Napoleonic Wars

V

Confederation of the Rhine

In Italy, where French forces under Masséna had defeated the Austrians under Charles Louis John, Napoleon made his elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Naples in 1806. Elsewhere in Europe, he made his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, king of Holland (the former Batavian Republic); and on July 12 he established the Confederation of the Rhine, which eventually consisted of all the states of Germany except Austria, Prussia, Brunswick, and Hessen. The formation of the Confederation put an end to the Holy Roman Empire and brought most of Germany under Napoleon's control. His continental successes, however, were largely offset by the victory on October 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar, of the British under Admiral Horatio Nelson over the combined fleets of France and Spain. This victory gave Britain mastery of the sea throughout the remainder of the Napoleonic era. In 1806 economic warfare between Britain and France was initiated. Napoleon formulated his so-called Continental System, issuing decrees, in 1806 and later, forbidding British trade with all European nations. Britain retaliated with the Orders of Council, which in effect prohibited neutrals from trading between the ports of any nations obeying Napoleon's decrees. British mastery of the sea made it difficult for Napoleon to enforce the Continental System and resulted eventually in the failure of his economic policy for Europe.

VI

Fourth Coalition

Before the effect of British sea power could be manifest, however, Napoleon increased his power over the Continent. In 1806 Prussia, aroused by Napoleon's growing strength in Germany, joined in a Fourth Coalition with Britain, Russia, and Sweden. Napoleon badly defeated the Prussians in the Battle of Jena on October 14, 1806, and captured Berlin. He then defeated the Russians in the Battle of Friedland and forced Alexander I to make peace. By the principal terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia gave up its Polish possessions and became an ally of France, and Prussia was reduced to the status of a third-rate power, deprived of almost half its territory and crippled by heavy indemnity payments and severe restrictions on the size of its standing army. Through military action against Sweden on the part of Russia and Denmark, Gustav IV Adolph of Sweden was forced to abdicate in favor of his uncle, Charles XIII, on the condition that the latter name as his heir General Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's marshals. Bernadotte became king in 1818, as Charles XIV John, founding the present royal line.

VII

Anti-Napoleonic Nationalism

In 1808 Napoleon was master of all Europe except Russia and Britain, but from this time on his power began to decline. The chief reasons for this decline were the rise of a nationalistic spirit in the various defeated nations of Europe and the persistent opposition of Britain, which, safe from invasion because of its superior navy, never ceased to organize and subsidize new coalitions against Napoleon.

In Spain, Napoleon first encountered the nationalistic spirit that led to his downfall. In 1808, after dethroning King Charles IV of Spain, Napoleon made his brother Joseph Bonaparte king of the country. The Spanish revolted and drove Joseph out of Madrid. A violent struggle known as the Peninsular War (1808-1814) then took place between the French, intent on restoring Joseph as king, and the Spaniards, aided by British forces under Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington. The French were eventually defeated, suffering losses in manpower that severely handicapped Napoleon when he was later forced to meet new enemies in the east and north of Europe. The first of these new enemies was Austria, which, inflamed by patriotic feeling, entered the Fifth Coalition, with Britain, in 1809. Napoleon defeated the Austrians at Wagram (July 1809), and inflicted on them the Treaty of Schönbrunn, by which Austria lost Salzburg, part of Galicia, and a large part of its southern European territory. He also divorced his first wife and married Marie Louise, the daughter of Francis II, of Austria in the vain hope of keeping Austria out of further coalitions against him.

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VIII

Defeat of Napoleon

The turning point of Napoleon's career came in 1812, when war again broke out between France and Russia because of Alexander's refusal to enforce the Continental System. With one large army already tied down by the “Spanish ulcer,” Napoleon invaded Russia with an army of 500,000. He defeated the Russians at Borodino and took Moscow on September 14, 1812. The Russians burned the city, making it impossible for Napoleon's troops to establish winter quarters there. The French retreated across Russia into Germany, suffering the loss of most of their men through cold, starvation, and Russian guerrilla attacks. Russia then joined the Fifth Coalition, which also included Prussia, Britain, and Sweden. In 1813, in a burst of patriotic fervor caused by the political and economic reforms that had taken place since its defeat at Jena, Prussia opened the War of Liberation against Napoleon. He defeated the Prussians at Lützen and Bautzen and achieved his last important victory at the Battle of Dresden, where on August 27, 1813, a French force of about 100,000 defeated a combined Austrian, Prussian, and Russian force of about 150,000. The following October, however, Napoleon was forced by the Battle of Leipzig to retreat across the Rhine, thus freeing Germany. The following year the Russians, Austrians, and Prussians invaded France from the north. In March 1814 they took Paris, whereupon Napoleon abdicated and was sent into exile on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea.

The members of the Fifth Coalition assembled at the Congress of Vienna to restore in Europe the monarchies Napoleon had overthrown. During their deliberations Napoleon escaped from Elba to France, quickly raised an army, and marched into Belgium to meet the forces of Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria. He defeated his enemies at Ligny, but was defeated by them at Quatre-Bras. Napoleon met final defeat on June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, which marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

IX

Conclusion

Initially the Napoleonic Wars perpetuated the ideological conflict between revolutionary France and monarchical Europe. At some point, however, the elusive ambitions of Napoleon himself became their principal and consistent cause. The wars, moreover, bore Napoleon's personal stamp because he personally determined strategy and commanded the French armies. His ever-broadening diplomatic ambitions were matched by his military strategy, a bold style of taking calculated risks. This style in turn reflected the strength of the French army; its tactics, organization, equipment, and morale had all improved during the French Revolution, and it was led by talented field generals who had risen from the ranks. Napoleon's genius as a commander was his ability to move rapidly, thus gaining an important element of surprise over his opponents. His major failings were matters of attitude rather than technique. In general he underestimated his enemies, perhaps because of his early one-sided victories. In Spain and Russia he was further hampered by his insensitivity to national spirit and by his belief that seizure of a capital city such as Madrid or Moscow would lead his opponent to capitulate. Most important in its impact on the nature and frequency of these wars was Napoleon's utter disregard for the cost of his campaigns in bloodshed and lives.

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