Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonaparte's rule of France. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued during the regime of the First French Empire. These wars revolutionized European army and artillery systems. French power rose quickly, conquering most of Europe; the fall was also rapid, beginning with the disastrous invasion of Russia, and Napoleon's empire ultimately suffered complete military defeat, resulting in the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France.

The Fourth Coalition

The Fourth Coalition (1806-1807) of Great Britain, Prussia, Saxony, Russia and Sweden against France was formed within months of the collapse of the previous coalition. In July 1806 Napoleon formed the Confederation of the Rhine out of the many tiny German states which constituted the Rhineland and most other parts of Germany. Many of the smaller states were amalgamated into larger electorates, duchies and kingdoms to make the governance of non-Prussian Germany a smoother affair. The largest states were Saxony and Bavaria, both of which had their leaders elevated to the status of kings by Napoleon.

Related Topics:
Fourth Coalition - 1806 - 1807 - Saxony - France

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In August the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III made the foolish decision to go to war independently of any other great power, save the distant Russia. The more sensible course of action would have been to declare war the previous year and join Austria and Russia. This might have contained Napoleon and prevented the Allied disaster at Austerlitz. As it was, the Russian army, an ally of Prussia, was far away when the declaration of war was made. In September Napoleon launched all French forces east of the Rhine. The Prussian army was defeated by Napoleon at Jena and by Davout at Auerstädt (October 14 1806). Some 160,000 (swelling as the campaign went on) French went against Prussia and moved with such speed that Napoleon was able to destroy as an effective military force the entire quarter of a million strong Prussian army - which sustained 25,000 casualties, lost a further 150,000 prisoners and 4,000 artillery pieces, and over 100,000 muskets stockpiled in Berlin. In the former battle Napoleon only fought a detachment of the Prussian force. The latter battle involved a single French corps defeating the bulk of the Prussian army. Napoleon entered into Berlin on the 27th and visited the tomb of Frederick the Great, there instructing his marshals to remove their hats, saying, "If he was alive we wouldn't be here today." In total Napoleon had taken only 19 days from beginning his attack on Prussia until knocking it out of the war with the capture of Berlin and the destruction of its principal armies at Jena and Auerstadt. By contrast Prussia had fought for three years in the War of the First Coalition with little achievement.

Related Topics:
Friedrich Wilhelm III - Jena - Davout - Auerstädt - October 14 - 1806 - Frederick the Great

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In Berlin Napoleon issued a series of decrees which, on November 1, 1806 brought the Continental System into effect, which aimed to eliminate the threat of Britain by closing French controlled territory to her trade. As explained earlier in this article, Britain's army was of little threat to France - the United Kingdom maintained a standing army of just 220,000 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, whereas France's strength peaked at over 1,500,000 in addition to the armies of numerous allies and several hundred thousand national guards that could be drafted into the military if necessary. The Royal Navy however was instrumental in disrupting France's extra-continental trade - both by seizing and threatening French shipping and by seizing French colonial possessions - but could do nothing about France's trade with the major continental economies and posed no threat to French territory in Europe. In addition France's population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of Britain. However, the United Kingdom's industrial capacity was the greatest in Europe and its mastery of the seas allowed it to build up considerable economic strength through trade. That was sufficient to ensure that France was never able to consolidate its control over Europe in peace. However many in the French government believed that cutting Britain off from the Continent would end its economic influence over Europe and isolated it. This was what the Continental System was designed to achieve, although it never succeeded in this objective.

Related Topics:
November 1 - 1806 - Continental System - Agricultural

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The next stage of the war involved driving Russian forces out of Poland and creating a new Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Napoleon then turned north to confront the remainder of the Russian army and attempt to capture the new Prussian capital at Königsberg. A tactical draw at Eylau (February 7-8) forced the Russians to withdraw further north. Napoleon then routed the Russian army at Friedland (June 14). Following this defeat, Alexander was forced to make peace with Napoleon at Tilsit (July 7, 1807). By September, Marshal Brune completed the occupation of Swedish Pomerania allowing the Swedish army, however, to withdraw with all its munitions of war.

Related Topics:
Grand Duchy of Warsaw - Eylau - February 7 - 8 - Friedland - June 14 - Tilsit - July 7 - September - Brune - Swedish Pomerania

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At the Congress of Erfurt (1808) Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I agreed that Russia should force Sweden to join the Continental System, which led to the Finnish War and the division of Sweden through the Gulf of Bothnia. The eastern part becoming the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland.

Related Topics:
Congress of Erfurt - Sweden - Finnish War - Grand Duchy of Finland

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