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Napoleon Bonaparte: Armies
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For over twenty years, from 1793 to 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte led French troops in almost continual campaigning. His armies faced a wide range of enemies who were determined to destroy the upstart nation that had dared to overthrow its old monarchy. With a foundation of solid training as a professional soldier, and instincts and insights that more often than not enabled him to surprise and outmaneuver his opponents, Napoleon repeatedly defeated the armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, various Italian states, and even the Mamelukes of Egypt. In the opinion of one of his most successful opponents, the Duke of Wellington, the presence of Napoleon on a battlefield was worth 40,000 men. One-quarter scale. Height approx.
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Napoleon Bonaparte climbed rank quickly in the armed forces due to his familial connections and his uncanny military knowledge, which he gained through dedicated reading. He ... was influenced by the writings of Voltaire and did not practice much in the way of religion. Although he was a Roman Catholic, he often thought about becoming a Muslim after visiting Egypt.
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By 1785 Napoleon was a second lieutenant in the French army, but he often returned to Corsica. In 1792 he took part in a power struggle between forces supporting Pasquale Paoli (1725–1807), a leader in the fight for Corsican independence, and those supporting the French. After Paoli was victorious, he turned against Napoleon and the Bonaparte family, forcing them to flee back to France. Napoleon then turned his attention to a career in the army there. The French Revolution (1789–93), a movement to overthrow King Louis XVI (1754–1793) and establish a republic, had begun. Upon his return from Corsica in 1793, Napoleon made a name for himself and won a promotion by helping to defeat the British at Toulon and regain that territory for France.
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In 1795, Bonaparte was serving in Paris when royalists and counter-revolutionaries organized an armed protest against the National Convention on 3 October. Bonaparte was given command of the improvised forces defending the Convention in the Tuileries Palace. He seized artillery pieces with the aid of a young cavalry officer, Joachim Murat, who later became his brother-in-law. He used the artillery the following day to repel the attackers. He later boasted that he had cleared the streets with "a whiff of grapeshot," as a result of which many had died and those who had survived had fled. This triumph earned him sudden fame, wealth, and the patronage of the new Directory, particularly that of its leader, Barras.
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By the Treaty of Chaumont of March 1814, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain bound themselves together for 20 years, undertook not to negotiate separately, and promised to continue the struggle until Napoleon was overthrown. When the allied armies arrived before Paris on March 30, Napoleon had moved east to attack their rear guard. The Parisian authorities, no longer overawed by the Emperor, lost no time in treating with the allies. As president of the provisional government, Talleyrand proclaimed the deposition of the Emperor and, without consulting the French people, began to negotiate with Louis XVIII, the brother of the executed Louis XVI. Napoleon had only reached Fontainebleau when he heard that Paris had capitulated. Persuaded that further resistance was useless, he finally abdicated on April 6.
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In a continuous series of campaigns from 1805 to 1809 Napoleon won considerable victories (including Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau, Wagram), and established an empire which, through annexation and the establishment of vassal states, covered most of Europe, excluding Russia. He distributed thrones and territories to his relatives and favourites. But he could not always be absent from Paris. The campaigns were improvised; his armies were not properly supplied; the rate of desertion was high; the British were successful in organizing a series of coalitions against him. The Spanish campaign (1808-13), where Napoleon led his forces for a relatively short time, saw his first defeats. The Russian campaign (1812) was a disaster.
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