Napoleon Bonaparte Essay

Napoleon was the son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte, born in Corsica. He started off as a rather disliked man by his fellow officers, although his stunning military victories allowed him to quickly rise through the military rankings. At the young age of twenty-five, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Shortly after the coup d’etat of 1799, when Napoleon overthrew the Directory, he became the young emperor of France-- determined to strengthen and expand his empire.

Although his armies enjoyed unprecedented successes and expanded the French Empire from Spain to the steppes of Russia, the Napoleonic way of war was fraught with deficiencies. Due to the Napoleon's genius and mastery of this period of military manoeuvres, he was able to forestall the affects of the inherent limitations of his system until the war of the Sixth Coalition (1813) and eventually the fateful battle of Waterloo (1815). One the most significant, intrinsic flaws in Napoleon's system was related to issues of command. During the beginnings of Napoleon's career, he commanded armies of sizes up to 60 000 troops. In Italy in 1796, he commanded a force of just 38 000. With the increasing sizes of forces in the later empire, due to concepts such as levee en masse and recruitment legislation of 1792, the inability of a single commander to control such vast forces was becoming apparent. The sheer immensity of the forces now mustered was unprecedented. In 1812 the Grande Armee, consisted of a staggering 611 000 soldiers. Much to the hindrance of the later empire, few, if any officers in the Grande Armee, besides Napoleon himself, could command forces

During the Napoleonic Era, from 1799 to 1815, France became a military power gaining and controlling land throughout Europe. While some historians believe Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruthless dictator, his military accomplishments far outweigh any atrocities he committed. He helped France gain stability after the French Revolution and he also abolished the Feudal contract. Napoleon was a brilliant strategist using military tactics to cause fear and to defeat whatever enemies stood in his way. Throughout his rule, Napoleon continually gained ground, and by the end of his reign, his empire encompassed all of Spain, Italy, and a small portion of land by Russia and Austria. (see map) He is one of

The first was the Battle of Trafalgar. In this war, Napoleon was defeated by the British navy. This defeat ensured Britain’s control of the seas. Next was the Battle of Austerluz. Napoleon defeated an Austrian Army three times the size of his. This was considered his masterpiece victory.

In 1795 Napoleon was the man of the hour after he defended the delegates and greeted thousands with a cannonade and attackers fled. Napoleon became known as the savior of Paris and many praised him. In his battle against Austria and Sardinia in 1796 he failed to repeat the victory. He gave a speech to his troops to keep the enougared and not to feel set back by the loss. This speech was a success because he and his troops continued fighting many more battles and capturing many more cities(document 1).

Napoleon Bonaparte was born into a family of noble Italian ancestry. Napoleon settled in Corsica in the 16th century and later was trained as an artillery officer at a prestigious military school in France, where they most likely talked of Alexander the Great’s military conquests and strategies. In 1799, Napoleon

After the French monarchy was overthrown on August 10, 1792, Napoleon decided to make his move up in the ranks. After this, Napoleon started becoming a recognized officer. In 1792, Napoleon was prompted to the rank of captain. In 1793, he was chosen to direct the artillery against the siege in Toulon. He seized ground where he could get his guns in range of the British ships. Soon after Toulon fell, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by controlling a group of rioting citizens by using a famous technique of his. He loaded a bunch of pellets into a cannon and fired it at the crowd. Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, and each army he fought got bigger and bigger. This forced Austria and its allies to make peace with France. But after this, Napoleon was relieved of his command. He was poor and was suspected of treason. Napoleon had no friends. No one would have suspected what Napoleon would do next. In 1796, Napoleon was appointed to put down a revolt in Paris. He calmly took complete control of the situation. He had his men shoot all the rebels in the streets. The French government was saved, but they decided to form a new government called the Directory. Under the new government, Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. During this campaign, the French realized how smart Napoleon was. He developed a tactic

There have been multiple great war heroes throughout the course of history. Most fall short of the reign of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon’s reign began just years after he was born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15th, 1769. The story of Napoleon could be one compared to a super hero. His lack of fear and death led to a lifetime of success in the world of war. He had one goal throughout the course of his life: conquer all land, and bring France to the very top of the war chain.

