Cheat sheet: Analysis of the era of the Napoleonic wars. Napoleonic Wars. Briefly
The Napoleonic Wars are the military campaigns against several European coalitions waged by France during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte (1799-1815). Italian campaign of Napoleon 1796-1797 and his Egyptian expedition of 1798-1799 is usually not included in the concept of “Napoleonic Wars”, since they took place even before Bonaparte came to power (the coup of the 18th Brumaire 1799). The Italian campaign is part of the Revolutionary Wars of 1792-1799. The Egyptian expedition in various sources either refers to them or is recognized as a separate colonial campaign.
Napoleon in the Council of the Five Hundred 18 Brumaire 1799
Napoleon's War with the Second Coalition
During the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9), 1799 and the transfer of power in France to the first consul, citizen Napoleon Bonaparte, the republic was at war with the new (Second) European coalition, in which the Russian Emperor Paul I took part, who sent an army to the West under Suvorov's superiors. Things went badly for France, especially in Italy, where Suvorov, together with the Austrians, conquered the Cisalpine Republic, after which a monarchical restoration took place in Naples, abandoned by the French, accompanied by bloody terror against the friends of France, and then the fall of the republic in Rome took place. Dissatisfied, however, with his allies, mainly Austria, and partly England, Paul I withdrew from the coalition and the war, and when the first consul Bonaparte sent the Russian prisoners home without ransom and re-equipped; the Russian emperor even began to get closer to France, very pleased that in this country “anarchy was replaced by a consulate.” Napoleon Bonaparte himself willingly moved towards rapprochement with Russia: in essence, the expedition he undertook in Egypt in 1798 was directed against England in its Indian possessions, and in the imagination of the ambitious conqueror a Franco-Russian campaign against India was now pictured, the same as later, when the memorable war of 1812 began. This combination, however, did not take place, since in the spring of 1801 Paul I fell victim to a conspiracy, and power in Russia passed to his son Alexander I.
Napoleon Bonaparte - First Consul. Painting by J. O. D. Ingres, 1803-1804
After Russia left the coalition, Napoleon's war against other European powers continued. The First Consul turned to the sovereigns of England and Austria with an invitation to put an end to the struggle, but in response he was given conditions that were unacceptable to him - restoration Bourbons and the return of France to its former borders. In the spring of 1800, Bonaparte personally led the army to Italy and in the summer, after Battle of Marengo, captured all of Lombardy, while another French army occupied southern Germany and began to threaten Vienna itself. Peace of Luneville 1801 ended Napoleon's war with Emperor Franz II and confirmed the terms of the previous Austro-French treaty ( Campoformian 1797 G.). Lombardy turned into the Italian Republic, which made its first consul Bonaparte its president. A number of changes were made in both Italy and Germany after this war: for example, the Duke of Tuscany (from the Habsburg family) received the principality of the Archbishop of Salzburg in Germany for abandoning his duchy, and Tuscany, under the name of the Kingdom of Etruria, was transferred to the Duke of Parma (from the Spanish line Bourbons). Most of the territorial changes were made after this Napoleonic War in Germany, many of whose sovereigns were to receive rewards for the cession of the left bank of the Rhine to France at the expense of smaller princes, sovereign bishops and abbots, as well as free imperial cities. In Paris, a real trade in territorial increments opened, and Bonaparte's government took advantage of the rivalry of the German sovereigns with great success to conclude separate treaties with them. This was the beginning of the destruction of the medieval Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, which, however, even before, as the wits said, was neither sacred, nor Roman, nor an empire, but some kind of chaos of approximately the same number of states as there are days in the year. Now, at least, their number has greatly decreased, thanks to the secularization of spiritual principalities and the so-called mediatization - the transformation of direct (immediate) members of the empire into mediocre (mediat) - various state trifles, such as small counties and imperial cities.
The war between France and England ended only in 1802, when a treaty was concluded between both states peace in Amiens. First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte then gained the glory of a peacemaker after the ten-year war that France had to wage: a lifelong consulate was, in fact, a reward for concluding peace. But the war with England soon resumed, and one of the reasons for this was that Napoleon, not content with the presidency in the Italian Republic, established his protectorate over the Batavian Republic, that is, Holland, very close to England. The resumption of the war occurred in 1803, and the English king George III, who was also the Elector of Hanover, lost his ancestral possession in Germany. After this, Bonaparte's war with England did not stop until 1814.
Napoleon's War with the Third Coalition
War was the favorite business of the emperor-commander, of whom history knows few equals, and his unauthorized actions, which must be included assassination of the Duke of Enghien, which caused general indignation in Europe, soon forced other powers to unite against the daring “upstart Corsican.” His adoption of the imperial title, the transformation of the Italian Republic into a kingdom, the sovereign of which was Napoleon himself, who was crowned in 1805 in Milan with the old iron crown of the Lombard kings, the preparation of the Batavian Republic for the transformation of one of his brothers into the kingdom, as well as various other actions of Napoleon in relation to other countries were the reasons for the formation against him of the Third Anti-French Coalition from England, Russia, Austria, Sweden and the Kingdom of Naples, and Napoleon, for his part, secured alliances with Spain and with the South German princes (the sovereigns of Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria, Hessen, etc.), who, thanks to him, significantly increased their holdings through secularization and mediatization of smaller holdings.
War of the Third Coalition. Map
In 1805, Napoleon was preparing in Boulogne for a landing in England, but in fact he moved his troops to Austria. However, the landing in England and the war on its very territory soon became impossible, due to the extermination of the French fleet by the English under the command of Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar. But Bonaparte's land war with the Third Coalition was a series of brilliant victories. In October 1805, on the eve of Trafalgar, The Austrian army surrendered in Ulm, in November Vienna was taken, on December 2, 1805, on the first anniversary of Napoleon’s coronation, the famous “Battle of the Three Emperors” took place at Austerlitz (see article Battle of Austerlitz), which ended in the complete victory of Napoleon Bonaparte over the Austro-Russian army, which included Franz II, and young Alexander I. Ended the war with the Third Coalition Peace of Presburg deprived the Habsburg monarchy of all of Upper Austria, Tyrol and Venice with its region and gave Napoleon the right to widely dispose of Italy and Germany.
Triumph of Napoleon. Austerlitz. Artist Sergey Prisekin
Bonaparte's War with the Fourth Coalition
The following year, the Prussian king Frederick William III joined the enemies of France - thereby forming the Fourth Coalition. But the Prussians also suffered a terrible thing in October of this year. defeat at Jena, after which the German princes who were allied with Prussia were defeated, and during this war Napoleon occupied first Berlin, then Warsaw, which belonged to Prussia after the third partition of Poland. The assistance provided to Frederick William III by Alexander I was not successful, and in the war of 1807 the Russians were defeated by Friedland, after which Napoleon occupied Königsberg. Then the famous Peace of Tilsit took place, which ended the war of the Fourth Coalition and was accompanied by a meeting between Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander I in a pavilion built in the middle of the Neman.
War of the Fourth Coalition. Map
In Tilsit, it was decided by both sovereigns to help each other, dividing the West and the East between themselves. Only the intercession of the Russian Tsar before the formidable winner saved Prussia from disappearing from the political map of Europe after this war, but this state still lost half of its possessions, had to pay a large indemnity and accepted French garrisons.
Rebuilding Europe after the wars with the Third and Fourth Coalitions
After the wars with the Third and Fourth Coalitions, the Worlds of Presburg and Tilsit, Napoleon Bonaparte was the complete master of the West. The Venetian region expanded the Kingdom of Italy, where Napoleon's stepson Eugene Beauharnais was made viceroy, and Tuscany was directly annexed to the French Empire itself. The very next day after the Peace of Presburg, Napoleon announced that “the Bourbon dynasty ceased to reign in Naples,” and sent his older brother Joseph (Joseph) to reign there. The Batavian Republic was turned into the Kingdom of Holland with Napoleon's brother Louis (Louis) on the throne. From the areas taken from Prussia to the west of the Elbe with neighboring parts of Hanover and other principalities, the Kingdom of Westphalia was created, which was received by another brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, Jerome (Jerome), and from the former Polish lands of Prussia - Duchy of Warsaw, given to the sovereign of Saxony. Back in 1804, Francis II declared the imperial crown of Germany, which was an electoral one, the hereditary property of his house, and in 1806 he removed Austria from Germany and began to be titled not the Roman, but the Austrian emperor. In Germany itself, after these Napoleonic wars, a complete reshuffling was carried out: again some principalities disappeared, others received an increase in their possessions, in particular Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony, even elevated to the rank of kingdoms. The Holy Roman Empire no longer existed, and the Confederation of the Rhine was now organized in the western part of Germany - under the protectorate of the French emperor.
The Treaty of Tilsit allowed Alexander I, in agreement with Bonaparte, to increase his possessions at the expense of Sweden and Turkey, from whom he took away, from the first in 1809 Finland, turned into an autonomous principality, from the second - after the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812 - Bessarabia , included directly in Russia. In addition, Alexander I undertook to annex his empire to Napoleon’s “continental system,” as the cessation of all trade relations with England was called. The new allies had, in addition, to force Sweden, Denmark and Portugal, who continued to side with England, to do the same. At this time, a coup d'etat took place in Sweden: Gustav IV was replaced by his uncle Charles XIII, and the French Marshal Bernadotte was declared his heir, after which Sweden went over to the side of France, just as Denmark also went over after England attacked it for its desire to remain neutral. Since Portugal opposed, Napoleon, having concluded an alliance with Spain, announced that “the House of Braganza had ceased to reign,” and began the conquest of this country, which forced its king and his entire family to sail to Brazil.
