Napoleon Unit PDF

# Time Line of the Napoleonic Era ## 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte born ## 1793 - Napoleon takes charge of guns in siege at Toulon, successfully captures Toulon ## 1795 - Arrives in Paris (threat of rioting), used cannons to disperse mobs - whiff of grapeshot - Commander-in-chief in Italy ## 1796 -...

# Time Line of the Napoleonic Era ## 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte born ## 1793 - Napoleon takes charge of guns in siege at Toulon, successfully captures Toulon ## 1795 - Arrives in Paris (threat of rioting), used cannons to disperse mobs - whiff of grapeshot - Commander-in-chief in Italy ## 1796 - Peace made with all but Austria and Britain - Married Josephine de Beauharnais - Assumes command in Italy ## 1797 - Napoleon defeats Austrians at Rivoli, advances through Tyrol to Vienna ## 1798 - French expedition to Egypt, Alexandria occupied - Battle of Pyramids - Napoleon > master of Egypt - French recapture and overrun Kingdom of Naples ## 1799 - Napoleon leaves Egypt, overthrows the Directory - coup d'état - Becomes First Consul - Defeats Austrians at Hohenlinden, advances to Vienna - Napoleon's army crosses Great St. Bernard Pass and defeats Austrians at Marengo - conquers Italy ## 1800 - Napoleon's army crosses Great St. Bernard Pass and defeats Austrians at Marengo - conquers Italy ## 1801 - Concordat - respect of Church restored ## 1802 - Napoleon becomes President of Italian Republic - First Consul for Life - Peace of Amiens between Britain and France ## 1803 - Renewal of war between France and Britain ## 1804 - Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor and crowned himself in the presence of Pope Pius VII in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris - Code Napoléon ## 1805 - Battle of Austerlitz - Napoleon's victory over Austro-Russian forces - Battle of Trafalagar ## 1806 - Berlin Decree - Continental System - closing continental European ports to British Vessels - Confederation of Rhine established - official end of Holy Roman Empire ## 1807 - French victory at Friedland (Eylau - huge casualties) ## 1808 - Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain - Rebellion in Madrid - King Joseph flees, Napoleon takes city ## 1809 - French defeat Austrians at Wagram - Annexation of Papal States - Divorce from Josephine - Year of Napoleon's Zenith - Marries Marie Louise of Austria - Annexes Holland ## 1810 - Napoleon's son born - King of Rome ## 1811 - Napoleon crosses Niemen River, enters Russia (June) - defeats Russians at Smolensk and Borodino - Begins to retreat from Moscow ## 1812 - Prussia declares war on France (Russo- Prussian forces enter Dresden - Napoleon victorious at Lutzen) - Austria declares war on France - "Battle of Nations" - Leipzig - Napoleon defeated ## 1813 - Murat, Napoleon's commander, deserts Napoleon and joins Allies - Napoleon abdicates and is banished to the island of Elba - Louis XVIII enters Paris and takes throne ## 1814 - Napoleon leaves Elba - lands in France - Hundred Days begin - Wellingtin and Blücher defeat Napoleon at Waterloo - Napoleon abdicates for a second time - Louis XVIII returns to Paris - Napoleon banished to St. Helena ## 1821 - Napoleon dies ## The Napoleonic Era ### Early Life of Napoleon - Born on the island of Corsica in 1769 to Italian parents - 3 months prior to his birth Corsica became a French possession - Sent to a French Military school on a scholarship - specialised in artillery - During the the French Revolution he sided with the Jacobins - Married a widow, Josephine Beauharnais (through her, he met leaders of the Convention ### First Italian Campaign - 1796 - at the age of 27 he was appointed General of French forces in Italy - Within months he defeated superior Austrian forces and drove them out of Northern Italy - Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) France received Austrian Netherlands in exchange for the Venetian Republic ### Egyptian Campaign - Napoleon decided to conquer Egypt - part of Turkish Empire - which was the route to England's colony of India - Directory glad to get rid of hero - agreed to his plans - Egyptian campaign was spectacular but not successful - Destruction of the French fleet by the English Admiral Nelson - Battle of the Nile (cut off Napoleon's armies from supplies and left them stranded) ### Napoleon Wins France by Force - Coup d'état 1799 - Napoleon hears that Directory was growing very unpopular - corrupt time ripe to seize France, slipped though blockade and returned to France, leaving his army behind - Second Coalition (Britain, Austria, Russsia) revived war against France - French armies driven out of Italy - territory had been lost in northern Europe - Napoleon, with the help of the army