The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between the French Empire and its allies, under Emperor Napoleon I, and a series of alliances, or coalitions, among other nations of Europe, primarily Great Britain and Prussia. The Napoleonic Wars were spawned by continuing issues in the aftermath of the French Revolution and Napoleon’s desire to dominate continental Europe. The Napoleonic Wars ended with the French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821.
Napoleonic Wars
Dashing hussars in beautifully braided dolmans and fur-lined pelisses; chasseurs in their brilliant green uniforms; the heavy cavalry of cuirassiers in their glistening breastplates, mounted on magnificent chargers; and the dragoons, wearing brass Grecian helmets with long, flowing manes of black horsehair—all magnificent in their martial and fashionable airs. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
At 11 o’clock on the evening of June 23, 1812, the first elements of Napoleon’s mighty army marched on three pontoon bridges over the river Niemen and set foot on Russian soil; the epic invasion of Russia had begun. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Had he—and not Emmanuel, the Marquis of Grouchy—been named a Marshal of France on April 1, 1815, General Count Jean Rapp might have helped the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte win the Battle of Waterloo. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
The French nation was stunned by the catastrophic defeat its army suffered at the hands of a Prussian-led German coalition in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
[Editor’s note: The following are participant accounts—mainly those of Alfred Armand Robert Saint-Chamans—of Napoleon’s 1813 campaign in Germany ending in the decisive battle of Leipzig. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Few mortals commanded such intense devotion from their troops as did French Emperor Napoleon I, and fewer soldiers still can claim to have had a direct hand in helping to save the life of their commander. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Political unrest in France and public disenchantment with King Louis XVIII prompted exiled emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to return to his country from the island of Elba in the spring of 1815. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was in Vienna when the news arrived in early March 1815 that Napoleon had escaped from exile on Elba and returned to France. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Although the French Empire and Imperial Russia were nominal allies following their agreement of mutual support concluded at Tilsit in 1807, divergent interests drove a wedge between them in subsequent years. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
During much of his political and military career, Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps the foremost figure in both arenas in the history of France, was at war with neighboring countries. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
During the War of the Third Coalition, Napoleon Bonaparte, a year after proclaiming himself Emperor Napoleon I of France, won perhaps the greatest victory of his military career near the Bohemian village of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors because Napoleon confronted Austrian and Russian armies led by Francis II and Alexander I respectively. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Following the disastrous retreat of his Grand Armée from Russia in the winter of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte, still a renowned military commander and the Emperor of France, recruited a new army and prepared to defend France against the coalition forces of Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria. Read more
Napoleonic Wars
Born on the island of Corsica to parents of minor nobility on August 15, 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Emperor of France and one of the leading military strategists and tacticians in history, graduated from the French military academy, the prestigious École Militaire, in September 1785, ranking 42nd in a class of 58. Read more