Beginning of Napoleon Bonaparte's war in Spain
Soon it was the turn of Spain to turn into the kingdom of one of the Bonaparte brothers, the ruler of the European West. There was strife within the Spanish royal family. The state was governed, strictly speaking, by Minister Godoy, the lover of Queen Maria Louise, the wife of the narrow-minded and weak-willed Charles IV, an ignorant, short-sighted and unscrupulous man, who since 1796 had completely subordinated Spain to French politics. The royal couple had a son, Ferdinand, whom his mother and her favorite did not like, and so both sides began to complain to Napoleon about each other. Bonaparte connected Spain even more closely with France when he promised Godoy, for help in the war with Portugal, to divide its possessions with Spain. In 1808, members of the royal family were invited to negotiations in Bayonne, and here the matter ended with the deprivation of Ferdinand of his inheritance rights and the abdication of Charles IV himself from the throne in favor of Napoleon, as “the only sovereign capable of giving prosperity to the state.” The result of the "Bayonne disaster" was the transfer of the Neapolitan king Joseph Bonaparte to the Spanish throne, with the Neapolitan crown passing to Napoleon's son-in-law, Joachim Murat, one of the heroes of the coup of the 18th Brumaire. Somewhat earlier, in the same 1808, French soldiers occupied the Papal States, and the following year it was included in the French Empire with the deprivation of the pope of temporal power. The fact is that Pope Pius VII, considering himself an independent sovereign, did not follow Napoleon’s instructions in everything. “Your Holiness,” Bonaparte once wrote to the pope, “enjoys supreme power in Rome, but I am the Emperor of Rome.” Pius VII responded to the deprivation of power by excommunicating Napoleon from the church, for which he was forcibly transported to live in Savona, and the cardinals were resettled in Paris. Rome was then declared the second city of the empire.
Erfurt meeting 1808
In the interval between the wars, in the autumn of 1808, in Erfurt, which Napoleon Bonaparte left directly behind him as a possession of France in the very heart of Germany, a famous meeting took place between the Tilsit allies, accompanied by a congress of many kings, sovereign princes, crown princes, ministers, diplomats and generals . This was a very impressive demonstration of both the power that Napoleon had in the West, and his friendship with the sovereign, to whom the East was placed at his disposal. England was asked to begin negotiations to end the war on the basis that the contracting parties would retain what they would own at the time of peace, but England rejected this proposal. The rulers of the Rhine Confederation maintained themselves Erfurt Congress before Napoleon, just like servile courtiers before their master, and for the greater humiliation of Prussia, Bonaparte organized a hare hunt on the battlefield of Jena, inviting the Prussian prince, who had come to seek relief from the difficult conditions of 1807. Meanwhile, an uprising broke out against the French in Spain, and in the winter of 1808-1809 Napoleon was forced to personally go to Madrid.
Napoleon's War with the Fifth Coalition and his conflict with Pope Pius VII
Counting on the difficulties that Napoleon encountered in Spain, the Austrian emperor in 1809 decided on a new war with Bonaparte ( War of the Fifth Coalition), but the war was again unsuccessful. Napoleon occupied Vienna and inflicted an irreparable defeat on the Austrians at Wagram. After finishing this war World of Schönbrunn Austria again lost several territories, divided between Bavaria, the Kingdom of Italy and the Duchy of Warsaw (by the way, it acquired Krakow), and one region, the Adriatic coast, called Illyria, became the property of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. At the same time, Franz II had to give Napoleon his daughter Maria Louise in marriage. Even earlier, Bonaparte became related through members of his family with some sovereigns of the Confederation of the Rhine, and now he himself decided to marry a real princess, especially since his first wife, Josephine Beauharnais, was barren, and he wanted to have an heir of his own blood. (At first he wooed the Russian Grand Duchess, the sister of Alexander I, but their mother was decisively against this marriage). In order to marry the Austrian princess, Napoleon had to divorce Josephine, but then he encountered an obstacle from the pope, who did not agree to the divorce. Bonaparte neglected this and forced the French clergy under his control to divorce him from his first wife. This further strained the relationship between him and Pius VII, who took revenge on him for the deprivation of secular power and therefore, among other things, refused to consecrate as bishops the persons whom the emperor appointed to vacant sees. The quarrel between the emperor and the pope, by the way, led to the fact that in 1811 Napoleon organized a council of French and Italian bishops in Paris, which, under his pressure, issued a decree allowing archbishops to ordain bishops if the pope did not ordain government candidates for six months. Members of the cathedral who protested against the capture of the pope were imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes (as before, cardinals who did not appear at the wedding of Napoleon Bonaparte with Marie Louise were stripped of their red cassocks, for which they were mockingly nicknamed black cardinals). When Napoleon had a son from his new marriage, he received the title of King of Rome.
The period of the greatest power of Napoleon Bonaparte
This was the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's greatest power, and after the War of the Fifth Coalition he continued to rule completely arbitrarily in Europe. In 1810 he deprived his brother Louis of the Dutch crown for non-compliance with the continental system and annexed his kingdom directly to his empire; for the same thing, the entire coast of the German Sea was taken away from the rightful owners (by the way, from the Duke of Oldenburg, a relative of the Russian sovereign) and annexed to France. France now included the coast of the German Sea, all of western Germany to the Rhine, some parts of Switzerland, all of northwestern Italy and the Adriatic coast; the northeast of Italy constituted Napoleon's special kingdom, and his son-in-law and two brothers reigned in Naples, Spain and Westphalia. Switzerland, the Confederation of the Rhine, covered on three sides by Bonaparte's possessions, and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw were under his protectorate. Austria and Prussia, greatly reduced after the Napoleonic Wars, were thus squeezed between the possessions of either Napoleon himself or his vassals, while Russia, from the division with Napoleon, besides Finland, had only the Bialystok and Tarnopol districts, separated by Napoleon from Prussia and Austria in 1807 and 1809
Europe in 1807-1810. Map
Napoleon's despotism in Europe was limitless. When, for example, the Nuremberg bookseller Palm refused to name the author of the pamphlet he published “Germany in its Greatest Humiliation,” Bonaparte ordered him to be arrested on foreign territory and brought before a military court, which sentenced him to death (which was, as it were, a repetition of the episode with the Duke of Enghien).
On the mainland of Western Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, everything was, so to speak, turned upside down: the borders were confused; some old states were destroyed and new ones were created; even many geographical names were changed, etc. The secular power of the pope and the medieval Roman Empire no longer existed, as well as the spiritual principalities of Germany and its numerous imperial cities, these purely medieval city republics. In the territories inherited by France itself, in the states of Bonaparte's relatives and clientele, a whole series of reforms were carried out according to the French model - administrative, judicial, financial, military, school, church reforms, often with the abolition of class privileges of the nobility, limitation of the power of the clergy, and the destruction of many monasteries , the introduction of religious tolerance, etc., etc. One of the remarkable features of the era of the Napoleonic wars was the abolition of serfdom in many places for peasants, sometimes immediately after the wars by Bonaparte himself, as was the case in the Duchy of Warsaw at its very foundation. Finally, outside the French empire, the French civil code was put into effect, “ Napoleonic Code", which here and there continued to operate even after the collapse of Napoleon's empire, as was the case in the western parts of Germany, where it was in use until 1900, or as is still the case in the Kingdom of Poland, formed from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1815. It should also be added that during the Napoleonic Wars, various countries generally very willingly adopted French administrative centralization, which was distinguished by its simplicity and harmony, strength and speed of action, and was therefore an excellent instrument of government influence on its subjects. If the daughter republics at the end of the 18th century. were organized in the image and likeness of the then France, their common mother, then even now the states that Bonaparte gave to the management of his brothers, son-in-law and stepson received representative institutions for the most part according to the French model, that is, with a purely illusory, decorative character. Such a device was introduced precisely in the kingdoms of Italy, Holland, Neapolitan, Westphalia, Spain, etc. In essence, the very sovereignty of all these political creatures of Napoleon was illusory: one will reigned everywhere, and all these sovereigns, relatives of the French emperor and his vassals were obliged to provide their supreme overlord with a lot of money and many soldiers for new wars - no matter how much he demanded.
Guerrilla warfare against Napoleon in Spain
It became painful for the conquered peoples to serve the goals of the foreign conqueror. While Napoleon dealt in wars only with sovereigns who relied on armies alone and were always ready to receive increments of their possessions from his hands, it was easy for him to deal with them; in particular, for example, the Austrian government preferred to lose province after province, just so that its subjects would sit quietly, which the Prussian government was very concerned about before the Jena defeat. Real difficulties began to arise for Napoleon only when people began to rebel and wage a petty guerrilla war against the French. The first example of this was given by the Spaniards in 1808, then by the Tyroleans during the Austrian War of 1809; to an even greater extent this took place in Russia in 1812. Events of 1808-1812. generally showed governments where their strength could lie.
The Spaniards, who were the first to set an example of a people's war (and whose resistance was helped by England, which generally spared no money in the fight against France), gave Napoleon a lot of worries and troubles: in Spain he had to suppress the uprising, wage a real war, conquer the country and support the throne of Joseph by military force Bonaparte. The Spaniards even created a common organization for waging their small wars, these famous “guerillas” (guerillas), which in our country, due to unfamiliarity with the Spanish language, later turned into some kind of “guerillas”, in the sense of partisan detachments or participants in the war. The Guerillas were one thing; the other was represented by the Cortes, the popular representation of the Spanish nation, convened by the provisional government, or regency in Cadiz, under the protection of the English fleet. They were collected in 1810, and in 1812 they compiled the famous spanish constitution, very liberal and democratic for that time, using the model of the French constitution of 1791 and some features of the medieval Aragonese constitution.