and some members of the Directory ousted the government by a coup d'état - seizing gov't by the force - Immediately created a new constitution which the people accepted by an overwhelming vote. - France remained a republic - under the executive leadership of the First Consul (Napoleon) who was to serve for ten years. - 1802 - Napoleon became Consul for Life and dictator of France ### Why Was Napoleon So Successful? - For 15 years Napoleon Bonaparte was the strongest personality in all of France and then in Europe. What accounts for the important role he played? - After 10 years of revolution and changes of gov't, the French were tired of weak rules and constant political battles. - Europe was divided into many small, weak states which individually could not fight off such a bold leader as Napoleon. - Napoleon's character stamped his as a leader - ambitious, selfish, self-centered, daring and ruthless. - Napoleon was a military genius whose new and brilliant tactic personal leadership and ability to inspire his soldiers helped him win victory upon victory and make France the leading state on the continent of Europe ### Defeat of the Second Coalition 1801 - 1802 - Turned again to his foreign enemies - Russia, won by flattery and diplomacy, withdrew from Coalition - Austria defeated at Marengo and Hohelinden - forced to sue for peace - Treaty of Luneville (1801) - reestablished terms from Campo Formio - France again supreme - England, left alone against Napoleon, was forced to sign the Peace of Amiens (1802) - France was at peace with her European neighbours ### Napoleon Makes Changes in Government - Not satisfied with First Consul - wanted to be Consul for Life - 1802 - popular vote (plebiscite) helped achieve this - 1804 - again by plebiscite he charged the Consulate into an Empire, crowned himself Emperor at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral with the Pope as witness - Under Empire French Legislature made up of 3 bodies: - Consulate - 2 house system (bicameral) - Executive - Three (3) Consuls - Council of State (appointed by First Consul to initiate legislation) - Legislative - Tribunate - 100 members chosen for 5 years, discussed laws BUT did NOT vote - Legislative Body of Three Hundred - duty - voting on laws but could NOT discuss - First Consul - Consuls - Council of State - Legislative Body of Three Hundred - Tribunate - Completed centralisation - hardly democratic BUT efficient - Napoleon kept outward forms of democracy but actually his was an absolute government - as Emperor he: - Controlled legislation - Took lead in foreign affairs - Leadership of the army ### Napoleon's Reforms - Napoleon pushed ahead with other important domestic reforms - Financial - All policies to be set in Paris. - Professionally trained civil servants would carry out orders - Restored public confidence in gov't bonds - special bank set up - guaranteed 5% interest - 1800 Bank of France set up - private institution - however, gov't regulated - Gold/silver coins issued - Careful collection of taxes - Eliminated corruption - Money established on gold basis - Religious - 1799 civil war in Vendée broke out (3rd time) - Peasants wanted to restore R.C. and Bourbon Monarchy - Napoleon had no intention of restoring monarchy BUT wanted religious peace - religious toleration was recognized - July 1901 Napoleon signed the Concordant with the Pope - regulated relations between Church and State until 1905 - Concordant - a) Church property confiscated NOT returned - b) Bishops nominated by 1st Consul (Napoleon) - Pope invested them into their office - Priests appointed by Bishops - c) Clergy were paid by gov't - d) Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority - Legal - Uniformity of legal code required! - Code Napoleon - Code Civil - Civil Code - Codification of laws: preserving chief social conquest of the Revolution: - Equality before the law - Religious toleration - Abolition of feudalism and its privileges - Trial by jury - Uniformity of laws throughout France ### Napoleon's Most Solid & Lasting Accomplishments - Recognized the principles of equality before the law - Freedom of conscience & occupation - Supremacy of the state ### Educational - New types of schools were created - Education under state control - University of France created ### Government - Local gov't reorganized and centralized - Prefects and sub=-prefects govern various districts ### Social - Legion On Honor (1802) - Restored some symbols & rituals abolished during the Revolution - Reflected the old Order of Chivalry with graded ranks, medals, ribbons, titles, and pensions - Honorary society open to any citizen who performed meritorious service regardless of birth, rank, or religion - This Legion became the basis for Napoleon's