Road map review topic 4
The continental system
Events:
-The effort to destroy the “nation of shopkeepers”
-Stemmed from Fr losing the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, so it limits the ability to invade Br.
-The continental system was designed by Napoleon as am economic attack on Britain in retaliation for the British naval Blockade on the French coasts 16th May 1806.
-The Berlin Decree forbade the import of British goods into Eur countries allied with France. -Spain client state since 1808
-most countries accept the system due to Frances large army- levee en masse
Impact
-trade embargo on Britain-> wants to ruin economy. As Br is the most industrial country of the world. -Br was able to still trade with its Empire + Portugal who don’t accept the continental system -Led to Napoleon invading Russia in 1812- as they didn’t follow the trade ban initially agreed in the Treaty of Tilsit 1807.
-damages French economy as well as Napoleon reopen French trade to the United States in July 1810.
-led to Br putting troops to in the peninsula, to help Spain, in 1807
The war against Britain Events:
-The Golden Cavalry of St George was through name of subsidies paid by the British govt to other European states in the 18th and 19th centuries. -paid for Austrian and russian soldiers, peaking about 450,000 men in 1813.
-under the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1803, Br paid a subsidy of £1.5 million for every 100,000 Russian soldiers in the field.
-There are 7 coalitions, Britain is in them all
-In Spain Br army offered long terms support to the Spanish rebellion in the Peninsular war of 1808-1814 -The British defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet at trafalgar
-Waterloo led to his abdication of 1815
Effect The olde enemy persisted. Unlike other coalition members, Britain remained at war throughout the period of Napoleonic Wars.
The war in Spain
The peninsular war 1807-1814
Events:
-The Peninsular war was a military conflict fought by Bourbon Spain and Portugal, assisted by the UK, against the invading and occupying forces of Nap.
-In feb 1808 Joachim Murat was appointed luitenent of Napoleon and commander of all French troops in Spain
-60,000 to 100,000 troops
-On 2 May the citizens of Madrid rebelled against French occupation but were put down by Joachim Murat imperial guard.
-3rd may The French army shot hundreds of Madrids citizens
-The Spanish crown was given to Joseph Bonaparte, the Spanish population rejected Napoleons plans./ Spanish govt accepted.
-240,000 FR men killed and injured -couldn’t win against guerilla tactics of the enemy, assisted by civilians and the Br.
-invasion of Russia in 1812 depleted Napoleons ability to maintain the Sp campaign
Impact: -The war on the peninsula lasted until the 6th coalition defeated Nap in 1814
-emergence of large scale Guerrilla warfare.
-Spanish ulcer
The Russian campaign Events:
-Under the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) the Russians accepted the Blockade of Britain but not the continental system.
-The grand army was at 600,000 under conscription
-50,000 men in 1796-97 Italian campaign when napoleon lived of the land.
-now has 10x size of army in the Italian campaign so he’s less likely to be successful (with bigger army).
-The Battle of Borodino was the bloodies battle of the French invasion of Russia, involving more than 250,000 and resulted in at least 70,000
-The Russians abandoned their capital rather than surrendering.
-Napoleon retreated in October with no enemy to fight.
-10,000 horses were lost due a storm in the opening weeks of the campaign.
-retreating soldiers faced temperatures as low as -35 C
-The Russian Kutuzov was commander in chiefs for the Russians organised retreat.
What defeated the French?
Logistics: determined to live off the land
Lack of unity: roughly 1/2 of his army was conscripted outside of France.
The Russians: the enemy avoided a decisive pitched battle; capturing Moscow, the old capital of Russia was not decisive.
The weather: starvation and frostbite killed most men.
Impact:
Napoleon lost a huge army
-1812 General De Malet attempt a coup d’etat in France
-abounded army on Dec 5th leaving Marshal Murat in command.
-The Russian campaign revealed that Napoleon was not invincible and diminished his reputation as a military genius.
-however in 1813 he raised an army of around 400,000 French trips supported by 250k allied troops to contest control of Germany apart of the 6th Coalition. But, he had less men than his enemy.
Napoleons Rule in France after 1807
-military into the curriculum -strayed from revolutionary principles as the enlightenment ideas were no longer taught within edu and it changed from ancient ideas as well.
-Napoleon believed the purpose of Education was to provide France with administrators, officials and military officers. These roles could easily dit into the society Nap was creating.
-Napoleon made churches teach reverences in 1806 and created a St. Napoleons day. Similar to how the church used to give monarchs the “divine right of King’s” -1789-1814 clergy fell from 130 k to 36 K
-The concordat of 1802- the tolerance of other faiths permitted Church recognised the Fr Republic and revoked claims to church lands.