Movement against Bonaparte in Germany. Prussian reformers Hardenberg, Stein and Scharnhorst
Significant unrest also occurred among the Germans, who longed to overcome their humiliation through a new war. Napoleon knew about this, but he fully relied on the devotion of the sovereigns of the Rhine League and on the weakness of Prussia and Austria after 1807 and 1809, and the warning that cost the life of the ill-fated Palm should have served as a warning of what would befall every German who dared to become enemy of France. During these years, the hopes of all German patriots hostile to Bonaparte were pinned on Prussia. This is a state that was so exalted in the second half of the 18th century. victories of Frederick the Great, which was reduced by a whole half after the war of the Fourth Coalition, was in the greatest humiliation, the way out of which was only in internal reforms. Among the king's ministers Frederick William III there were people who stood up for the need for serious changes, and among them the most prominent were Hardenberg and Stein. The first of them was a big fan of new French ideas and orders. In 1804-1807 he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and in 1807 proposed to his sovereign a whole plan of reforms: the introduction of popular representation in Prussia with strictly, however, centralized management on the Napoleonic model, the abolition of noble privileges, the liberation of peasants from serfdom, the elimination of constraints on industry and trade. Considering Hardenberg his enemy - which was in fact - Napoleon demanded from Friedrich Wilhelm III, at the end of the war with him in 1807, that this minister be given his resignation, and advised him to take Stein in his place, as a very efficient man, not knowing that he was also an enemy of France. Baron Stein had previously been a minister in Prussia, but he did not get along with the court spheres, and even with the king himself, and was dismissed. In contrast to Hardenberg, he was an opponent of administrative centralization and stood for the development of self-government, as in England, with the preservation, within certain limits, of class, guilds, etc., but he was a man of greater intelligence than Hardenberg, and showed greater ability to development in a progressive direction as life itself pointed out to him the need to destroy antiquity, remaining, however, still an opponent of the Napoleonic system, since he wanted the initiative of society. Appointed minister on October 5, 1807, Stein already on the 9th of the same month published a royal edict abolishing serfdom in Prussia and allowing non-nobles to acquire noble lands. Further, in 1808, he began to implement his plan to replace the bureaucratic management system with local self-government, but managed to give the latter only to cities, while villages and regions remained under the old order. He also thought about state representation, but of a purely advisory nature. Stein did not remain in power for long: in September 1808, the French official newspaper published his letter intercepted by the police, from which Napoleon Bonaparte learned that the Prussian minister strongly recommended that the Germans follow the example of the Spaniards. After this and another article hostile to him in a French government body, the minister-reformer was forced to resign, and after a while Napoleon even directly declared him an enemy of France and the Union of the Rhine, his estates were confiscated and he himself was subject to arrest, so Stein had to flee and hide in different cities of Austria, until in 1812 he was not summoned to Russia.
After one insignificant minister succeeded such a great man, Frederick William III again called to power Hardenberg, who, being a supporter of the Napoleonic system of centralization, began to transform the Prussian administration in this direction. In 1810, the king, at his insistence, promised to give his subjects even national representation, and with the aim of both developing this issue and introducing other reforms in 1810 - 1812. Meetings of notables were convened in Berlin, that is, representatives of the estates chosen by the government. More detailed legislation on the redemption of peasant duties in Prussia also dates back to this time. The military reform carried out by the general was also important for Prussia Scharnhorst; according to one of the conditions of the Tilsit peace, Prussia could not have more than 42 thousand troops, and so the following system was invented: universal conscription was introduced, but the length of stay of soldiers in the army was greatly reduced, so that, having trained them in military affairs, new ones could be taken in their place , and those trained to be enlisted in the reserves, so that Prussia, if necessary, could have a very large army. Finally, in these same years, the University of Berlin was founded according to the plan of the enlightened and liberal Wilhelm von Humboldt, and to the sounds of the drums of the French garrison, the famous philosopher Fichte read his patriotic “Speeches to the German Nation”. All these phenomena characterizing the internal life of Prussia after 1807 made this state the hope of the majority of German patriots hostile to Napoleon Bonaparte. Among the interesting manifestations of the then liberation mood in Prussia is the formation in 1808. Tugendbunda, or the League of Valor, a secret society whose members included scientists, military men, and officials and whose goal was the revival of Germany, although in fact the union did not play a big role. The Napoleonic police kept an eye on German patriots, and, for example, Stein's friend Arndt, the author of the Zeitgeist imbued with national patriotism, had to flee Napoleon's wrath to Sweden so as not to suffer the sad fate of Palma.
The national agitation of the Germans against the French began to intensify in 1809. Starting this year in the war with Napoleon, the Austrian government directly set its goal as the liberation of Germany from the foreign yoke. In 1809, uprisings broke out against the French in Tyrol under the leadership of Andrei Gofer, in Stralsund, which was captured by the insanely brave Major Schill, in Westphalia, where the “black legion of revenge” of the Duke of Brunswick operated, etc., but Gopher was executed, Schill killed in a military battle, the Duke of Brunswick had to flee to England. At the same time, in Schönbrunn, an attempt was made on Napoleon’s life by one young German, Staps, who was later executed for this. “The ferment has reached its highest degree,” his brother, the King of Westphalia, once wrote to Napoleon Bonaparte, “the most reckless hopes are accepted and supported; they set Spain as their model, and, believe me, when the war begins, the countries between the Rhine and the Oder will be the theater of a great uprising, for one must fear the extreme despair of peoples who have nothing to lose.” This prediction was fulfilled after the failure of the campaign to Russia undertaken by Napoleon in 1812 and, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs aptly put it, Talleyrand, "the beginning of the end."
Relations between Napoleon Bonaparte and Tsar Alexander I
In Russia, after the death of Paul I, who was thinking about rapprochement with France, “the days of the Alexandrovs began a wonderful beginning.” The young monarch, a pupil of the republican La Harpe, who almost considered himself a republican, at least the only one in the entire empire, and in other respects who recognized himself as a “happy exception” on the throne, from the very beginning of his reign made plans for internal reforms - right up to the end after all, before the introduction of a constitution in Russia. In 1805-07. he was at war with Napoleon, but in Tilsit they concluded an alliance with each other, and two years later in Erfurt they cemented their friendship in front of the whole world, although Bonaparte immediately recognized in his friend-rival a “Byzantine Greek” (and himself, incidentally, being, according to Pope Pius VII, a comedian). And Russia in those years had its own reformer, who, like Hardenberg, admired Napoleonic France, but was much more original. This reformer was the famous Speransky, the author of an entire plan for the state transformation of Russia on the basis of representation and separation of powers. Alexander I brought him closer to himself at the beginning of his reign, but Speransky began to enjoy especially strong influence on his sovereign during the years of rapprochement between Russia and France after the Peace of Tilsit. By the way, when Alexander I, after the War of the Fourth Coalition, went to Erfurt to meet with Napoleon, he took Speransky with him, among other close people. But then this outstanding statesman fell into disgrace with the tsar, just at the same time that relations between Alexander I and Bonaparte deteriorated. It is known that in 1812 Speransky was not only removed from business, but also had to go into exile.
Relations between Napoleon and Alexander I deteriorated for many reasons, among which the main role was played by Russia's non-compliance with the continental system in all its severity, Bonaparte's reassurance of the Poles regarding the restoration of their former fatherland, France's seizure of possessions from the Duke of Oldenburg, who was related to the Russian royal family etc. In 1812, things came to a complete rupture and war, which was the “beginning of the end.”
Murmurs against Napoleon in France
Prudent people have long predicted that sooner or later there will be a disaster. Even during the proclamation of the empire, Cambaceres, who was one of the consuls with Napoleon, said to another, Lebrun: “I have a feeling that what is being built now will not last. We waged war on Europe in order to impose republics on it as daughters of the French Republic, and now we will wage war to give it monarchs, sons or brothers of ours, and the end result will be that France, exhausted by wars, will fall under the weight of these insane enterprises " “You are happy,” Naval Minister Decres once said to Marshal Marmont, because you have been made a marshal, and everything seems rosy to you. But don’t you want me to tell you the truth and pull back the curtain behind which the future is hidden? The emperor has gone crazy, completely crazy: he will make all of us, as many of us as we are, fly head over heels, and it will all end in a terrible catastrophe.” Before the Russian campaign of 1812, some opposition began to appear in France itself against the constant wars and despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was already mentioned above that Napoleon met with protest against his treatment of the pope from some members of the church council he convened in Paris in 1811, and in the same year a deputation from the Paris Chamber of Commerce came to him with ideas about the ruin continental system for French industry and trade. The population began to be burdened by Bonaparte's endless wars, the increase in military spending, the growth of the army, and already in 1811 the number of those evading military service reached almost 80 thousand people. In the spring of 1812, a dull murmur among the Parisian population forced Napoleon to move to Saint-Cloud especially early, and only in this mood of the people could the daring idea of taking advantage of Napoleon’s war in Russia to carry out a coup d’etat in Paris arise in the head of one general, named Malet with the aim of restoring the republic. Suspected of unreliability, Male was arrested, but escaped from his prison, appeared in one of the barracks and there announced to the soldiers the death of the “tyrant” Bonaparte, who allegedly ended his life on a distant military campaign. Part of the garrison went for Male, and he, having then prepared a false senatus-consult, was already preparing to organize a provisional government when he was captured and, together with his accomplices, brought before a military court, which sentenced them all to death. Having learned about this conspiracy, Napoleon was extremely annoyed that some even government officials believed the attackers, and that the public was rather indifferent to all this.
Napoleon's campaign in Russia 1812
The Male conspiracy dates back to the end of October 1812, when the failure of Napoleon’s campaign against Russia had already become sufficiently clear. Of course, the military events of this year are too well known for there to be a need for their detailed presentation, and therefore it remains only to recall the main moments of the war with Bonaparte of 1812, which we called “patriotic”, i.e. national and the invasion of the “Galls” and them "twelve languages".
