Napoleon's Personality

During the French Revolution, there was a king who was either a hero or an ‘evil tyrant’ or enemy of the French Revolution. This leader was known as Napoleon Bonaparte. He was identified as Emperor of the French and his accomplishments in his life.

Sometimes wars were only won because of him. A reason for this was because he was a military general so he lead a lot of the wars. He had more courage than most men so that’s why it was so important when he fought the wars, without him who knows what would've happened.

Instead of creating a society based on free exercise of property, limiting state intervention, and giving political and civil liberty to people, he created a society based on order and hierarchy. Napoleon also had the power to appoint positions, as he 60 percent of the 3263 nobles he appointed from 1808 to 1814, were officers and the rest were people holding high ranks in civil service and notables (like bishops and mayors.) Napoleon taking control was also seen as an improvement through the average Frenchman’s eyes due to the lack of work being done by the Directory. Napoleon used military terms to deal with affairs. In order to be successful, the situation must be exploited as quickly as possible, which in this case, was giving the nation confidence that good times are ahead. Though Napoleon was confident in reforming he was also confident in doing this mostly by himself by getting the nation to pledge their loyalty to Napoleon, and Ducos and Sieyes who he generously added to the decree.

A strategy of Napoleon’s that was intended to foster equality, as well as to reward talent, was the establishing of the Legion of Honour. Despite protests that it was a violation of equality , the practice of recognising civic contributions to society was widely regarded as a means of promoting equality. Le Memorial de Sainte-Helene (1821) declared that “…. establishment of the Legion of Honour, which was the reward for military, civil, and judicial service, united side by side the soldier, the scholar, the artist, the prelate, and the magistrate;”. Napoleon continually proved to be able to heal divisions caused by a revolution demanding equality. In order to bring the ideals of the revolution to fruition, i.e. to create social equality, Napoleon recognised that diverse groups in society needed to reconcile and unite in their attempt to consolidate the achievements of the revolution. So, as he

leader at that time. He showed the world what it means to be free. No matter where

Napoleon betrayed the French people during the time of his rule by enforcing almost the exact opposite of what the french people wanted from their leader. Napoleon overall was a demanding leader who only took a say in government farther away from the french, including upper class nobles and government officials themselves. He eventually was able to create a total monarchy making himself the sole ruler over France. Although Bonaparte had already taken control over one of the most powerfull countries in the world at the time, he was still hungry for more power. Because of this he started wars with many civilizations even if they were just as powerful as France. In total he had fought in over 65 battles losing only 10 in his 20 years. This proves how strong he made France. On top of this he had created a revolutionary military using experience and tactics he had obtained during his time serving. “In April 1791, Napoleon was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, only a year later promoted again to Captain, and following that in October 1793

Napoleon was born in Corsica, Italy and was entered directly into the Military, at age ten. Napoleon's leadership, and role as emperor, was heavily based around the fact that all of his childhood was being trained in the military! Some people view this in a negative light (seeing other people just as a target, and appreciating human life.) Some people on the other hand view this in a positive light (Being a good instructor, and knowing how to make the right moves with politics.) During the French revolution the citizens of france tried to create a republic, and when they failed continuously, Napoleon Bonaparte stepped up and became a strong leader for France. In 1799, the government started to grow more and more corrupt, and that's when Napoleon came into play. Napoleon

His legacy still lives on because he stopped at nothing to achieve his goals for himself, his men, his culture, and the rest of the world.

Between 1796 and 1814, Napoleon rose through the ranks of the French army, and eventually became the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814. During his rule, Napoleon took over most of eastern Europe, and other parts of western Europe. Napoleon conquered these countries, because he wanted to defend France, which was very cruel. On the other hand, Napoleon respected people's properties, religions, and customs. When he would receive criticism, though, he would want to restrict them, and anyone else, from publicly criticizing him again. Some people might think that he was a hero, while others, like me, saw him as a tyrant.

The French Revolution brought about a new era in Europe through Enlightenment ideas. The greatest product of the Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. Without the Revolution Napoleon’s genius at military tactics and statesmen charisma would be lost. There is only greatness in people if given the opportunity to show that greatness. Napoleon’s life is not merely one of conquest and domination, but a series of opportunities gained through the Revolution.

During rough times in France in the late 1700’s, an anarchy was being formed. A revolution turned into civil war and the people were unhappy and needed a leader. At this time, General Napoleon Bonaparte took an opportunity. Napoleon’s fame for winning battles in the Middle East and Egypt and crushing royalist uprisings back at home allowed him to take over the Directory with ease. Recognized for his great military skills and outstanding leadership, Napoleon easily won over the hearts of the people.     Napoleon’s first move was to obtain leadership. With the help of Pope Pius VII Napoleon was named First Consul of France. Though France was now declared an empire, it was technically a

Napoleon Bonaparte was always destined to be legend. Under his ambitious command, France, and perhaps the entire world, changed. He spread the ideas of enlightenment across the globe, using his military skill to bring it to neighboring countries. He ruled his people justly, and was a true hero among men; except that’s not entirely true. Napoleon is legend, no questions to be had there.

While in the past the army was relying on only one leadership, Napoleon gave more independence to each corps. Napoleon organized each corps in a sort of a small army that was combining groups from the different branches that are infantry cavalry and artillery. Another important detail that led Napoleon to victory was the large number of soldiers he had under his orders. Horne underlines the important difference between Napoleon’s military over 100,000 people in most of his battles to the 50,000 men in the Augustan army during the previous century (86). Both the division by Napoleon of his troops in smaller corps and the never seen number of soldier helped him to achieve his goals. Those two important innovations promoted the description of Napoleon as a military genius.

Napoleon III, also called Louis-Napoleon, had an overall tough life. He had to fight for his throne, against the people, and against his failing health. Through all these battles, Napoleon was able to rebuild Paris and made many improvements all over France. However, the deteriorating health and the many social affairs of Napoleon will cause many problems. All of Napoleon III’s failures came about as a result from his unstable character.

The use of offensive strategy and tactics however would not have been effective if it was not for the high quality of the French troops. The quality of troops doesn’t narrowly focus upon the individual soldier’s equipment or training; it encompasses more subjective factors such as the morale of an army. This high level of morale was a great necessity for French success in the Napoleonic wars; however the best example of this high morale playing a major role in the wars of the coalition would be the first conflict in 1792.Unlike the other continental powers, the new French Republic was fighting a total war, meaning that “the full weight of the nation was thrown into the balance.” This provided the sense a stronger willingness to fight from the French people: “the young men of France rallied to the nation’s