Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769, the second of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte's eight children. In 1778, Napoleon began his education at Autun and later attended school in Brienne, excelling in mathematics and science. Following a year's study at the Ecole Militaire in Paris, he was commissioned in the artillery in 1785. The year 1789 saw the outbreak of the French revolution, which created an atmosphere of opportunity that would not have existed under the Bourbons, and Napoleon was to make the most of it.
The first opportunity came in 1793, when Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier general for the decisive part he played in the siege of Toulon, which ousted the British from mainland France. After the coup de Thermidor in 1794, Napoleon fell out of favor and was imprisoned. After his release he ended up preserving the new government from the Parisian Mob with artillery fire, an event that has become known as the 'Whiff of Grapeshot.' A grateful government later appointed Napoleon to command of the Army of Italy. Before his departure, Napoleon married Josephine de Beauharnais on 9 March 1796.
Campaigning in Italy in 1796 and 1797, he inspired the impoverished army with the promise of "honor, glory, and riches," and enjoyed a succession of victories, which resulted in Austria signing the Peace of Campo Formio. His display of bravery, intelligence, and leadership proved an inspiration to the common soldier and formed an enduring bond. Returning to France, he was given charge of an expedition to Egypt, control of which would threaten English possessions in India. The victory at the Battle of the Pyramids gave French control of Cairo, but the naval defeat at Aboukir Bay isolated the expedition from France. After some unsuccessful campaigning in Syria, he departed by ship with a small group of friends and sailed to France, abandoning his Army.
In 1799, public sentiment had swung against the government, and following the coup d'etat de Brumaire, Napoleon became the defacto ruler of France. The country was still at war however, and after a dramatic crossing of the Alps, Napoleon defeated the Austrians at the battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800. This victory solidified his reputation of invincibility, and combined with other successes, led to a general peace.
After a decade of war, a grateful France made Napoleon Consul for Life and ...
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...as soon forced to retreat. The 'scorched earth' policy employed by the Russians combined with extreme weather caused the Grand Armée to disintegrate and the campaign ended in disaster. The defeat in Russia prompted Prussia, Sweden, and Austria to declare war on France. Napoleon raised another army but was decisively defeated at the great Battle of Nations. Napoleon fought a last brilliant campaign in France to defend Paris, but in April 1814 abdicated and went into exile on the island of Elba. The Bourbon king was restored to the French throne.
While the Allies debated a realignment of the map of Europe in Vienna, Napoleon planned his return, and in March 1815, he landed in France and regained his throne in a bloodless coup. Rather than await another invasion, Napoleon surprised Allied forces in Belgium. After initial success, Napoleon fought the Duke of Wellington leading an Anglo/Allied army at Waterloo, and was decisively defeated on 18 June 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he resided until his death on 5 May 1821. His remains were removed from St. Helena in 1840 and his body now rests at les Invalides in Paris.
Napoleon Bonaparte ruled in France from 1789 to 1815. Napoleon came to power in 1789 and immediately became a powerful figure in the French government. However, some thought Napoleon was such a great leader. The Napoleonic Empire started to grow France’s territories. Some might have believed that Napoleon was too eager with his rule, while losing and failing to succeed against the power of England, in an attempt to blockade their trade, and of Russia, where he led his army to a defeat and retreat back to France. Even in his success over Spain, the battle still costed Napoleon and his army in men and resources. Napoleon was mostly viewed as a powerful and militaristic leader in some aspects, but others saw him as a coward and terrible leader in other ways.
As the revolution calmed, the National Assembly attempted to maintain power however, Napoleon Bonaparte, an outstanding national general, ousted the newly set republic in a coup d 'etat in 1799, imposing himself dictator of France and leading the country to new militaristic heights that prompted French nationalism and the spread of Enlightenment ideas. Even though Bonaparte’s title as a dictator, emperor in 1804, connotates a restricted freedom, he actually made great lengths to enact policies that reflected Enlightenment ideals such as freedom of religion. Bonaparte centralized France’s government and moved to consolidate all of Europe under one nation. Touting Enlightenment ideals where his soldier traveled, Napoleon 's conquest set the foundation
The book Napoleon by Paul Johnson is a monograph on the life of Napoleon. Napoleon was born on August 15,1769 on an island called Corsica which was a French island south of the mainland. Ironically his future enemy Duke of Wellington was also born in 1769. Napoleon was born in the lower nobility class, and gifted with mathematics. He admired the Royal Navy and wanted to join as a midshipman. At the age of ten, Napoleon left Corsica for a military school in Brienne, France. On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Napoleon was admitted to the elite military school in Paris. He trained to become an artillery officer. His full height was five feet and five inches tall and Napoleon was promoted to first lieutenant by 1791. Napoleon knew that war meant war promotion, and he was eager to move up in command. He controlled the entire army of France by age of 26. He was a genius in artillery and believed that making his opponents fearful on the battlefield means the battle is already half won. A lot of military genius comes from his chief of staff Louis Berthier, who translated his ...
By that time, Napoleon had ruled France and surrounding countries for twenty years. Originally an officer in the French Army, he had risen to become Emperor among the political chaos following the French Revolution in which the old ruling French kings and nobility had been destroyed.
