 1799 to 1815, France became a military power gaining and controlling land throughout Europe. While some historians believe Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruthless dictator, his military accomplishments far outweigh any atrocities he committed. He helped France gain stability after the French Revolution and he also abolished the Feudal contract. Napoleon was a brilliant strategist using military tactics to cause fear and to defeat whatever enemies stood in his way. Throughout his rule, Napoleon continually gained ground, and by the end of his reign, his empire encompassed all of Spain, Italy, and a small portion of land by Russia and Austria. (see map) He is one of
Napoleon Bonaparte was born into a family of noble Italian ancestry. Napoleon settled in Corsica in the 16th century and later was trained as an artillery officer at a prestigious military school in France, where they most likely talked of Alexander the Great’s military conquests and strategies. In 1799, Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte was a military general for the French government that rose to power in the late 1700s. He basically got into power because no one wanted to take the throne after the French Revolution. He was a brilliant tactician and extremely intelligent. He revised school laws and paved newer roads so the French could travel easier. He even created the metric system to help make measurements easier to read. But, he became power-hungry not too long after he took the throne. Napoleon proclaimed himself Supreme Emperor of France and took off on a conquest in hopes of conquering all of Europe. After many battles and casualties, Napoleon claimed victorious in conquering Europe. He was later defeated by a rebellion amongst many of the more powerful countries of that time, and exiled to an island where he eventually died. Napoleon’s wars and all of the death and despair
Napoleon’s fame first rose when he was a leading role in restoring the port of Toulon from the British. In result, this gave him the reward of becoming a brigadier general. Then, he won himself a command position in Italy from his defense of the new regime. Napoleon rose even more in power when he took his French army to Northern Italy to crush the Sardinian and Austrian armies and when he finished the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. In result, he returned back home as a hero; however, he had to confront France’s final enemy, Britain. He then tried to beat Britain by attacking its interests in Egypt, which created “the first major Western European assault on the Ottoman Empire” – however Napoleon failed in the end. In addition to Napoleon’s
This showed Napoleon’s capability of military leadership. These victories relate to this one quote “ Never interrupt your enemy when his or she is making a mistake. ” – BrainyQuotes. He won most of his wars. The wars Vendémiaire and Siege of Tulon were the first wars that Napoleon won.
Impressed by his feats the five main military leaders asked Napoleon to invade England, instead he offered a plan to invade Egypt. After he got the okay to do so Napoleon took over the Egyptian army and its main leaders (www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com). In 1799 Napoleon overthrew the French Directory in an attempt to gain more power. After the defeat he was the leading political figure to most historians (www.history.com). As leader Napoleon improved not only the military of France but also the economy and other parts of the French empire. He helped reform the banks and education system as well as improving the arts and sciences. But his biggest contribution was the Napoleonic code, which was a big part of the legal system in France.(www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com, www.bbc.co.uk). In 1804 Napoleon declared himself emperor of France, which was meant he was the sole leader of this great empire (www.history.com). Napoleon won many battles and his reign stretched from the edge of the border of Spain to Italy and also some parts in Austria and Egypt. It was a strong and powerful empire at the time. The start of Napoleon’s downfall began when Russia broke agreements with France. So Napoleon brought about 600,000 troops into Russia to attack but the Russians were prepared and had the perfect strategy to defeat the French army. The Russians would retreat and keep the French marching
Napoleon has been recognised as a military genius. His various military exploits have been widely regarded as great feats and his military prowess was definitely an important factor is his ascension to power. Napoleon has been said to be a great tactician and strategist in war which was essentially why he was able to progress through the ranks of military also while becoming a national hero. In 1793, the then young Napoleon became a national hero by leading the recapture of the French port of Toulon from the British which drew the attention of the upper echelons. 'As a reward for his services, the Representatives
Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia was a major factor in his downfall. In 1812, Napoleon, whose alliance with Alexander I had disintegrated, launched an invasion into Russia that ended in a disastrous retreat from Moscow. Thereafter, all of Europe, including his own allies, Austria and Prussia, united against him. Although he continued to fight, the odds he faced were impossible. In April 1814, Napoleon’s own marshals refused to continue the struggle and stepped down from their positions. During the actual Russian campaign, there were many key factors that greatly impacted his downfall.
Napoleon’s success won him praise and recognition from the public and showed them a glimpse of what he is capable of. Napoleon once said, “The word impossible is not in my dictionary,” 2proving his determination and persistence. In December when the city is taken, Napoleon’s artillery approach and his strong leadership skills during the final battle played a crucial role in his recognition. His reputation from Toulon remains significant in the military.