Napoleon: Revolution to Empire

Napoleon is known principally as a man of war, perhaps the greatest commander the world has ever seen. He swept a whole generation headlong into ever more bloody battles. Forged by the military, war was his craft and held no terrors for him. In his age it was very much part of the portfolio for a Head of State. Numerous accounts survive of Napoleon’s courage in the thick of action. Frequently in the front line and even leading the assault on occasions, he was thrice wounded ….  Scornful of danger, he was intolerant of fear in others. ‘Death is nothing, but to live defeated and abject is to die every day’, he said.

Thierry Lentz in Napoleon, Revolution to Empire, Catalogue, NGV

Perhaps in much the same way as the recent ‘Arab Spring’ in the Arab World, the French Revolution had a profound effect on the whole of Europe, unleashing hope of democratic rule and “liberty, equality and fraternity” amongst the disenfranchised populace. Equally, amongst Europe’s monarchies, it created fear of overthrow (especially in the wake of Louis XVI’s execution). These so-called ‘Revolutionary Wars’ were principally fought in northern Italy and southern Germany, though they spread to Russia and Spain in the early 1800s.

In the hope of crushing the newly formed French Republic, coalitions formed between various European Monarchies. The first of these, in 1793  (known as the First Coalition) was the initiative of the Austrian Empire and Prussia together with Great Britain, Spain and the Kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia. In order to repulse this alliance’s first campaign against the new French Republic, the military laws were changed and conscription introduced (Levée en masse).

Following his elevation to Emperor, Napoleon continued to triumph over the Coalition of European nations that declared war on him and on whom he in turn declared war. These Napoleonic Wars (from 1803 -1814) at first brilliantly successful, saw Napoleon conquer most of Europe, only to be undone by hubris. His invasion of both Spain and Russia (the latter especially) were ill-judged and proved fatal to Napoleon’s reign.  The retreat from Moscow in 1812, when most of his army perished and his “allies” turned against him, was the beginning of the end. He failed to anticipate the rise of Nationalism among his European neighbours – and the negative impact of forced Coalitions. Forced to abdicate in 1814, he returned from exile on Elba to stage one last valiant attempt to regain power and Empire. In his famed One Hundred Days, Napoleon again launched himself into war with England and Europe, but this now legendary Battle of Waterloo was his last. His exile to St Helena ensured the end of his powers.

It has been argued that Napoleon was a military genius, revolutionizing warfare, deploying innovative tactical manoeuvres - and conducting it on an unprecedented scale thanks to mass conscription. He arguably created Modern Warfare both in scale and conduct.