In the spring of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte concentrated large military forces in Prussia, which, like Austria, was forced to enter into an alliance with him, and in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and in mid-June his troops, without declaring war, entered the then borders of Russia. Napoleon's “Grand Army” of 600 thousand people consisted only half of the French: the rest was made up of various other “peoples”: Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, etc., i.e., in general, subjects of the allies and vassals of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Russian army, which was three times smaller and, moreover, scattered, had to retreat at the beginning of the war. Napoleon quickly began to occupy one city after another, mainly on the road to Moscow. Only near Smolensk did two Russian armies manage to unite, which, however, turned out to be unable to stop the enemy’s advance. Kutuzov's attempt to detain Bonaparte at Borodino (see articles Battle of Borodino 1812 and Battle of Borodino 1812 - briefly), made at the end of August, was also unsuccessful, and at the beginning of September Napoleon was already in Moscow, from where he thought to dictate peace terms to Alexander I. But just at this time the war with the French became a people's war. After the battle of Smolensk, residents of the areas through which Napoleon Bonaparte’s army was moving began to burn everything in its path, and with its arrival in Moscow, fires began in this ancient capital of Russia, from where most of the population fled. Little by little, almost the entire city burned down, the supplies it had were depleted, and the supply of new ones was made difficult by Russian partisan detachments, which launched a war on all the roads that led to Moscow. When Napoleon became convinced of the futility of his hope that peace would be asked from him, he himself wanted to enter into negotiations, but did not encounter the slightest desire on the Russian side to make peace. On the contrary, Alexander I decided to wage war until the French were finally expelled from Russia. While Bonaparte was inactive in Moscow, the Russians began to prepare to completely cut off Napoleon’s exit from Russia. This plan did not come true, but Napoleon realized the danger and hastened to leave the devastated and burned Moscow. At first the French made an attempt to break through to the south, but the Russians cut off the road in front of them at Maloyaroslavets, and the remnants of Bonaparte’s great army had to retreat along the former, devastated Smolensk road during the early and very severe winter that began this year. The Russians followed this disastrous retreat almost on its heels, inflicting one defeat after another on the lagging units. Napoleon himself, who happily escaped capture when crossing his army across the Berezina, dropped everything in the second half of November and left for Paris, only now deciding to officially notify France and Europe of the failure that befell him during the Russian war. The retreat of the remnants of Bonaparte's great army was now a real flight amid the horrors of cold and hunger. On December 2, less than six full months after the start of the war in Russia, Napoleon's last troops crossed back into the Russian border. After this, the French had no choice but to abandon the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the capital of which the Russian army occupied in January 1813, to the mercy of fate.
Napoleon's army crossing the Berezina. Painting by P. von Hess, 1844
Foreign campaign of the Russian army and the War of the Sixth Coalition
When Russia was completely cleared of enemy hordes, Kutuzov advised Alexander I to limit himself to this and stop further war. But a mood prevailed in the soul of the Russian sovereign, forcing him to transfer military operations against Napoleon outside Russia. In this last intention, the German patriot Stein, who found refuge against the persecution of Napoleon in Russia and to a certain extent subordinated Alexander to his influence, strongly supported the emperor. The failure of the war of the great army in Russia made a great impression on the Germans, among whom national enthusiasm spread more and more, a monument of which remained the patriotic lyrics of Kerner and other poets of the era. At first, the German governments did not dare, however, to follow their subjects who rose up against Napoleon Bonaparte. When, at the very end of 1812, the Prussian General York, at his own peril, concluded a convention with the Russian General Diebitsch in Taurogen and stopped fighting for the cause of France, Frederick William III remained extremely dissatisfied with this, as he was also dissatisfied with the decision of the zemstvo members of East and West Prussia to organize, Stein's thoughts, provincial militia for the war against the enemy of the German nation. Only when the Russians entered Prussian territory did the king, forced to choose between an alliance with either Napoleon or Alexander I, lean towards the latter, and even then not without some hesitation. In February 1813, in Kalisz, Prussia concluded a military treaty with Russia, accompanied by an appeal from both sovereigns to the population of Prussia. Then Frederick William III declared war on Bonaparte, and a special royal proclamation was published to his loyal subjects. In this and other proclamations, with which the new allies also addressed the population of other parts of Germany and in the drafting of which Stein played an active role, much was said about the independence of peoples, about their right to control their own destinies, about the strength of public opinion, before which the sovereigns themselves must bow. , and so on.
From Prussia, where, next to the regular army, volunteer detachments were formed from people of every rank and condition, often not even former Prussian subjects, the national movement began to spread to other German states, whose governments, on the contrary, remained loyal to Napoleon Bonaparte and restrained manifestations in their possessions German patriotism. Meanwhile, Sweden, England and Austria joined the Russian-Prussian military alliance, after which members of the Confederation of the Rhine began to fall away from allegiance to Napoleon - under the condition of the inviolability of their territories or, at least, equivalent rewards in cases where any kind of or changes in the boundaries of their possessions. This is how it was formed Sixth coalition against Bonaparte. Three-day (October 16-18) battle with Napoleon near Leipzig, which was unfavorable for the French and forced them to begin a retreat to the Rhine, resulted in the destruction of the Union of the Rhine, the return to their possessions of the dynasties expelled during the Napoleonic wars and the final transition to the side of the anti-French coalition of the South German sovereigns.
By the end of 1813, the lands east of the Rhine were free from the French, and on the night of January 1, 1814, part of the Prussian army under the command Blucher crossed this river, which then served as the eastern border of Bonaparte's empire. Even before the Battle of Leipzig, the allied sovereigns offered Napoleon to enter into peace negotiations, but he did not agree to any conditions. Before transferring the war to the territory of the empire itself, Napoleon was once again offered peace on the terms of maintaining the Rhine and Alpine borders for France, but only renouncing domination in Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain, but Bonaparte continued to persist, although in France itself public opinion considered these conditions quite acceptable. A new peace proposal in mid-February 1814, when the allies were already on French territory, also led to nothing. The war went on with varying success, but one defeat of the French army (at Arcy-sur-Aube on March 20-21) opened the way for the Allies to Paris. On March 30, they took by storm the Montmartre heights dominating this city, and on the 31st, their solemn entry into the city itself took place.
The deposition of Napoleon in 1814 and the Bourbon restoration
The next day after this, the Senate proclaimed the deposition of Napoleon Bonaparte from the throne with the formation of a provisional government, and two days later, i.e., on April 4, he himself, at the castle of Fontainebleau, abdicated the throne in favor of his son after learning about Marshal Marmont's transition to the Allied side. The latter were not satisfied with this, however, and a week later Napoleon was forced to sign an act of unconditional abdication. The title of emperor was retained by him, but he had to live on the island of Elbe, which was given into his possession. During these events, the fallen Bonaparte was already the subject of extreme hatred of the population of France, as the culprit of ruinous wars and enemy invasions.
The provisional government, formed after the end of the war and the overthrow of Napoleon, drafted a new constitution, which was adopted by the Senate. Meanwhile, at that time, in agreement with the victors of France, the restoration of the Bourbons was already being prepared in the person of the brother of Louis XVI, who was executed during the Revolutionary Wars, who, after the death of his little nephew, who was recognized by the royalists as Louis XVII, began to be called Louis XVIII. The Senate proclaimed him king, freely called to the throne by the nation, but Louis XVIII wanted to reign solely by his hereditary right. He did not accept the Senate Constitution, and instead granted (octroied) a constitutional charter with his power, and even then under strong pressure from Alexander I, who agreed to the restoration only on the condition of granting France a constitution. One of the main figures who worked at the end of the war for the Bourbons was Talleyrand, who said that only the restoration of the dynasty would be the result of principle, everything else was a simple intrigue. With Louis XVIII his younger brother and heir, the Comte d'Artois, returned with his family, other princes and numerous emigrants from the most irreconcilable representatives of pre-revolutionary France. The nation immediately felt that both the Bourbons and the emigrants in exile, in the words of Napoleon, “had forgotten nothing and learned nothing.” Anxiety began throughout the country, numerous reasons for which were given by the statements and behavior of princes, returning nobles and clergy, who clearly sought to restore antiquity. The people even started talking about the restoration of feudal rights, etc. Bonaparte watched on his Elbe how irritation against the Bourbons grew in France, and at the congress that met in Vienna in the fall of 1814 to organize European affairs, bickering began that could set the allies at odds. In the eyes of the fallen emperor, these were favorable circumstances for regaining power in France.
Napoleon's "Hundred Days" and the War of the Seventh Coalition
On March 1, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte with a small detachment secretly left Elba and unexpectedly landed near Cannes, from where he moved to Paris. The former ruler of France brought with him proclamations to the army, to the nation, and to the population of the coastal departments. “I,” it was said in the second of them, “was elevated to the throne by your election, and everything that was done without you is illegal... Let the sovereign, who was placed on my throne by the force of the armies that devastated our country, refer to the principles feudal law, but it can ensure the interests of only a small group of enemies of the people!.. The French! in my exile, I heard your complaints and desires: you demanded the return of the government chosen by you and therefore the only legitimate one,” etc. On the way of Napoleon Bonaparte to Paris, his small detachment grew from soldiers joining him everywhere, and his new military campaign received view of a triumphal procession. In addition to the soldiers who adored their “little corporal,” the people also went over to Napoleon’s side, now seeing in him a savior from the hated emigrants. Marshal Ney, sent against Napoleon, boasted before leaving that he would bring him in a cage, but then with his entire detachment went over to his side. On March 19, Louis XVIII hastily fled from Paris, having forgotten Talleyrand's reports from the Vienna Congress and the secret treaty against Russia in the Tuileries Palace, and the next day the crowd literally carried Napoleon in their arms into the palace, which had only been abandoned by the king the day before.
