Napoleon's Conflict with Russia
Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
By 1812 Napoleon had expanded the territory of France all over Europe
including Spain, Italy, Holland, and Switzerland. The countries that
Napoleon did not directly control, he was usually allied with. The
turning point of Napoleon's career also came in 1812 when war broke
out between France and Russia because of Alexander I's refusal to
enforce the continental.
Even the French nation could not provide all the manpower and
supplies needed to carry out the Emperor's grandiose plan for subduing
Russia. Throughout 1811, he worked to mobilize the entire continent
against Russia. He not only levied the vassal kingdoms in Spain,
Italy, and Germany but also summoned Austria and Prussia to furnish
their share of men and goods. Altogether, Napoleon could count on
nearly 700,000 men of 20 nationalities of whom more than 600,000
crossed the border. Grown far beyond its original intended size, the
army was difficult to assemble and hard to feed. Between Tilsit and
Moscow, there lay over 600 miles of hostile barren countryside.
Because of lack of supplies and the difficulty to feed the large army,
Napoleon's plan was simple: bring about a battle, defeat the Russian
army, and dictate a settlement. Apparently neither he nor his
soldiers, who cheerfully began crossing the Nieman River, thought
beyond the immediate goal.
Already 300 miles into Russia, Napoleon had not yet found a
way to exploit his advantage. In the Emperor's programming the
resources necessary to achieve his objective, he had anticipated
fighting a battle within a month after crossing the Nieman. Toward th...
... middle of paper ...
...s made many attacks on the French. And because of
the health of the French soldiers, there was little opposition for the
Russian's attacks. Napoleon had returned to France to preserve his
empire. With his desertion marking the end of the war.
A lengthy bulletin had appeared in The Moniteur on the return
of Napoleon. Until November 6, the weather was good, and the movement
of the army was executed with success, but on the 7th the cold
commenced. French officers and soldiers had fought bravely, and their
General had led expertly. The Russian winter, not the Russian army,
had defeated him.
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Bibliography
Electronic Arts EA 3D Atlas 1995, N.Y. New York
Grolier Incorporated Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1994 N.Y. New
York
SoftKey Infopedia 2 1996 N.Y. New York
Webster New World Dictionary 1984 N.Y. New York
Napoleon Bonaparte, an unparalleled military commander who conquered most of Europe around the early 1800’s, invaded Russia in 1812, who was under the rule of Tsar Alexander at the time, lost three quarters of his Grande Armee which was composed of soldiers from all over Europe totaling 600,000 soldiers. This part of history is the most talked about and studied military campaign even today by scholars and military school alike. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 was a extraordinary expedition that shocked the French Empire to its foundation and led to its eventual collapse just a year later. This Historiographic comparative
One last mistake that most people could call Napoleon’s greatest, would be his invasion of Russia. When Czar Alexander I stopped complying with Napoleon’s demands with the Continental System, putting heavy taxes on French luxury products, and refusing to let Napoleon marry a sister of his, Napoleon thought that it was time to put Russia back in his place. With this idea in place, Napoleon gathered a huge amount of troops from all around Europe, which first entered Russia on June 24, 1812. A quote from Sutherland states that “It was the most diverse European army since the Crusades”. History experts expect that at least 450,000 Grand Armée soldiers and maybe even 650,000 ended up crossing the Niemen River to fight the Russians on the other side (approx. 200,000).
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Napoleon was not only a great leader, he was also a military genius. As a military genius, Napoleon won many battles to expand France and was always welcomed back to France as a hero. His use of strategic warfare throughout many battles allowed him to be seen as a hero not only in France but all of Europe. Although his army was outnumbered by the Russians and Austrians on December 2, 1805, Napoleon's brilliant strategies resulted in a defeat of the opposing armies in the Battle of Austerlitz.
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French Revolution brought a great number of great ideas, but ideas are not beneficial unless they are realized and stabilized. The man to stabilize the concepts of French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He started out as an Italian general and ended up being one of the greatest historical figures. First, Directors requested Napoleon's support while organizing a coup d'etat. Then, Bonaparte fought Britain in order to benefit France. Lastly, he was called to help creating a new constitution and ended up as the First Consul of France. At home, he ruled using flattery, but also he strongly resisted the opposition. Napoleon is a pro-revolutionist because he denied all the privileges of the aristocracy, created a new constitution, and also established the Napoleonic Code.
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Showing the war, Tolstoy describes Napoleon’s attack on Russia, the battle of Borodino, the slow retrieval of the Russian army, the conquest of Moscow by Napoleon, the fire in Moscow, and the retrieval of Napoleon’s army during a deadly winter. Naopleon had to retrieve from Russia under attacks by Russian peasants and horsemen on those who fell behind. His army also sufferes from cold and hunger, since the Russians destroyed all food supplies. The takeover of Moscow by Napoleon proved to be useless, and in the long run, destroyed a large part of his army.
Napoleon believed that after a few quick victorious battles, he could convince Alexander to return to the Continental System. He also decided that if he occupied Moscow, the Russian government would crumple and ask for peace.