The Battle of Austerlitz Essay

These historians have done a phenomenal job of keeping the topics portrayed in their theses as well as about a comparatively unbiased view on Napoleon and bring about a deeper and hidden meaning behind why Napoleon is considered a hero or a villain. Paul Stock brings about the idea that there was a “romantic appropriation” of Napoleon, especially by the British in the early nineteenth century.

Although his armies enjoyed unprecedented successes and expanded the French Empire from Spain to the steppes of Russia, the Napoleonic way of war was fraught with deficiencies. Due to the Napoleon's genius and mastery of this period of military manoeuvres, he was able to forestall the affects of the inherent limitations of his system until the war of the Sixth Coalition (1813) and eventually the fateful battle of Waterloo (1815). One the most significant, intrinsic flaws in Napoleon's system was related to issues of command. During the beginnings of Napoleon's career, he commanded armies of sizes up to 60 000 troops. In Italy in 1796, he commanded a force of just 38 000. With the increasing sizes of forces in the later empire, due to concepts such as levee en masse and recruitment legislation of 1792, the inability of a single commander to control such vast forces was becoming apparent. The sheer immensity of the forces now mustered was unprecedented. In 1812 the Grande Armee, consisted of a staggering 611 000 soldiers. Much to the hindrance of the later empire, few, if any officers in the Grande Armee, besides Napoleon himself, could command forces

Doomsday is defined as the day where the world will come to an end and people will face God on Judgment Day. Many people are fascinated by the notion that Doomsday will eventually happen soon, but there’s always a miscalculation when it comes to predicting as when the world will end. World War II is the most significant period in the twentieth century because technology, civil rights movement in the U.S, and the ability to explore outer space took a huge leap of fascination around the world. The two powerful allies emerged during World War II as to begin a Cold War with each other that defined the twentieth century. The idea that the world will come to an end by a nuclear war based on previous events from World War II that can potentially one day happen again because of historic evidence from the Cold War that wiped out two major cities in Japan, scientific evidence of a secret nuclear weapon written in India’s ancient epics, and the production of radiation smoke that builds up overtime can slowly kill humans. Zombies are dead corpse that is revived by a virus. The myth of zombies originated from Haiti in 1626 to 1800s, as an image of inhumanity where slaves were treated ruthlessly. In the Haitian religion, slaves believed that dying was a way for them to return to Guinea, where they are free from torture in the afterlife. Under the ruled by Saint-Domingue in France when African slaves to work for the sugar plantation. Slaves who worked under the French were treated

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 Bonaparte is seen by historians in a variety of lights. Some judge him for his lack of mercy for those in his warpath along with his unmatched air of confidence. Others choose to see him for the leadership abilities and keen mind that fueled his remarkable triumphs as a general, commander, First Consul of France, and even emperor. Owen Connelly uses his work, The Epoch of Napoleon, to bridge the gap that other historians and authors have skimmed over, giving the reader an inside look at not only Napoleon’s military life, but also his political and personal life. Furthermore, Connelly achieves this by showing both the ruthless and heroic sides of Napoleon, including non-military details from the life of Napoleon, and lastly, including quotes from Napoleon and those that interacted with him.

Napoleon’s goal was to easily win this war. An ironic and tragic foreshadowing of the horror to come, an electrical storm pouring down freezing rain, hail and sleet killed a ton of troops and horses the night the Grande Armee soldiers went to capture the city of Vilna . To top off the cake ,these soldiers were already deserting in search of food and plunder. Despite it all, Napoleon remained horrifyingly confident. The climate changing of this long battle became too much for the soldiers, the hot summer days made the soldiers come down with insect borne and waterborne diseases. Many men have already been lost soon afterwards,” Grande Armee entered Moscow Only to see it in flames. Most people had already fled the city, leaving behind vast quantities of hard liquor but little food. French troops drank and pillaged while Napoleon waited for Alexander to sue for peace. No offer ever

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.

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

Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the world’s greatest military strategists, led the French at the Battle of Waterloo. During his time as a General, even in defeat, his tactics in the way he used artillery were beyond reproach. His successes and errors made throughout the Battle of Waterloo had a direct effect on how we use artillery today.