new nobility - Objective - To form a new aristocracy state which would keep the Frenchmen busy with petty ambitions rather than overthrowing the state - Also look care to establish himself as the patron of art/culture - 1798 - The Louvre was opened as a national museum - filled with 100's of stolen paintings by French armies that invaded Italy and other countries ### Public Works - Build many good highways, bridges and canals - Beautified Paris with new buildings and wide avenues ### Colonial Efforts - Hoped to restore a French colonial empire - 1800 - forced Spain the cede him Louisiana territory - Napoleon expecting was with England needed money, sold Louisiana to the US ### Master of Europe - Napoleon tried to satisfy many groups: - Peasants - kept acquired lands - Clergy - restored position of respect - Liberals - All citizens equal before the law - Bourgeoisie - protected property & encouraged economic growth - All people - Gave sense of security & stability - Military was his love! - Future depended on the might of his armies ### Nepotism - Napoleon's French Empire at its height - 1808 - Northern Italy - Kingdom of Italy --> Napoleon - King, Eugene de Beauharnais (stepson) - Kingdom of Naples - brother Joseph (later Joachim Murat brother-in-law - Holland - brother - Louis - Grand Duchy of Warsaw - recruiting ground for army - Kingdom of Westphalia - brother - Jerome - King of Spain - brother - Joseph - 1809 - Napoleon seeks marriage to Maria Louisa - daughter of Francis I, Emperor of Austria - wanted heir to throne - annulment of marriage to Josephine - 1810 - Maria bears him a son - no glory to reach him - when Napoleon abdicates Maria Louise refuses to live in exile - takes son to Austria - dies at 22 years of age from TB ### Napoleon - Emperor of France - Late 1804 Napoleon pushes a decree through the Senate & Tribunate - creating an emperorship in the line and heredity of Napoleon Bonaparte - December 2, 1804 - Coronation service at Notre Dame - Pope ordered to Paris - Imperial conquest, absolute despotism and aristocratic principles - order of the day - Pope's presence to be present & bless Napoleon and Empress Josephine - during ceremony - took the crown from the Pope & placed it on his own head - signified that he owned his position to his own ability - 1803 - War between France and Great Britain - 1805 - Third Coalition (Great Britain, Russia, Austria, Sweden) - French Tactics: - Rapid offensive supported by massed artillery barrage - Concentration of troops in key battle positions - Living off the land which they fought on - 1805 - Austrians defeated at Ulm (Germany) - Defeated Austrians/Russians at Aueterlitz ### Battle of Austerlitz - Napoleon's masterpiece - brilliant career - Correctly anticipated Austro-Russian armies - Would try to outflank & cut him off from his supply base at Vienna - Strongest positions - heights of Pratzen which Napoleon avoided - Stationed troops behind the heights & prepared for rear guard action to protect a retreat - Austro-Russian troops spread along a line 4 miles long in flanking March alongside french army - Napoleon did everything to convince them he was retreating (Murat's cavalry hastily retreats) - Plan was working - Austro-Russian forces descended from the Heights to attack the French right flank - As enemy cleared the Heights - French attacked centre and rights, cutting it into two & took the undefended Heights - 4-5 hours of fighting 26,000 Austro-Russian forces, 9,000 French forces dead - Right & centre annihilated - Germany was entirely made over by Napoleon - Victory made Napoleon Master of Western Europe - Left bank of the Rhine incorporated into France - South German states seceded from Holy Roman Empire & formed the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon's protection - Napoleon announced he no longer recognized the Holy Roman Empire - Aug. 6 - Habsburg Emperor Francis I resigns imperial crown - The work of a long line of French kings & statesmen was completed by Napoleon - Holy Roman Empire had come to an end - By 1808 - Germany at Napoleon's mercy - Prussia shorn of half her lands - Confederation of Rhine enlarged - Kingdom of Westphalia carved out of North & West Germany ### Decline & Fall of Empire - 1808 - 1814 - Napoleon's power on the wane - decline was disguised in small victories - Causes: - Growing older & less energetic BUT ambition & lust for conquest kept increasing - Beginning to take advise - Armies changed character - At one time composed entirely of patriotic Frenchmen fighting with enthusiasm for the fatherland & Revolution - Now composed of more Poles, Germans, Italians, Dutch, & Danes - recruited forcibly & held together by discipline & faith in the Emperor - French officers no longer young & dashing - they were more cautious & self-seeking - Some of the best died in battle ### Napoleon's Effect on Europe - Napoleon consolidated major gains of the French Revolution - Code Napoleon - Ideas of the French Revolution spread by his troops - this later helped to undermine the anti-democratic societies - Remade the map of Europe - later most of the territorial gains cancelled - Break up of the Holy Roman Empire remained - Oppressive treatment of other countries - Stimulated growth of nationalism - Left France the memories of his past - After his downfall there was a struggle among 3 groups: - Bonapartists - one strong man should goven France - Monarchists - favored return of monarch - Republicans - sought a democratic republic ### Battle of Trafalagar - Only serious setback was result of his plans to invade England - By 1803 plans progressed to stage where several thousand transports and invasion crafts awaited in several ports along the coast of English Channel - Plan: army of 100,000 (men, artillery, cavalry) would go across the Channel - Difficulties - transports could NEVER defend themselves against British warship - Imperative to gain control of the channel of a few days by - Bringing entire French navy into it - Diverting English ships away from Channel to other parts of the world - 1803 - Numerical inferiority - French navy incomplete, inexperienced crews and its admiral demoralized - 1804 (Dec) - Spain declared war on England - Spanish ships added to Napoleon's fleet - temporary naval superiority - Napoleon planned to meet Spanish fleet in West Indies and return to invade England - Plans became confused and only one of the four French squadrons, under command of Admiral Villenueve, joined with the Spanish fleet - Avoided the British fleet from May through August - Villeneuve returned to Cadiz, Spain. He commanded a fleet of 32 ships - Collingwood, English commander, discovered the French fleet in Cadiz, and with only 3 ships blockaded the harbour, hoping to delay the French until English reinforcements arrived. - Napoleon decided to call off the invasion scheme, but in his dispatch he condemned Villeneuve for his cowardly behaviour and blamed him for the failure of the invasion. - Napoleon ordered fleet out of Cadiz and attack the enemy if he found them in inferior strength. - Orders received at the same time that Admiral Nelson, commander of English fleet, arrived. (Nelson had 27 ships, French 32) - French ordered to sail from Cadiz - Nelson pulled his fleet to the south to block access to the Straits of Gibraltar and then off Cape Trafalgar, he turned about to fight. - British admirals and colonels highly confident of victory - October 1805 - Nelson's plan: cut French line into three (3) and concentrate on the rear and center - one ship cut behind the 10th French ship - battle almost won with this action - Nelson intended to destroy the entire Franco-Spanish fleet might have succeeded but was shot by Swiss sharpshooter on French ship "Redoutable" - Nelson dying - leading Spanish ship turned and attacked British ships engaged with French center - Within 2 hours the battle was over BUT a terrific storm came up and caused England to lose 13 of their ships - In the end 11 ships were destroyed, 3 were captured and 19 escaped - French-Spanish casualties 6,000, English casualties 1,700. - Initially English did not view it was a major victory BUT after saw that it was because French navy never again reached the same strength, and for all practical purposes, Napoleon abandoned his plans for the invasion of England. - Napoleon's censorship of press so good that news of naval disaster not mentioned in newspapers - Napoleon reduced to attacking Great Britain indirectly - economically ### Continental System - 1806 - Forbade European countries to import any British products or export to Britain - Denied admittance of continental port to any ship - British or neutral (sailed from Britain or from her colonies) - Paper blockade - Napoleon had lacked naval power to enforce it ### Collapse of the Continental System - Deprived French of vital raw materials (cotton/sugar) - British goods in great popular demand on Continent even Napoleon obliged to license importations - Much smuggling - to alleviate shortages bought British products and overseas goods supplied by Britain legally/illegally - Lacked necessary sea power - Feelings of nationalism - wanted to be free from French control - Many countries suffered - Eg. Russia had scarce resources and inflation ### Russian Campaign - Napoleon invaded Russia NOT to conquer BUT teach Tsar Alex that he made a mistake at Tilsit (1807) - Between 1807 - 1811 Franco-Russian alliance grew weak - Tsar resented Napoleon: - Enlargement of Duchy of Warsaw - Refusal to