Napoleon Bonaparte
The ideas of modern war can lead back to the 18th century during a certain campaign by a French military leader. This military leader was named Napoleon Bonaparte. He started a campaign against Western Europe that defined war and his strategies echoed throughout time up until the Second World War. His strategic plans were legendary up until his biggest mistake, which was invading Russia during its winter during the battles in the Waterloo Campaign.
Before you can get into how he became a military genius you have breakdown how is life really was before his military career began. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15th 1769 to Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and political opportunist, and his wife, Marie-Letizia Buonaparte. The Buonaparte's were a wealthy family from the Corsican nobility, although when compared to the great aristocracies of France Napoleon's kin were poor and pretentious. Due to his parents connections he was able to enter the Military academy in Brienne in 1779. He moved to the Parisian Ecole Royale Militaire in 1784 and graduated a year later as a second lieutenant in the Artillery. When the civil war broke out the Buonaparte’s fled to France and adopted the French version of their name Bonaparte. When the political situation in France flipped around, Napoleon was tried for treason, but if not for his roots in politics, he would have been executed but his families connections saved him from death. In 1795 Napoleon became a hero again and helped fight the revolutionary forces off. As a result of that, he grew to be one of the most respected military leaders in France.
In 1796 Napoleon was given control of an Italian army which helped defeat Austria. After that campaign he returned to France as a bigger hero than he originally was, but had to leave in 1798 to Egypt and Syria in order to threaten England’s imperialistic rule in Africa. Napoleon and his army returned in the August of 1799. Shortly after he took part in the Brumaire coup of November 1799, finishing as a member of the Consulate, France's new ruling triumvirate.
In the Novel by Robert M. Epstein, his military background was identified and how he planned his attacks were broken down so that the average person could understand them. He was the individual who introduced the ideas of modern warfare to the global affairs. The de...
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...w warfare. Also since there was a new air force being used, there had to be certain precautionary measures to be taken in order to thwart off the planes, thus the birth of flak cannons. These shot shards of metal not the sky to shoot down the planes. Finally the most important piece of technology that was introduced in World War Two was the Hydrogen and Atomic Bombs; which were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. These two pieces of weaponry ended World War Two in the pacific front and in the world.
Having Technology is was makes your Militaries, Navies, and Air forces modern, a strong battle plan is a great thing to have but that doesn’t make warfare modern. This is what gave certain forces the advantage over their opponents. Weaponry kills people, not the plans themselves. To have a significant advantage over your opponent is what conquering is all about, and that is what new advancements did. Even though Napoleon was a military genius and developed new theories on war, they didn’t make war fare modern, technology did.
Bibliography
Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War, Epstein, Robert M. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: University P of Kansas, June.
Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica just as France conquered it. At age ten, Napoleon was sent to military school outside Paris. At sixteen, he graduated and became a lieutenant in the artillery. When the French revolution broke out, Napoleon sided with the new government. Along with the help of his army, he dissolved the revolutionary government and made himself emperor. Saying he was saving the Revolution, Napoleon established a new government that stressed equality. Through his prowess, Napoleon greatly enlarged the French Empire. Though he ran...
World War Warfare was one of the greatest examples of technological advancement and strategic challenge, with the introduction of inventions such as the aircraft and the tank the battlefield transformed from attrition as scene in the early years of the war to decisive by the end of the war.
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 ...
Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.
Wilde, Robert. “Napoleon Bonaparte – Biography of Napoleon Bonaparte.” European History – The History of Europe. Web 21 June 2011.
During Napoleon’s reign there were numerous events that changed the world however for this essay I will only address three significant events. The first event I will discuss is the Code of Napoleon followed by the Haitian Revolution and finally the sale of Louisiana.
Although in another country Napoleon was still an active member of the Jacobions, (who had just overthrown and murdered the King of France Louis XVI) which angered the monarchist the King of Corsica, who declared the Bonapartes outlaws. Napoleon immediately fled with his family back to France, and rejoined the French military.