The artillery and small arms were years behind that of France. The Russian army was a conscription army, meaning that local farmers had to furnish a certain number of surfs for military service, as opposed to a professional, trained army where the government supplies the soldiers with all of their needs. An amazing half-million soldiers had enlisted in Napoleon’s Grand Armée (Saglamer, Beginning of the March). This was the largest army gathered for one single invasion. Russia’s army was out numbered 3:1 with only one hundred-seventy thousand soldiers. Not only was the Russian army not well trained, they were also ill equipped. Napoleon recognized that it would be difficult and extremely slow for Russia to mobilize her army due to her enormous size and weak infrastructure. If Napoleon invaded now, he knew that he could be well into the Russian territory before meeting any major opposition. On June 24, 1812, Napoleon began his fatal Russian campaign. The Grand Armée, led by Napoleon, crossed the Nieman River, into Russia. On the journey to Moscow, Napoleon met virtually no major opposition. The first stop in the campaign was Kovono. Early into the campaign, the Grand Armée was affected by a colic epidemic that claimed the life of nine thousand horses and thousands of soldiers (Web, Russian Embassy). This slowed the pace of the army. Harsh weather conditions caused the dry roads to turn to mud, making it extremely difficult to maneuver the

“Napoleon practiced extreme centralization of authority. The Emperor was his own operations officer and made all decisions” (Rothenberg, 66-67). Clausewitz pronounced Napoleon as the ‘god of war’ and his tactical and operational successes, particularly between 1805-1807, are described as that of a military genius (Clausewitz, 583, 648). The command and control system he had in place was adequate when he was present, but “when his armies operated in widely separated theaters of war, or over an extended front, his attempts to maintain strategic control failed” (Rothenberg, 67). The strategic overreach of the Grand Army coupled with an increasing inability to trust his senior army and naval flag officers during decisive battles exploited the weakness of his system of centralized command and control. This manifested itself in 1812 when the Grand Army was fighting on two fronts at opposite ends of the continent, as evidenced by unsuccessful operational outcomes and significant battlefield

Napoléon is considered one of the best military generals of all time. One of Napoléons greatest military achievement was the battle of the three emperors. The result of this battle was forcing Austria to make peace with France (Treaty of Pressburg) and keeping Prussia temporarily out of the anti-French alliance.The battle took place near Austerlitz in Moravia after the French had entered Vienna on November 13. The allies decided to fight Napoleon west of Austerlitz and occupied the Pratzen Plateau, where Napoleon had created a trap for them (an example of his excellence at strategy).The allies then launched their main attack against the French.The allies were soon split up and attacked both north and south of the plateau. The battle brought

This is the battle that had decided the fate of France. This battle has brought France down on our knees. This battle has taken Napoleon out of power. This is the Battle at Waterloo. Napoleon had wanted to take over all of Europe, but this battle had stopped him. Napoleon's main goal was to establish a European empire, but he had to go to the battle of Waterloo to try and accomplish this. Napoleon had to try and get through Wellington, but he had stayed strong. Wellington had been able to get the support it needed to be able to defeat Napoleon’s advances. Napoleon had lost a lot of men during the battle of Hougoumont. And Wellington had taken down Napoleon a little at a time. And then after Napoleon’s last attempt

How have historians tried to evaluate the ultimate goal of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French? With such a variety of perspectives, there is no single theory that can fully answer the breadth of the question. Instead, kaleidoscopes of opinions that span centuries from Napoleon’s reign to contemporary research give us the best analysis of his ambitions. No matter the era, historian’s opinions of Napoleon shift between admiring his achievements, in varying contexts of establishing order or reorganizing governmental systems, to criticizing his personal lust for power. This essay will discuss the varying opinions by which historians view Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, and his fundamental objective as ruler.

The period between 20th April 1792, when after prolonged debates the deputies of the French National Assembly finally declared war on the Habsburgs of Austria and 18th June 1815, marking Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo, was characterised by almost constant warfare, save for the brief peace of Amiens (March 1802 – May 1803). In fact, such was the extent of these wars which spanned a little over two decades that until 1914, the British referred to them as the 'Great War'.1 Of late, these wars have been an object of much contention and have come under the microscope to assist scholars in fully appreciating their significance in the transformation of European warfare. Even today, scholars and historians alike, remain divided over just how substantial a role the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars played in altering the nature of wars after 1792. Without disregarding either side, Roger Chickering has identified two 'master narratives' which do a remarkable job of explaining this period's importance, albeit in two extremely dissimilar ways.2