Napoleon Bonaparte's return to power was the result not only of a military revolt against the Bourbons, but also of a popular movement that could easily turn into a real revolution. In order to reconcile the educated classes and the bourgeoisie, Napoleon now agreed to a liberal reform of the constitution, calling on one of the most prominent political writers of the era, Benjamin Constant, who had previously spoken out sharply against his despotism. A new constitution was even drawn up, which, however, received the name “additional act” to the “constitutions of the empire” (that is, to the laws of the VIII, X and XII years), and this act was submitted for approval by the people, who accepted it with one and a half million votes . On June 3, 1815, the opening of new representative chambers took place, before which a few days later Napoleon gave a speech announcing the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in France. However, the emperor did not like the replies of the representatives and peers, since they contained warnings and instructions, and he expressed his displeasure to them. However, there was no further continuation of the conflict, since Napoleon had to rush to war.
The news of Napoleon's return to France forced the sovereigns and ministers who gathered at the congress in Vienna to end the discord that had begun between them and unite again in a common alliance for a new war with Bonaparte ( Wars of the Seventh Coalition). On June 12, Napoleon left Paris to go to his army, and on the 18th at Waterloo he was defeated by the Anglo-Prussian army under the command of Wellington and Blucher. In Paris, Bonaparte, defeated in this new short war, faced a new defeat: the House of Representatives demanded that he abdicate the throne in favor of his son, who was proclaimed emperor under the name of Napoleon II. The allies, who soon appeared under the walls of Paris, decided the matter differently, namely, they restored Louis XVIII. Napoleon himself, when the enemy approached Paris, thought to flee to America and for this purpose arrived in Rochefort, but was intercepted by the British, who installed him on the island of St. Helena. This secondary reign of Napoleon, accompanied by the War of the Seventh Coalition, lasted only about three months and was called “one hundred days” in history. The second-deposed Emperor Bonaparte lived in his new imprisonment for about six years, dying in May 1821.
We know that in the history of the world, there have been various great commanders and conquerors of all times and peoples. They changed the entire course of history and also influenced the political map of the world.
One such great commander we wanted to write about was Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a talented general of the French artillery and the ruler of France with the monarchical title of Emperor under the name Napoleon the First.
His activities were based on strengthening the power and greatness of France. He changed the territory of France, expanding its borders and annexing other European lands to the country's possessions. These were a kind of territorial claims of the French Empire during the reign of Napoleon.
This famous short man in a gray frock coat influenced all European countries. Bonaparte's expansionist policy helped the French bourgeoisie to gain enormous benefits from the results of victorious military campaigns.
General Bonaparte received his high military rank, as you know if you have studied history, my dear readers, after defeating the royalist supporters of the Bourbon monarchy in 1793 with volleys of grapeshot from cannons. These were the so-called cannonballs. Cannons were also used on masted sailing ships of the time.
Conquests of territories by the French army
In 1796, after his previous military achievements, Napoleon Bonaparte led a military expedition and set off on an Italian campaign. As a result of this campaign, the entire territory of Italy came under French rule. The Kingdom of Naples was created on this territory, where Napoleon sent his Marshal Marat as King of Naples.
In 1798, Napoleon prepared and equipped a new military expedition to Egypt. This military campaign was a success until the commander himself left his army. French troops sailed across the entire Mediterranean Sea and went to Egypt, capturing the capital there - Alexandria. Unfortunately, Napoleon's army was unable to fully complete its military mission in Egypt, as the British destroyed the French ships. Because of this, Napoleon had to quickly leave and abandon his army. French troops were finally defeated in Egypt by 1801, also suffering defeat at Aboukir.
In 1799, as a result of the coup of 9 Thermidor, Napoleon became the first consul of the French Republic, although formally there were two more consuls in power after him. His rule was called a military-bureaucratic dictatorship.
In 1800 he won the Battle of Marengo. For some time in 1801, Napoleon concluded a truce with England.
In 1804, Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France. And the following year, 1805, he won a brilliant victory in the Battle of Austerlitz against the Austrian and Russian allied army.
In 1806-1807, he captured the territory of Germany, which at that time in turn consisted of small states (principalities). One of the influential German states of that time was the Kingdom of Prussia. Napoleon and his troops entered the city of Jena, and also reached Berlin and defeated the Prussian army in a matter of minutes. He then advanced to Poland, which he turned into the Duchy of Warsaw.
In 1807, Napoleon concluded the Treaty of Tilsit with the Russian Emperor Alexander the First.
Consistently studying the chronology of the Napoleonic wars, we see that already in 1808 Napoleon captured Spain, subjugating the Spanish capital, Madrid. He overthrew the Bourbon rule there and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as the new king of Spain.
Napoleon Bonaparte's military campaign against Russia (the map of the campaign can be enlarged)
However, the collapse of Napoleon's empire began in 1812, when he suffered a crushing military defeat in his campaign against Russia. The Emperor had to abdicate twice, that is, give up his power, both in 1814 and in 1815 after his first exile on the island of Elba.
At the time of the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799), which led to the establishment of the Consulate regime, France was at war with the Second Coalition (Russia, Great Britain, Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies). In 1799, she suffered a number of failures, and her position was quite difficult, although Russia actually dropped out of the number of her opponents. Napoleon, proclaimed the first consul of the Republic, was faced with the task of achieving a radical turning point in the war. He decided to deliver the main blow to Austria on the Italian and German fronts.
Spring-summer campaign 1800.
In Germany, the French army of General J.-V. Moreau crossed the Rhine on April 25, 1800 and on May 3 defeated the Swabian army of the Austrians under the command of Baron P. Kray at Stockach and Engen and threw it back to Ulm. Having lost the battles of Hochstedt, Neuburg and Oberhausen, P. Kray concluded the Parsdorf Truce with the French on July 15, in whose hands was all of Bavaria west of the Isar River.
In Italy, Genoa, the last fortress held by the French (General A. Massena), was blocked on April 25 by the Austrian army of Field Marshal M.-F. Melas and the English fleet of Admiral K. J. Keith and capitulated on June 4. At the same time, Napoleon, having secretly concentrated a reserve army of forty thousand near Geneva, crossed the Alps through the Great St. Bernard and St. Gotthard passes on May 15–23 and invaded Lombardy; On June 2, the French occupied Milan and cut off the Austrians' escape routes to the south and east. On June 14, near the village of Marengo near Alessandria, Napoleon defeated the twice superior forces of M.-F. Melas. On June 15, a five-month truce was signed, as a result of which the Austrians cleared Northern Italy up to the river. Mincio; The French restored the vassal Cisalpine and Ligurian republics.
Winter campaign 1800/1801.
In November 1800, the French resumed military operations in Bavaria. December 3 J.-V. Moreau won a brilliant victory over the army of Archduke Johann near the village of Hohenlinden east of Munich and marched on Vienna. The Austrian Emperor Franz II had to conclude the Steyer Truce on December 25 and transfer the Tyrol, part of Styria and Upper Austria to the Enns River to the French. At the same time, in Italy, the French general G.-M. Brun crossed the Mincio and Adige, captured Verona and, uniting with the corps of E.-J. MacDonald, which broke through from Switzerland, drove the Austrian army of Field Marshal G.-J. Bellegarde across the river. Brenta. According to the Treviso Truce signed on January 16, 1801, the Austrians surrendered the fortresses of Manova, Peschiera and Legnano to the French on the Lombard-Venetian border and left the territory of Italy. The Neapolitan army, coming to the aid of the Austrians, was defeated by the French general F. de Miollis near Siena, after which I. Murat’s detachment made a rush to Naples and forced the King of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand IV to agree to a truce in Foligno. As a result, all of Italy came under French control.
Luneville world.
On February 9, 1801, the Peace of Luneville was concluded between France and Austria, which generally repeated the conditions of the Campoformian Peace of 1797: it assigned the left bank of the Rhine to France, and Venice, Istria, Dalmatia and Salzburg to Austria; the legitimacy of the Cisalpine (Lombardy), Ligurian (Genoa region), Batavian (Holland) and Helvetic (Switzerland) republics dependent on France was recognized; on the other hand, France abandoned the attempt to restore the Roman and Parthenopean (Neapolitan) republics; Rome was returned to the pope, but Romagna remained part of the Cisalpine Republic; The French maintained a military presence in Piedmont.
Anglo-French confrontation and the Peace of Amiens.
After Austria left the war, Great Britain turned out to be France's main enemy. On September 5, 1800, the English fleet took Malta from the French. The British government's refusal to return the island to the Order of Malta displeased the Russian Emperor Paul I (he was the Grand Master of the Order). Russia officially left the Second Coalition and formed, together with Prussia, Sweden and Denmark, the anti-British League of Neutral States. However, the nascent Franco-Russian rapprochement was prevented by the assassination of Paul I in March 1801. On April 2, the English fleet bombarded Copenhagen and forced Denmark to withdraw from the League, which then virtually disintegrated. In the summer, French troops in Egypt were forced to capitulate. At the same time, Great Britain lost its last allies. Under pressure from France and Spain, Portugal broke its alliance with it on June 6 (Treaty of Badajoz). On October 10, the new Russian Emperor Alexander I concluded the Peace of Paris with France. Napoleon began preparations for an invasion of the British Isles; he formed a significant army and a huge transport flotilla in Boulogne (First Boulogne Camp). Finding itself in diplomatic isolation and given deep dissatisfaction with the war within the country, the British government entered into peace negotiations, which ended on March 27, 1802 with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens. According to its terms, Great Britain returned to France and its allies the colonies seized from them during the war (Haiti, Lesser Antilles, Mascarene Islands, French Guiana), retaining only Dutch Ceylon and Spanish Trinidad, and pledged to withdraw troops from Malta, from Egypt and former French possessions in India and not to interfere in the internal affairs of Germany, Italy, Holland and Switzerland; for its part, France promised to evacuate Rome, Naples and Elba.