-Church became state controlled: clergy appointed and paid by govt to whom they swore loyalty
-In 1809- under Napoleons order the pope was placed under arrest in Italy, in 1812 transferred to France and held in the palace of Fontainebleau.
-Napoleon emancipates Jews as well as Protestants in catholic countries and vice versa. He expanded their rights to property, worship and careers.
-the civil code (1804) became the Code Napoleon in 1807. It legalised property sale and acquisition. -conscription and levee en masse had left 900,000 troops dead
The Campaigns of 1813-1515
Events:
Causes of the 6th coalition: Great Britain joined with Austria,Sweden,Russia,Prussia,Spain and Portugal.
-in the battle of Dresden in Aug 1813 Napoleon had 135k vs 214k Au,Ru,Pr. -Without large numbers of Calvary he couldn’t complete the victory despite losing only 10,000 to the enemy 38,000.
-In the battle of Leipzig October 1813 Nap had 200k vs 365k.
-It was a battle of nations against the 6th coalition
-Equal loses -600k soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 200k rounds or artillery ammunition and 127k casualties making it the largest battle in Eur prior to world war 1.
Impact: -Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the coalition kept up their momentum dissolving the confederation of the Rhine and invading fr early next year.
-Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814.
Waterloo
Events: 18th June 1815
-Between Napoleons grand army of 72,000 men and 68,000 English + Dutch + Ger forces with 40k fr men trailing Blutcher too.
-allied forces defended Hougomont farm and (la hair sainte) under Prussian reinforcement led by Boucher with defensive forces under wellington.
-they repelled the frontal assaults from Napoleon using the crest of a hill to hold a defensive position in the battle.
-Napoleon lost the battle as the Prussian reinforcement under Boucher arrived getting the Allies a decisive victory over Napoleon.
IMPACT:
Internal plots against Napoleon, followed by surrender to the Br in July 1815
The Hundred Days:
Events: March 1815 Napoleon sailed from Elba and landed near Monaco.
-the soldiers set to capture him responded with “vive L’empereur!”.
-on march 20 he was in Paris -the unpopular Louis XViii fled to Belgium after realising he had little political support.
Impact:
-The congress of Vienna declared Napoleon an outlaw.
⁃4 days later, Gb, ru, Au, and Pr each pledged to put 150k men into the field to end his rule
⁃The 7th coalition was formed
Abdication part 1 (1814)
Events
-With allied armies arriving at Paris on March 1814, Napoleon moved east to attack their rear guard.
⁃The Parisian authorities no longer ruled by an emporer worked with the allies
⁃The president of the provisional govt was Talleyrand he proclaimed the deposition of the Emporer and began to negotiate with Louis XVIII
⁃Napoleon had only reached Fontainebleau when he heard that Paris had capitulated.
⁃Persuaded that further resistance was and Napoleon abdicated on the 6th April 1814
Impact:
-by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, the allies granted hum the island of Elba.
-he had a guard of 400 volunteers
-retained title of emporer
-Napoleon would regain power in the 100 days (actually 117 before losing at Waterloo and being exiled to st Helena in 1815)
Abdication pt.2 1815-21
Events:
-after Waterloo, Napoleon returned to Paris and found both the legislator and people had turned against him.
-realising his position was not able to be maintained, he abdicated on 22nd on June.
-the coalition forces swept through France, arriving on 29th June, with the intent of restoring Louis XVIII to the Fr throne.
-when napoleon heard that Prussian troops had order to capture him dead or live he fled to Rochefort.
-British ships were blocking every port. Napoleon surrendered on the 15th July 1815 to captain Frederick Maitland.
Impacts:
-Napoleon was exiled by the Br to St Helena in the Atlantic OCean.
-he died on 5th may 1821
-took the precaution of sending soldiers to an island between st Helena and Eur.
Reasons for Fall
Events: Opp in Fr: Talleyrand proclaimed the deposition of the Emporer and negotiated with Louis XViii
-Napoleon abdicated on 6th of April after only reaching Fontainebleau.
Military factors: 900k dead in all battles combined
-numerical disadvantage after retreat from russia
-the Spanish ulcer
-the territorial expansion and conscription using the levee en masse conquered ppl meant that the army was no longer homogenous.
Personal failings: reliance on nepotism
-1808 Napoleon gave the Spanish crown to his brother Joseph created national unity in opposition to this puppet leader
-no great strategies seen at Borodino (1812) with a head on charge compared to tactics at Austerlitz in 1805.
-delaying the start of the battle of Waterloo allowed the prussians to reach the battlefield.
The British: always in coalition and pay eur powers to maintain their hostility through the golden Calvary of St George was the name for subsidies paid out by Br govt to other eur states.
-Defeating his nave at trafalgar 1805 and completing his down fall at Waterloo 1815
Impact:
Defeated once in 1814 and finally in 1815
Reasons for fall