• The Treaty of Titlist in 1807 resulted in the Anglo-Russian War. Alexander I declared war on
United Kingdom after British attack on Denmark in 1807. British supported the Swedish
fleet during the Finnish War and had victories over Russians in the Finland Gulf in 1808 and
1809. the success of the Russian army on the land forced Sweden to sign peace-treaties with
Russia nd France and to join the Continental Blockade against Britain. But Franco-Russian
relations became progressively worse after 1810, and the Russian war with the UK effectively
ended. In April 1812, Britain, Russia and Sweden signed secret agreements directed against
Napoleon.
In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia. He aimed to compel Emperor Alexander I to remain in
the Continental System and to remove the imminent threat of a Russian invasion of Poland.
The French-led Grande Arméecrossed the Niemen River. Russia proclaimed a Patriotic War,
while Napoleon proclaimed a Second Polish war. The Poles supplied troops for the invasionforce, but against their expectations, Napoleon avoided any concessions to Poland, having in
mind further negotiations with Russia. Russia maintained a scorched-earth policy of retreat,
broken only by the Battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812.
The bloody confrontation of Borodino ended in a tactical defeat for
Russia, thus opening the road to Moscow for Napoleon.
By 14 September 1812, the Grande Armée had captured Moscow.
But by then, the Russians had largely abandoned the city, even
releasing prisoners from Moscow's prisons to inconvenience the
French. Alexander I refused to capitulate, Count Fyodor Vasilievich
Rostopchin, ordered the city burnt to the ground. With no sign of
clear victory in sight, Napoleon began the disastrous Great Retreat
from Moscow.. Napoleon then left his army and returned to Paris
to prepare to defend Poland against Russians. The Russians had
lost around 210,000 men, leaving their army depleted. But thanks to
their shorter supply-lines, they could replenish their armies faster than
the French.
They built Martello towers along the English coast to counter
the invasion threat, and militias were raised. In the areas closest
to France, Dover Castle had underground tunnels added to
garrison extra troops, the Dover Western Heights were
constructed, and the Royal Military Canal cut to impede
Napoleon's progress into England should he land on its soil. A
naval raid on Boulogne was also carried out in October.
Napoleon wasn't really about to invade the British empire
because he was concentrating his empire building efforts in egypt.
He Then signed a treaty with the Tsar of russia Alexander the
first, his ambitions got ahead of him and he made his friends and
family kings and princes of the countries he had conquered, he
decided to divorce the empress Josaphine and marry the Tsar of
Russias sister.
When he asked the Tsar for his sisters hand in marriage
Alexander said No. this and other insults quickly lit the
flame for the new war with Russia in the meanwhile he
asked for the emperor of Austria for his daughters hand in
marriage the he said yes immediately as he wanted peace
and an end to napoleons campaign against Austria. He
Was then captured and sent into exile, but he escaped and
overthrew the king, and once more became the emperor for
115 days. He knew that he was not strong enough for
another war o he set out to America, but he was captured
again and set into exile. He died in 1871.
Bonaparte was regarded by all of Europe except France as a cruel
tyrant - until about 1812. The carnage that accompanied his rule
administration came to be feared and hated by the French themselves
once the glorious days of repeated victory were passed.
However, Bonaparte did introduce innovations not only in France but
throughout Europe and the western world. First, he provided a
rational basis for weights and measures instead of the thousands of
alternative measures that had been in use for centuries. We call it the
Metric System and it works well in all of science and technology,
and in commerce except in USA and a few other places.
Second, he introduced an integrated system of civil and criminal
laws which we call the Napoleonic Code. Some parts of it have
been problematical (notably the inheritance laws) and need
reforming, but it has stood the test of 200 years, and is well
understood. Even the later monarchies and republics in France
continued to use the Code; so well was it thought out.
Third, he promoted French science and learning which had been
damaged so badly by the Revolution. Medicine, chemistry,
physics, astonomy and economics were all encouraged so that
French higher education became a model for the century - to be
emulated by any modern country with pretentions to culture.