As a result of the wars with the Second Coalition, France managed to significantly weaken Austria's influence in Germany and Italy and temporarily force Great Britain to recognize French hegemony on the European continent.
War with England (1803–1805).
The Peace of Amiens turned out to be only a short respite in the Anglo-French confrontation: Great Britain could not give up its traditional interests in Europe, and France was not going to stop its foreign policy expansion. Napoleon continued to interfere in the internal affairs of Holland and Switzerland. On January 25, 1802, he achieved his election as president of the Italian Republic, created on the site of the Caesalpine Republic. On August 26, contrary to the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, France annexed the island of Elba, and on September 21, Piedmont. In response, Great Britain refused to leave Malta and retained French possessions in India. The influence of France in Germany increased after the secularization of the German lands carried out under its control in February-April 1803, as a result of which most of the church principalities and free cities were liquidated; Prussia and France's allies Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg and Bavaria received significant land increases. Napoleon refused to conclude a trade agreement in England and introduced restrictive measures that prevented British goods from entering French ports. All this led to the severance of diplomatic relations (May 12, 1803) and the resumption of hostilities.
The British began to seize French and Dutch commercial ships. In response, Napoleon ordered the arrest of all British subjects in France, banned trade with the island, occupied Hanover, which was in a personal union with Great Britain, and began preparing for an invasion (the Second Camp of Boulogne). However, the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet by Admiral H. Nelson at Cape Trafalgar on October 21, 1805 provided England with complete supremacy at sea and made an invasion impossible.
War with the Third Coalition (1805–1806).
On May 18, 1804, Napoleon was proclaimed emperor. Europe took the establishment of the Empire as evidence of France's new aggressive intentions, and it was not mistaken. On March 17, 1805, the Italian Republic became the Kingdom of Italy; On May 26, Napoleon assumed the Italian crown; On June 4, he annexed the Ligurian Republic to France, and then transferred Lucca, which became a grand duchy, to his sister Elisa. On July 27, the import of British goods into Italy was prohibited. In this situation, Austria. Russia, Sweden and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, together with Great Britain, formed on August 5, 1805 the Third Anti-Napoleonic Coalition under the slogan of protecting the rights of Holland, Italy and Switzerland. Prussia, although it declared neutrality, was preparing to support her. Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt remained on the French side.
The Austrians opened hostilities: on September 9 they invaded Bavaria and occupied it; The Russian army under the command of M.I. Kutuzov moved to join them. Napoleon concentrated his main forces in Germany. He managed to block the Austrian army of General K. Mack in Ulm and force it to surrender on October 20. Then he entered Austria, occupied Vienna on November 13, and on December 2 at Austerlitz inflicted a crushing defeat on the united Austro-Russian army (“Battle of the Three Emperors”). In Italy, the French drove the Austrians out of the Venetian region and threw them back to Laibach (modern Ljubljana) and the Raab River (modern Raba). The failures of the coalition prevented Prussia from entering the war, which concluded an agreement with France on December 16, receiving from it Hanover, which had been taken from the British, in exchange for some of its possessions on the Rhine and southern Germany. On December 26, Austria was forced to sign the humiliating Peace of Presburg: it recognized Napoleon as the king of Italy and the annexation of Piedmont and Liguria to France, ceded to the Kingdom of Italy the Venetian region, Istria (without Trieste) and Dalmatia, Bavaria - Tyrol, Vorarlberg and several bishoprics, Württemberg and Baden - Austrian Swabia; in return she received Salzburg, the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand was allocated Würzburg, and Archduke Anton became Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.
As a result of the war, Austria was completely ousted from Germany and Italy, and France established its hegemony on the European continent. On March 15, 1806, Napoleon transferred the Grand Duchy of Cleves and Berg into the possession of his brother-in-law I. Murat. He expelled the local Bourbon dynasty from Naples, which fled to Sicily under the protection of the English fleet, and on March 30 placed his brother Joseph on the Neapolitan throne. On May 24, he transformed the Batavian Republic into the Kingdom of Holland, placing his other brother Louis at its head. In Germany, on June 12, the Confederation of the Rhine was formed from 17 states under the protectorate of Napoleon; On August 6, the Austrian Emperor Franz II renounced the German crown - the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist.
War with the Fourth Coalition (1806–1807).
Napoleon's promise to return Hanover to Great Britain if peace was concluded with it and his attempts to prevent the creation of a union of North German principalities led by Prussia led to a sharp deterioration in Franco-Prussian relations and the formation on September 15, 1806 of the Fourth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition consisting of Prussia, Russia, England, Sweden and Saxony . After Napoleon rejected an ultimatum from the Prussian king Frederick William III (1797–1840) to withdraw French troops from Germany and dissolve the Confederation of the Rhine, two Prussian armies marched on Hesse. However, Napoleon quickly concentrated significant forces in Franconia (between Würzburg and Bamberg) and invaded Saxony. The victory of Marshal J. Lannes over the Prussians on October 9–10, 1806 at Saalefeld allowed the French to strengthen their position on the Saale River. On October 14, the Prussian army suffered a crushing defeat at Jena and Auerstedt. On October 27, Napoleon entered Berlin; Lubeck capitulated on November 7, Magdeburg on November 8. On November 21, 1806, he declared a continental blockade of Great Britain, seeking to completely interrupt its trade ties with European countries. On November 28, the French occupied Warsaw; almost all of Prussia was occupied. In December, Napoleon moved against Russian troops stationed on the Narev River (a tributary of the Bug). After a number of local successes, the French laid siege to Danzig. The attempt of the Russian commander L.L. Bennigsen at the end of January 1807 to destroy the corps of Marshal J.B. Bernadotte with a sudden blow ended in failure. On February 7, Napoleon overtook the Russian army retreating to Königsberg, but was unable to defeat it in the bloody battle of Preussisch-Eylau (February 7–8). On April 25, Russia and Prussia concluded a new alliance treaty in Bartenstein, but England and Sweden did not provide them with effective assistance. French diplomacy managed to provoke the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Russia. On June 14, the French defeated Russian troops at Friedland (East Prussia). Alexander I was forced to enter into negotiations with Napoleon (Tilsit Meeting), which ended on July 7 with the signing of the Peace of Tilsit and led to the creation of a Franco-Russian military-political alliance. Russia recognized all French conquests in Europe and promised to join the continental blockade, and France pledged to support Russia's claims to Finland and the Danube principalities (Moldova and Wallachia). Alexander I achieved the preservation of Prussia as a state, but it lost its Polish lands, from which the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was formed, headed by the Saxon Elector, and all its possessions west of the Elbe, which together with Brunswick, Hanover and Hesse-Kassel formed the Kingdom of Westphalia led by Napoleon's brother Jerome; The Bialystok district went to Russia; Danzig became a free city.
Continuation of the war with England (1807–1808).
Fearing the emergence of an anti-English league of northern neutral countries led by Russia, Great Britain launched a preemptive strike on Denmark: September 1–5, 1807, an English squadron bombarded Copenhagen and captured the Danish fleet. This caused general indignation in Europe: Denmark entered into an alliance with Napoleon, Austria, under pressure from France, broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain, and Russia declared war on it on November 7. At the end of November, the French army of Marshal A. Junot occupied Portugal, allied with England; The Portuguese prince regent fled to Brazil. In February 1808, Russia began a war with Sweden. Napoleon and Alexander I entered into negotiations on the division of the Ottoman Empire. In May, France annexed the Kingdom of Etruria (Tuscany) and the Papal State, which maintained trade relations with Great Britain.
War with the Fifth Coalition (1809).
Spain became the next target of Napoleonic expansion. During the Portuguese expedition, French troops were stationed, with the consent of King Charles IV (1788–1808), in many Spanish cities. In May 1808, Napoleon forced Charles IV and the heir to the throne, Ferdinand, to renounce their rights (Treaty of Bayonne). On June 6, he proclaimed his brother Joseph king of Spain. The establishment of French domination caused a general uprising in the country. On July 20–23, the rebels surrounded and forced the surrender of two French corps near Bailen (Bailen Surrender). The uprising also spread to Portugal; On August 6, English troops landed there under the command of A. Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington). On August 21, he defeated the French at Vimeiro; On August 30, A. Junot signed an act of surrender in Sintra; his army was evacuated to France.
The loss of Spain and Portugal led to a sharp deterioration in the foreign policy situation of the Napoleonic Empire. In Germany, patriotic anti-French sentiment increased significantly. Austria began to actively prepare for revenge and reorganize its armed forces. From September 27 to October 14, a meeting between Napoleon and Alexander I took place in Erfurt: although their military-political alliance was renewed, although Russia recognized Joseph Bonaparte as the king of Spain, and France recognized the accession of Finland to Russia, and although the Russian Tsar pledged to act on the side of France in the event of Austria attacked her, nevertheless, the Erfurt meeting marked a cooling of Franco-Russian relations.