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
It is interesting and even surprising that the two major strategies regarding war were developed by European contemporaries of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. Antoine Henri de Jomini (1779-1869) approached his philosophy of war in a structured, scientific manner. Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) took a more fluid, open-ended approach to his philosophy of war. The fact that they lived during the same time period in Europe is also fascinating in that they likely knew of each others’ writings as well as potentially influenced and were influenced by the philosophy of the other. Jomini’s scientific approach is more applicable to the tactical and operational levels of war while Clausewitz approaches war as more of an art or interaction between people that is more appropriate to the strategic and political levels of war. Although their two war strategies are presented as opposing strategies, by comparing concepts from each of the theorists to the other theorist’s work shows that they are actually more complementary than competing in that they are addressing different levels of war. The concepts to be evaluated are Clausewitz’s “Trinity of War”, “war as a continuation of politics”, and the “unpredictability of war” as well as Jomini’s definition of strategy and his “Fundamental Principle of War”.
Weaponry underwent a drastic and beneficial change during World War 2. These changes included upgrades in mobility, power, and durability. The Tank became an essential, which was used on all fronts. Guns also rose to the foreground, and better guns meant battles won. Lastly, the most pivotal and remarkable technological improvement came with the great advances in bombs and missiles. Weapons certainly played a key role in World War 2.
On his rise to power Napoleon took it upon himself to make sure that the old government system called the directory was taken out because overall that system was doing no good to the already broken country.This taking out of the directory become known as a coup d’ etat. Napoleon quickly went into action making the French consulate and then to add on to that he made himself the first consul which eventually made him have all the power and allowed him to become emperor. On his way up, like every leader Napoleon had to fight in wars with other countries which in most he ended up winning. After taking control of most of Europe Napoleon continued to expand the lands of french territory and...
Napoleon Bonaparte was outstanding military leader and the first emperor of France. He was born in Corsica a little island that belongs to the French. During Napoleons, early years he went to studied at the military college of Brienne. Then he went on to a military academy in Paris “In 1785, while Napoleon was at the academy, his father died of stomach cancer. This propelled Napoleon to take the reins as the head of the family.” (Biography.com Editors, para.4)
At 14 Napoleon decided to pursue a military career and won a scholarship to a French military academy. Napoleons father died of stomach cancer when he was fifteen, and at age sixteen, Napoleon had rights to all his family fortunes but his father left practically nothing. At this, he took upon the responsibility to make sure his mother and his brothers and sisters would not starve. He worked diligently to educate himself by intensive reading. He read mostly about romantics before he discovered how valuable Europe and its secrets are.
Because Genoa had sold Corsica to France, it meant that the Bonaparte children could get scholarships and study there. Had this not happened, Napoleon probably would have attended a university in Italy, like his father and would go into business with very little room for advancement anywhere. While he excelled in his courses, Napoleon was not a very popular boy with his classmates. He was often made fun of because he did not learn to speak and write French until the age of ten and he spoke with a thick accent that he kept all his life. He would even say later in life about his schooling, “I lived separately from my schoolmates. I looked for a corner in the school garden and retired there to dream undisturbedly…I was not loved at school: it takes time to acquire people’s love…” In 1784, a 15 year old Napoleon entered France to begin his career as a cadet in the army. He wasa enrolled in the Ecole Royale Militaire (ERM). It has been said that the young Napoleon did not take well the new school. The students there were also of noble blood and as Napoleon would later say they were “infected”, imbeciles who hated all who were not ‘hereditary asses’ like themselves.” After final exams in 1785, He becomes the youngest, 16, and only Coriscan appointed as an officer, lieutenant of the artillery, as he tells his mother in a letter that he works almost nonstop. “I have no diversions here, except work. I wear the new uniform [that of
Napoleon’s parents were radicals, and both died soon after he turned 16, therefore leaving him the estate. His first battle was when he directed the artillery siege of Toulon in 1793, and afterwards he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1795, he scattered a group of rioters by firing a grapeshot, a shot gun version of a cannon, into the crowd. Napoleon was then made commander of the Italian army and won four straight battles against the Austrians. In 1797, Austria surrendered to France when Napoleon was just 80 miles from the capitol. When the fight was taken to Egypt, he again won the battle of the pyramids, but lost his fleet of ships in his next fight over the battle of the Nile. He returned home to France to see that the French government was really messed up. "In 1799 he abolished the Directorate and set up a consulate." He was not happy and wanted more power, so he went after the rest of Europe, but had settled with many treaties. Those treaties had put France at peace with all of Europe. Then in 1803, war broke out again in Europe, and Britain allied with the other countries of Europe to fight against France. "Napoleon brought those European countries to their knees and forced them to sign humiliating treaties, and now, Britain was the only country left not under Napoleon’s rule."