Napoleons’ rise to emperor in France was indisputable mostly because of his overthrow of the Directory. His success’s as commander of the French army in Italy, only led to his aspiring status change to “Emperor” of France after overthrowing the Directory in November of 1799. His undying ambition for expansion of the empire he was creating however would be his undoing. Napoleons rule as emperor of France was quit spectacular actually and many admired and adored him as ruler. His ways were very appealing, and as a speaker he was very persuasive and admired by most of his people until his later years in his fall and demise. However, Napoleon did not seriously adhere to the ideals of the French Revolution, he did that of the Enlightenment but his undying ambition and character as “Emperor” undermined the true need of the French Revolution.

In 1796 as a young officer of 27 years old, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. In his proclamation to his troops, Napoleon said, 'The two armies which but recently attacked you with audacity are fleeing before you in terror; the wicked men who laughed at your misery and rejoiced at the thought of the triumphs of your enemies are confounded and trembling.' Acts like this display the strong personality that Napoleon possessed and how his endearing nature captivated his troops. The control and support of the army was effective in enabling Bonaparte to eventually seize power.

Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the heart of many French nationals as one of the greatest military leaders that the nation has had when it comes to warfare history. In 1799, Napoleon launched a series of wars, which historian call, “Napoleonic wars” in a bid to extend the territory of France in Europe. Many historians argue that the Napoleonic wars were a continuation of the earlier war under the tag, French revolution in 1789. The French revolution in itself had so many influences in Europe, especially with the armies who felt the greatest impact of the revolution. The revolution brought with it many changes, especially in the production of modern mass weapons with the conscription in place. The new improvements in weaponry made Napoleon seek hegemony in the entire Europe sparking his quest to expand and increase the revolutionary and territorial borders of France. Napoleon, Corsican aristocrat, who was a minor, rose to the position of emperor in France because of the revolution and his idea was to sweep the entire Europe with the reforms brought about by the revolution (Dwyer 32). The idea was to liberate the continent so that all citizens had a chance to take the helm of leadership and do away with the issue of kinship rule. Napoleon was a symbol of change, and although at some point, he comes out as a dictator, he was progressive and created rationalization of governance and all the social

Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as the Little Corporal, was born on August 15, 1769, on the small island of Corsica in France. He was the fourth of eleven children of Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Romolino. Though oftentimes families with this many children struggled in France’s floundering economy, Napoleon’s father was of the noble status, so his children were able to receive a fair education during their childhood. Napoleon Bonaparte was then able to attend a military academy in France where he trained and accomplished the status of commander. Napoleon, a defender of the revolution, ended up using this military power to stage a coup d'etat against the French government, and he declared

Napoleon Bonaparte was a powerful leader who established the foundations of modern Europe through an administration riddled with controversy. Napoleon came to power in 1799 by overthrowing The Directory in France and appointing himself as the emperor, thus having complete control over the country. Napoleon's most lasting achievements include instituting the Napoleonic code, taking control of nearly all of Europe, and engaging in numerous battles with European nations. After years of serving in Europe, Napoleon had many foreign interactions and made himself a reputation split between a hero and a tyrant. To be a tyrant means to be a cruel and oppressive leader, something Europe was familiar with from the absolutist monarchs in their history

Napoleon reached power through rising during a wartime because of his military successes. During a time of war promotions are made frequently and Napoleon became a general at a young age. Napoleon was able to move his troops much faster than any other country was able to move their troops. Napoleon’s troops were also much larger than any of the others. These advantages led to Napoleon becoming one of the greatest military leaders ever.

Napoleon seemed to have been seen as a man chosen and destined by god to find victory, though in reality he was a workaholic, and spent long nights carefully drafting his plans for battle. He was careful to maximize his manpower where it counted most. That said, Napoleon saw a value in remaining unpredictable, always maintaining an aggressive stance to force his opponent to respond to his moves. He often determined that the “moment” was more important than manpower. Often, after maneuvering for some time, Napoleon would order his men to charge towards the enemy’s approximate location. Sometimes he himself recalls that the approximation was weak, but it was more important to move quickly and definitely, than to wait for complete intelligence to reveal the true nature of the enemy’s whereabouts. Napoleon did not hold many rules on his troops when on the march, only that they move at a steady pace and stay close together so that they could get into formation quickly. Ultimately, it is clear that Napoleon had a natural gift for choosing the right moves, and furthermore seemed to be at his best when under the pressure of an intense battle, while the commanders of other armies tended to mishap.