In November 1808 - January 1809, Napoleon made a campaign against the Iberian Peninsula, where he won a number of victories over Spanish and English troops. At the same time, Great Britain managed to achieve peace with the Ottoman Empire (5 January 1809). In April 1809, the Fifth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition was formed, which included Austria, Great Britain and Spain, represented by a provisional government (the Supreme Junta). On April 10, the Austrians began military operations; they invaded Bavaria, Italy and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw; Tyrol rebelled against Bavarian rule. Napoleon moved to Southern Germany against the main Austrian army of Archduke Charles and at the end of April, during five successful battles (at Tengen, Abensberg, Landsgut, Eckmühl and Regensburg), he cut it into two parts: one had to retreat to the Czech Republic, the other across the river. Inn. The French entered Austria and occupied Vienna on May 13. But after the bloody battles of Aspern and Essling on May 21–22, they were forced to stop the offensive and gain a foothold on the Danube island of Lobau; On May 29, the Tyroleans defeated the Bavarians on Mount Isel near Innsbruck. Nevertheless, Napoleon, having received reinforcements, crossed the Danube and on July 5–6 at Wagram defeated Archduke Charles. In Italy and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the actions of the Austrians were also unsuccessful. Although the Austrian army was not destroyed, Francis II agreed to conclude the Peace of Schönbrunn (October 14), according to which Austria lost access to the Adriatic Sea; she ceded to France part of Carinthia and Croatia, Carniola, Istria, Trieste and Fiume (modern Rijeka), which made up the Illyrian provinces; Bavaria received Salzburg and part of Upper Austria; to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw - Western Galicia; Russia – Tarnopol district.
Franco-Russian relations (1809–1812).
Russia did not provide effective assistance to Napoleon in the war with Austria, and its relations with France deteriorated sharply. The St. Petersburg court thwarted the project of Napoleon's marriage with Grand Duchess Anna, sister of Alexander I. On February 8, 1910, Napoleon married Marie-Louise, daughter of Franz II, and began to support Austria in the Balkans. The election on August 21, 1810 of the French Marshal J.B. Bernatott as heir to the Swedish throne increased the Russian government's fears for the northern flank. In December 1810, Russia, which was suffering significant losses from the continental blockade of England, increased customs duties on French goods, which caused Napoleon's open discontent. Regardless of Russian interests, France continued its aggressive policy in Europe: on July 9, 1810, it annexed Holland, on December 12, the Swiss canton of Wallis, on February 18, 1811, several German free cities and principalities, including the Duchy of Oldenburg, whose ruling house was associated family ties with the Romanov dynasty; the annexation of Lübeck provided France with access to the Baltic Sea. Alexander I was also concerned about Napoleon's plans to restore a unified Polish state.
War with the Sixth Coalition (1813–1814).
The death of Napoleon's Grand Army in Russia significantly changed the military-political situation in Europe and contributed to the growth of anti-French sentiment. Already on December 30, 1812, General J. von Wartenburg, commander of the Prussian auxiliary corps, which was part of the Great Army, concluded a neutrality agreement with the Russians in Taurog. As a result, all of East Prussia rebelled against Napoleon. In January 1813, the Austrian commander K.F. Schwarzenberg, under a secret agreement with Russia, withdrew his troops from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. On February 28, Prussia signed the Treaty of Kalisz on an alliance with Russia, which provided for the restoration of the Prussian state within the borders of 1806 and the restoration of German independence; thus, the Sixth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition arose. Russian troops crossed the Oder on March 2, occupied Berlin on March 11, Hamburg on March 12, Breslau on March 15; On March 23, the Prussians entered Dresden, the capital of Napoleon's allied Saxony. All of Germany east of the Elbe was cleared of the French. On April 22, Sweden joined the coalition.
Spring-summer campaign of 1813.
Napoleon, having managed to assemble a new army, moved it against the allies in April 1813. On May 2, he defeated the combined forces of the Russians and Prussians at Lützen near Leipzig and captured Saxony. The Allies retreated across the Spree River to Bautzen, where on May 20 a bloody battle took place with an unclear result. The coalition army continued its retreat, leaving Breslau and part of Silesia to Napoleon. In the north, the French retook Hamburg. On June 4, with the mediation of Austria, the warring parties concluded the Pleswitz Truce, which gave the allies a respite and the opportunity to gather strength. On June 14, Great Britain joined the coalition. After the failure of the Allied peace negotiations with Napoleon in Prague, Austria joined them on August 12.
Autumn campaign of 1813.
At the end of August, hostilities resumed. The Allied forces were reorganized into three armies - Northern (J.B. Bernadotte), Silesian (G.-L. Blücher) and Bohemian (K.F. Schwarzenberg). On August 23, J.B. Bernadotte threw back N.-C. Oudinot’s army advancing on Berlin, and on September 6 he defeated M. Ney’s corps at Dennewitz. In Silesia, G.-L. Blücher defeated the corps of E.-J. MacDonald at Katzbach on August 26. K.F. Schwarzenberg, who invaded Saxony, was defeated by Napoleon near Dresden on August 27 and retreated to the Czech Republic, but on August 29–30, near Kulm, the Allies surrounded and forced the corps of General D. Vandamm to capitulate. On September 9, Austria, Russia and Prussia signed the Teplitz Treaty on the restoration of German states within the borders of 1805. On October 8, Bavaria joined the coalition. The Allies decided to trap the French army in Saxony and destroy it. Napoleon retreated first to Dresden and then to Leipzig, where he suffered a crushing defeat in the “Battle of the Nations” on October 16–19. The Allies tried to eliminate the remnants of the French army, but Napoleon managed to defeat the Austro-Bavarian corps of K. Wrede at Hanau on October 30 and go beyond the Rhine. All of Germany rebelled: on October 28, the Kingdom of Westphalia ceased to exist; On November 2, Württemberg and Hesse-Darmstadt went over to the side of the coalition, November 20 – Baden, November 23 – Nassau, November 24 – Saxe-Coburg; The Confederation of the Rhine collapsed. By the beginning of December, the French left German territory, holding only a number of important fortresses (Hamburg, Dresden, Magdeburg, Küstrin, Danzig). They were also driven out of Holland. In Italy, Viceroy Eugene Beauharnais had difficulty holding back the onslaught of the Austrians, the British and the Neapolitan king I. Murat, who betrayed Napoleon; in September 1813 he retreated from the Alps to the Isonzo River, and in November to the Adige River. In Spain, the British drove the French back beyond the Pyrenees in October.
The Allied invasion of France and the defeat of Napoleon.
At the very end of 1813, the Allies crossed the Rhine in three columns. By January 26, 1814, they concentrated their forces between the Marne and the sources of the Seine. On January 31, Napoleon successfully attacked the Prussians at Brienne, but on February 1 he was defeated by the combined Prussian-Austrian forces at La Rotière and retreated to Troyes. The Silesian army of G.-L. Blücher moved towards Paris along the Marne valley, and the Bohemian army of K.F. Schwarzenberg moved towards Troyes. The slowness of K.F. Schwarzenberg made it possible for Napoleon to direct his main forces against G.-L. Blücher. After victories at Champaubert on February 10, Montmirail on February 12, and Vauchamps on February 14, he pushed the Silesian army back to the right bank of the Marne. The threat to Paris from the Bohemian army forced Napoleon to stop pursuing G.-L. Blucher and move against K.F. Schwarzenberg. At the end of February, the Bohemian army left Troyes and retreated across the river. About to Chalons and Langres. At the beginning of March, Napoleon managed to thwart G.-L. Blucher’s new offensive on Paris, but on March 9 he was defeated by him at Laon and retreated to Soissons. He then marched towards the Rhine, intending to strike at the rear of the Bohemian army. On March 20–21, K.F. Schwarzenberg attacked him at Arcy-sur-Aube, but was unable to achieve victory. Then, on March 25, the Allies moved towards Paris, broke the resistance of the few detachments of O.-F. Marmont and E.-A. Mortier, and on March 30 occupied the capital of France. Napoleon led the army to Fontainebleau. On the night of April 4-5, O.-F. Marmont's corps went over to the side of the coalition. On April 6, under pressure from the marshals, Napoleon abdicated the throne. On April 11, he was granted lifelong ownership of Fr. Elbe. The Empire has fallen. In France, the power of the Bourbons in the person of Louis XVIII was restored.
In Italy, Eugene Beauharnais in February 1814, under pressure from the allies, retreated to the Mincio River. After Napoleon's abdication, he concluded a truce with the Austrian command on April 16. The uprising of the Milanese against French rule on April 18–20 allowed the Austrians to occupy Mantua on April 23, and Milan on April 26. The Italian kingdom fell.
War with the Seventh Coalition (1815).
On February 26, 1815, Napoleon left Elba and on March 1, with an escort of 1,100 guards, landed in Juan Bay near Cannes. The army went over to his side, and on March 20 he entered Paris. Louis XVIII fled. The Empire was restored.
On March 13, England, Austria, Prussia and Russia outlawed Napoleon, and on March 25 they formed the Seventh Coalition against him. In an effort to defeat the allies piecemeal, Napoleon invaded Belgium in mid-June, where the English (Wellington) and Prussian (G.-L. Blucher) armies were located. On June 16, the French defeated the British at Quatre Bras and the Prussians at Ligny, but on June 18 they lost the general battle of Waterloo. The remnants of the French troops retreated to Laon. On June 22, Napoleon abdicated the throne for the second time. At the end of June, the coalition armies approached Paris and occupied it on June 6–8. Napoleon was exiled to Fr. St. Helena. The Bourbons returned to power.
Under the terms of the Peace of Paris on November 20, 1815, France was reduced to the borders of 1790; an indemnity of 700 million francs was imposed on her; the allies occupied a number of northeastern French fortresses for 3–5 years. The political map of post-Napoleonic Europe was determined at the Congress of Vienna 1814–1815 ().
As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, France's military power was broken and it lost its dominant position in Europe. The main political force on the continent became the Holy Alliance of Monarchs led by Russia; Great Britain retained its status as the world's leading maritime power.
