Napoleon's Return to France Essay

Napoleon made many mistakes in his invasion into Russia. He was a brilliant leader, but in the later years of his life his tactical genius faltered, perhaps due to illness. His invasion was planned with little preparation or focus, and without proper purpose. Napoleon may have been affected by illness, or even arrogance because of his previous victories. He believed that he was infallible, and so he did not assess the situation correctly. His oversights cost him a victory and eventually his title as Emperor of France. The Russian campaign was the greatest catastrophe in his entire career and signalled to those opposing him that he was no longer indestructible. Prior to the defeat, many had believed Napoleon to be an undefeated military genius and because of this few wished to oppose him. The crippling Russian failure exposed a weakness which the enemies of France were quick to exploit. Napoleon himself realised this and hurried home to France in an attempt to stop news of the defeat from spreading, though this was in vain. Britain, Russia, Sweden and Prussia prepared to go to war with Napoleon. In the year following his defeat, Napoleon raised an army of around 400 000 to go to war against the allied powers. However, this army was inexperienced and outnumbered. The defeat of the Grand Army had rid France of its best soldiers, and many in the new army had never fought before. Napoleon’s empire was collapsing on every front.

Bonaparte was unquestionably a born leader. Often in the harshest conditions he took this role to protect his fellow comrades. As a leader, the future emperor of France never took full credit for his successes and never took full blame for his discredits and defeats. “Soldiers usually win the battles and generals get the credit for them” (Napoleon Bonaparte cited in Barnes: back cover) He was loved by his men through victory and defeat. Even after his initial defeat and banishment by Wellington, he escaped with the help of loyal supporters, and his defeated army, disillusioned once more with the hereditary rulers of France, flocked to follow him to Waterloo, where he came very close to defeating the combined armies of his enemies, despite the demoralisation of the French army by repeated English victories. Only a hero of Napoleons calibre could achieve this turnaround.

Once again, Napoleon assumed the position of Emperor, but it lasted only 100 days until the battle of Waterloo and was defeated by the English and Prussian Armies on June 18, 1815.

     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.

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

The British were smart and got ready for the war but the French were not. The British had found out that their general James Wolfe had found à small cliff. So the British stealthily sneaked downriver to their general. In the morning the British had assembled their entire team and got ready to fight. The French did not think the war all the way through. Their general had made two major mistakes that had cost them the battle. The French troops got all confused and fired very early. This allowed the British to make the counter-attack and then take control of the Quebec. Although the British killed the French general Montcalm, the great British leader James Wolfe had also been tragically killed.

their allies helped Napoleon in that Britain could no longer use troops and supplies in the war against France since there was an Embargo. The leader of the French was a self appointed, ruthless Napoleon Bonaparte who designed a policy to strengthen France and for him to become more popular. The Napoleonic Wars concluded with the Battle of Waterloo (June 1815) where Napoleon saw his remaining elite guards

After the French monarchy was overthrown on August 10, 1792, Napoleon decided to make his move up in the ranks. After this, Napoleon started becoming a recognized officer. In 1792, Napoleon was prompted to the rank of captain. In 1793, he was chosen to direct the artillery against the siege in Toulon. He seized ground where he could get his guns in range of the British ships. Soon after Toulon fell, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by controlling a group of rioting citizens by using a famous technique of his. He loaded a bunch of pellets into a cannon and fired it at the crowd. Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, and each army he fought got bigger and bigger. This forced Austria and its allies to make peace with France. But after this, Napoleon was relieved of his command. He was poor and was suspected of treason. Napoleon had no friends. No one would have suspected what Napoleon would do next. In 1796, Napoleon was appointed to put down a revolt in Paris. He calmly took complete control of the situation. He had his men shoot all the rebels in the streets. The French government was saved, but they decided to form a new government called the Directory. Under the new government, Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. During this campaign, the French realized how smart Napoleon was. He developed a tactic

- 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

In 1796 as a young officer of 27 years old, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. In his proclamation to his troops, Napoleon said, 'The two armies which but recently attacked you with audacity are fleeing before you in terror; the wicked men who laughed at your misery and rejoiced at the thought of the triumphs of your enemies are confounded and trembling.' Acts like this display the strong personality that Napoleon possessed and how his endearing nature captivated his troops. The control and support of the army was effective in enabling Bonaparte to eventually seize power.

As the Former French Prime Minister States in source 11, “France was isolated, beaten, occupied, dominated, hated, and smaller than before”. Paradoxically, was on its way to become a even stronger world power if not for the British and her allies. In source 12, Napoleon is outnumbered, but still continues the battle that becomes his final defeat. This was Napoleons last struggle once he returns to power and after this decisive battle, which in turn Napoleon was sent back into

Due to the weather the day before, Bonaparte delayed the battle because he was waiting for the ground to dry. Eventually, Napoleon ordered the attack on the British and Prussian army and they fought a bloody battle which ended, after nine hours, with the British and the Prussians victory (Battle of Waterloo, n.d.). After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was abdicated from the throne on June 22, 1815 for the second time and exiled again for the rest of his life; Bonaparte died at the age of 51 on May 5, 1821 (History.com staff (B),

The Battle of Waterloo, which took place on 18 June 1815, was the final battle of the Napoleonic wars and ended Napoleon’s reign as emperor. The French marched

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.

Although he inspired new social, economic, and political ideas, Napoleon Bonaparte is better known for his military strategies and tactics. His wars are studied by millions all over the globe and his tactics have been modified and implemented in militaries all around the world. Napoleon was one of the greatest tactician and military geniuses of his time and played a major role in the history and development of military art, but all this started at a very young age. At the age of nine, his parents send him to military school in France, in 1785 just 5 feet 2 inches tall he graduated and became an artillery lieutenant. in 1795 he at the age of 26 he commanded an entire army and fought in many wars in Italy, Austria, The Netherlands, Malta, Egypt, Syria, and Russia. Napoleon got exiled twice to two small islands and eventually died on September 3, 1893. Napoleon also had great accomplishments outside the battlefield such as, ending the post-French revolution chaos in France, rebuilding Pairs into a place of beautiful parks and boulevards, founding