divide Ottoman Empire - Russia reluctant partner to continental system - France and Russia on brink of war 1811 - Without bothering to declare war or even announce his plans to France, Napoleon crossed the Nieman River in June 1812 - Plan to separate Russian armies and destroy one by one - Upon invasion Tsar called upon Russians to rise against invaders - Patriotism swept Russia: - Nobles - sons, wealthy serfs - Merchants - money, destroyed supplies - Gentry/peasants - burned crops and fled from enemy - Scorched Earth - tactic necessary - numerically inferior Russian forces versus healthy Napoleon battles - Napoleon not sure of kind of war to fight in Russia - Expected to fight with first few days - Minor skirmishes - NOTHING major - Russian army continued to retreat - Napoleon thought he trapped Russians at Smolensk BUT army slipped away during the night - left 20,000 men in the city - In an attempt to dislodge garrison and capture the city - France lost 9.000 and Russians, 10,000 men - Napoleon decided to push to Moscow he needed a decisive battle to force Russians to sue for peace - Between Smolensk and Moscow, French armies experienced worst deprivation of campaign because of destroyed crops, animals, and homes to preevent French from using them - Napoleon catches army at Borodino, forced to fight - terrible battle - French victory technically - Napoleon marches on to Moscow - 1 week later French army entered Moscow to find 250,000 people had fled and had no intention of surrendering - Also the city largely built of wood went up in flames - this left Napoleon without supplies, housing to survive the Russian winter - He had NO choice but to retreat - Mid October Napoleon kept delaying departure from Moscow in hopes of hearing from Tsar Alex - Russians continued to resist - Napoleon left with 100,000 men but by November the first snow fell - soldiers dragged themselves shivering many fell never to stand up again - By late November Napoleon crossed the Berezina River with only 40,000 - December 3, 1812 - 9,000 remained - 1 week later - 4,500 remained - Temperatures fell below - 13 F. - Napoleon blamed barbarity of Russian winter and Russians for he defeat - Left for Paris to raise another army to keep allies together - Failed to force Alex to sign a new alliance - Russian campaign fruitless - Russia freed - Tsar Alex, urged by Stein (advisor in Prussia), to attempt an overthrow of his rival - Jan. 1813 Alex led his troops across Niemen River and proclaimed liberty of European people thus began "War of Liberation" - Russia joined by Prussia, North and Central Germany - Napoleon gathered new army of 200,000 (France, Southern Germany, Italy) - May 1813 Napoleon defeats Prussians and Russians - Metternich arranged armistice and general peace would have left France many of its conquests - Napoleon only wanted time to gather more forces for victory gather 120,000 men and rejects peace proposals - Austria joined coalition - Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Great Britain - August 1813 Napoleon wins another victory against Austrians forced gradually hammered in by Allies - October 1813 3 day "Battle of Nations" (Leipzig) outnumbered, deserted in midst of battle by Saxon troops Napoleon defeated - 2 weeks later Napoleon led remnant of army across the Rhine Germany freed - Napoleon still rejects peace offer by Austria - would have left him with - Alps, Rhine, Pyrenees - He prolongs war on French soil - remains defeated - Early 1814 3 foreign armies move in on France from North and East and South (Wellington) - March 1814 brilliant and desperate defence by Napoleon led to the surrender to the Allies - Napoleon abdicated this throne - Departed for Elba - lived 10 months on the island - Restored Bourbons to the throne with understanding that he would recognise and confirm the social and political reforms of the Revolution - Heir was Louis XVI brother - Louis XVIII - "King of France by the Grace of God" after his death 1795 nephew Louis XVII - Napoleon found Elba irksome and longed to be back in France - February 1815 circumstances favourable: - a) Enemies divided Austria and Great Britain Vs. Prussia and Russia over return of emigrés - ill feelings amongst Napoleonic veterans - b) Return of emigrés - Small body guard Napoleon escapes from Elba - lands in Cannes - Troops sent to arrest him could not resist the familiar uniform - March 20, 1815 Napoleon enters Paris - Louis already over by Belgian frontier - Napoleon promised to renounce war and conquest, to maintain liberty, equality and establish constitutional government - If Napoleon was right about France - he was wrong about the rest of Europe - 4 great powers forgot their differences, renewed alliances and rushed troops toward France ---