The French Revolution happened during the years of 1789 through 1799, and was an era of epic revolutionary politics and social turbulence which had a central repercussion on western, but more specifically, French history. The peasants and bourgeoisie of France under the rule of King Louis XVI had became frustrated with the extravagant spending habits of the French royal court and aristocracy. This frustration had later escalated into the formation of the French First Republic in the year of 1792, and the execution of King Louis XVI a year later in 1793. Ten years later in 1804, Napoleon declared the French First Republic, as the French First Empire, and styled himself as Emperor of France. Napoleon's empire had only existed for ten years and dissolved when Napoleon was defeated in the battle of Waterloo and abdicated his empire. However, Napoleon was a exemplary military campaigner, and accomplished extraordinary tasks. The Dublin Penny Journal argues that through“His extraordinary career through life: he gained Fourty one victories; captured six strong towns that stood sieges; entered twelve capitals, subjugated the continent of Europe, created nine sovereigns, made three retreats, raised one siege, and suffered twentyeight defeats.” ("Dublin Penny Journal" 393-394).Through out Napoleons political conquests and plundering of Europe, Napoleon had several paintings commissioned to portray him on his extraordinary escapades. Therefore the artist Jacques-Louis David had became “first painter” to Napoleon, to help propagandized his image after rescuing David from the prison at the palace of Tuileries. For example, Yale French Studies argues that “From the beginning of his career Napoleon appreciated the importance of imposing his im...
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
...n faced the allied armies of the European powers outside the German city of Leipzig, where they easily beat Napoleon. Napoleon finally surrenders and is exiled to the Island of Elba, a tiny island off the Italian coast. Louis XVII, the new king is quickly overthrown and Napoleon returns from exile. In Belgium, near the village of Waterloo, British and Prussian forces defeat Napoleons new army. This defeat ends the ‘Hundred Days’ (Napoleons last attempt at power).
Napoleon was born in Corsica and went to military school where at that time France was at war with Britain, Austria and Russia. Being in the military he led the French army and achieved victory from the Austrians in 1797 who also negotiated with other nations such as Britain (MORAN 6-22). He established a new Napoleon code which had traditional laws resembling the new revolution in France. He later crowned himself emperor of France and combined social rehabilitation with his own arbitrary power. He also worked a covenant with the Catholic Church where there was a purification of Napoleon and Empress Josephine, who was from a wealthy family. His rise created a new empire which covered much of Europe apart from Britain (MORAN 6-22). He used his family, relatives and friends to power the European countries, hence to why his pride and aspiration led Europe to unite against him. His fall was brought by the detested of French rule all over
After Napoleon's defeats in Egypt he returned to France where he seized control of the French government in November 1799. After ten years of revolut...
He turned the French against Europe and took over central Europe. He was well known for being a genius and could often sway the tide in his favor in a variety of ways. In 1812, the French invaded Russia, but it led to a change of fate. His army won by moving into the outskirts of Moscow, but it was an empty victory. Cold and worn down, his "Grande Armée" was forced into a painful retreat through the freezing Russian weather.
He also was able to get an easy supply of taxes and soldiers under his new and improved French government. Before he could get very far, however, he had to gain public favor and shape the public opinion. To do this he used reforms of propaganda and thus caused people to think that they were getting the better end of the deal, but were actually, subconsciously giving Napoleon their approval for his actions. Among some of the methods he used for propaganda included getting all of the printers and book sellers to swear an oath to Napoleon and all newspapers fell under state control, so Napoleon gained access to almost everything that the citizens of France were able to read. Many of the gains from the French Revolution were kept, such as equality before the law, and careers open to talent.
Napoleon returned to home to France with only about 10% of his Army still alive. He lost most of his soldiers during the Great White Death, which is one of the largest French disasters to date. Since all the coalition allies knew he was in trouble, they decided to follow him and take him out while he was down and burned out. This is when he decided to give himself up and be exiled to Elba with 1000 guards. Before he left though, he promised his men that he, “… would return when the flowers bloomed.” And that was a promise that Napoleon kept.
Napoleon’s military career is what eventually led to his prominence. Napoleon began his military career above most of the other men his age. He rapidly made his way through the ranks eventually gaining a great support system. As the directory leaned more and more heavily upon the military, a coup d’état developed. Because of his military expertise, he immediately became first consul of France. The empire of France was soon to grow once Napoleon was in reign. In the 1790s the French army was near one million men, an advantage in the Austrian wars as well as future ventures. Wars raged with other European countries in the early 1800s. Napoleon was able to beat the continental coalition, thus gaining territory for France. France annexed some of Italy but also controlled states such as Spain, Holland ...
Before being fighter, Napoleon was a brilliant statesman, he knew what he wanted and aligned the necessary resources accordingly. The use of military force was for him the last resort. After having exhaust political means, he committed the maximum possible force to maximize the chance of the success of his campaign. He avoided making the same error than Austrians who have engaged against him, in 1796, only a segment of the available forces then a second and a third, what was easy to defeat in the
One of Napoleon’s few bad campaigns was when he went into Russia, and instead of the Russians just letting the French capture them, they used guerrilla tactics and also the weather, to fight France. Once Napoleon finally defeated the Russians, he went to Moscow, only to see it in flames. The Grand Army, which was originally made up of 500,000 troops, now had a short of supplies and shelter from the harsh winter. Because of that, they had returned to France being known as "One of Napoleon’s worst blunders." Europe noticed that Napoleon was now weak, and they allied against him and came out victorious, and the European’s forced Napoleon the abdicate power on April 6, 1814.