The wars of conquest of Napoleonic France threatened the national independence of many European nations; at the same time, they contributed to the destruction of the feudal-monarchical order on the continent - the French army brought on its bayonets the principles of a new civil society (Civil Code) and the abolition of feudal relations; Napoleon's liquidation of many small feudal states in Germany facilitated the process of its future unification.
Ivan Krivushin
Literature:
Manfred A.Z. Napoleon Bonaparte. M., 1986
Easdale C.J. Napoleonic Wars. Rostov-on-Don, 1997
Egorov A.A. Napoleon's marshals. Rostov-on-Don, 1998
Shikanov V.N. Under the banners of the emperor: little-known pages of the Napoleonic wars. M., 1999
Chandler D. Napoleon's military campaigns. The triumph and tragedy of the conqueror. M., 2000
Delderfield R.F. The collapse of Napoleon's empire. 1813–1814: Military historical chronicles. M., 2001
Na-po-leo-new wars are usually called the wars waged by France against European countries during the reign of Na-po-leo-na Bo. na-par-ta, that is, in 1799-1815. European countries created anti-Napoleonic coalitions, but their forces were not sufficient to break the power of Napoleonic army. Napoleon won victory after victory. But the invasion of Russia in 1812 changed the situation. Napoleon was expelled from Russia, and the Russian army began a foreign campaign against him, which ended with the Russian invasion of Paris and Napoleon losing the title of emperor.
Rice. 2. British Admiral Horatio Nelson ()
Rice. 3. Battle of Ulm ()
On December 2, 1805, Napoleon won a brilliant victory at Austerlitz(Fig. 4). In addition to Napoleon, the Emperor of Austria and the Russian Emperor Alexander I personally participated in this battle. The defeat of the anti-Napoleonic coalition in central Europe allowed Napoleon to withdraw Austria from the war and focus on other regions of Europe. So, in 1806, he led an active campaign to seize the Kingdom of Naples, which was an ally of Russia and England against Napoleon. Napoleon wanted to place his brother on the throne of Naples Jerome(Fig. 5), and in 1806 he made another of his brothers king of the Netherlands, LouisIBonaparte(Fig. 6).
Rice. 4. Battle of Austerlitz ()
Rice. 5. Jerome Bonaparte ()
Rice. 6. Louis I Bonaparte ()
In 1806, Napoleon managed to radically solve the German problem. He eliminated a state that had existed for almost 1000 years - Holy Roman Empire. An association was created from 16 German states, called Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon himself became the protector (protector) of this Union of the Rhine. In fact, these territories were also brought under his control.
Feature these wars, which in history were called Napoleonic Wars, it was that the composition of France's opponents changed all the time. By the end of 1806, the anti-Napoleonic coalition included completely different states: Russia, England, Prussia and Sweden. Austria and the Kingdom of Naples were no longer in this coalition. In October 1806, the coalition was almost completely defeated. In just two battles, under Auerstedt and Jena, Napoleon managed to deal with the Allied troops and force them to sign a peace treaty. At Auerstedt and Jena, Napoleon defeated the Prussian troops. Now nothing stopped him from moving further north. Napoleonic troops soon occupied Berlin. Thus, another important rival of Napoleon's in Europe was taken out of the game.
November 21, 1806 Napoleon signed the most important for the history of France decree on the continental blockade(a ban on all countries under his control to trade and generally conduct any business with England). It was England that Napoleon considered his main enemy. In response, England blocked French ports. However, France could not actively resist England's trade with other territories.
Russia remained a rival. At the beginning of 1807, Napoleon managed to defeat Russian troops in two battles in East Prussia.
July 8, 1807 Napoleon and AlexanderIsigned the Peace of Tilsit(Fig. 7). This treaty, concluded on the border of Russia and French-controlled territories, proclaimed good neighborly relations between Russia and France. Russia pledged to join the continental blockade. However, this agreement meant only a temporary mitigation, but not an overcoming of the contradictions between France and Russia.
Rice. 7. Peace of Tilsit 1807 ()
Napoleon had a difficult relationship with By Pope PiusVII(Fig. 8). Napoleon and the Pope had an agreement on the division of powers, but their relationship began to deteriorate. Napoleon considered church property to belong to France. The Pope did not tolerate this and after the coronation of Napoleon in 1805 he returned to Rome. In 1808, Napoleon brought his troops into Rome and deprived the pope of temporal power. In 1809, Pius VII issued a special decree in which he cursed the robbers of church property. However, he did not mention Napoleon in this decree. This epic ended with the Pope being almost forcibly transported to France and forced to live in the Fontainebleau Palace.
Rice. 8. Pope Pius VII ()
As a result of these conquests and Napoleon's diplomatic efforts, by 1812 a huge part of Europe was under his control. Through relatives, military leaders or military conquests, Napoleon subjugated almost all the states of Europe. Only England, Russia, Sweden, Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, as well as Sicily and Sardinia remained outside its zone of influence.
On June 24, 1812, Napoleonic army invaded Russia. The beginning of this campaign was successful for Napoleon. He managed to cross a significant part of the territory of the Russian Empire and even capture Moscow. He could not hold the city. At the end of 1812, Napoleon's army fled from Russia and again entered the territory of Poland and the German states. The Russian command decided to continue the pursuit of Napoleon outside the territory of the Russian Empire. This went down in history as Foreign campaign of the Russian army. He was very successful. Even before the beginning of spring 1813, Russian troops managed to take Berlin.
From October 16 to 19, 1813, the largest battle in the history of the Napoleonic wars took place near Leipzig., known as "battle of the nations"(Fig. 9). The battle received this name due to the fact that almost half a million people took part in it. At the same time, Napoleon had 190 thousand soldiers. His rivals, led by the British and Russians, had approximately 300 thousand soldiers. The numerical superiority was very important. In addition, Napoleon's troops were not as ready as they were in 1805 or 1809. A significant part of the old guard was destroyed, and therefore Napoleon had to take into his army people who did not have serious military training. This battle ended unsuccessfully for Napoleon.
Rice. 9. Battle of Leipzig 1813 ()
The Allies made Napoleon a lucrative offer: they offered him to retain his imperial throne if he agreed to reduce France to the borders of 1792, that is, he had to give up all his conquests. Napoleon indignantly refused this proposal.
March 1, 1814 members of the anti-Napoleonic coalition - England, Russia, Austria and Prussia - signed Chaumont Treaty. It prescribed the actions of the parties to eliminate Napoleon's regime. The parties to the treaty pledged to deploy 150 thousand soldiers in order to resolve the French issue once and for all.
Despite the fact that the Treaty of Chaumont was only one in a series of European treaties of the 19th century, it was given a special place in the history of mankind. The Treaty of Chaumont was one of the first treaties aimed not at joint campaigns of conquest (it was not aggressive), but at joint defense. The signatories of the Treaty of Chaumont insisted that the wars that had rocked Europe for 15 years would finally end and the era of the Napoleonic Wars would end.
Almost a month after the signing of this agreement, March 31, 1814, Russian troops entered Paris(Fig. 10). This ended the period of the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon abdicated the throne and was exiled to the island of Elba, which was given to him for life. It seemed that his story was over, but Napoleon tried to return to power in France. You will learn about this in the next lesson.
Rice. 10. Russian troops enter Paris ()
Bibliography
1. Jomini. Political and military life of Napoleon. A book dedicated to Napoleon's military campaigns until 1812
2. Manfred A.Z. Napoleon Bonaparte. - M.: Mysl, 1989.
3. Noskov V.V., Andreevskaya T.P. General history. 8th grade. - M., 2013.
4. Tarle E.V. "Napoleon". - 1994.
5. Tolstoy L.N. "War and Peace"
6. Chandler D. Military campaigns of Napoleon. - M., 1997.
7. Yudovskaya A.Ya. General history. Modern History, 1800-1900, 8th grade. - M., 2012.
Homework
1. Name Napoleon’s main opponents during 1805-1814.
2. Which battles from the series of Napoleonic wars left the greatest mark on history? Why are they interesting?
3. Tell us about Russia's participation in the Napoleonic wars.
4. What was the significance of the Chaumont Treaty for European states?
French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. gave a powerful impetus to the rise of anti-feudal, anti-absolutist, national liberation movements, and contributed to profound transformations in European countries. The Napoleonic wars played a major role in this process.
Napoleon Bonaparte as a contender for world domination. The French bourgeoisie, dissatisfied with the Directory regime, began to prepare a conspiracy to establish a military dictatorship. She considered the candidacy of General Napoleon Bonaparte to be a suitable figure for the role of dictator.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the island. Corsica in a family of impoverished nobles. He brilliantly graduated from military school and became a general at the age of 24. Being a supporter of the revolution, he took part in the suppression of royalist uprisings, thereby earning the trust of the bourgeoisie. Bonaparte commanded an army in Northern Italy that defeated the Austrians, and participated in a military expedition to Egypt in 1798.
The coup d'état of November 9 (18 Brumaire according to the revolutionary calendar of the VIII year of the Republic) 1799 opened a period of post-revolutionary stabilization in France. The bourgeoisie needed firm power to enrich itself and dominate. According to the new constitution of 1799, the legislative power was made dependent on the executive power, which was concentrated in the hands of the first consul - Napoleon Bonaparte. He managed domestic and foreign policy using authoritarian methods. In 1804, Napoleon was declared Emperor of France under the name Napoleon I. The codes of Napoleon I - civil, criminal, commercial - enshrined the principles proclaimed by the revolution: equality of citizens before the law, personal integrity, freedom of enterprise and trade, the right of private property as absolute and inviolable . The dictatorial power of Napoleon I helped to strengthen the positions of the bourgeoisie and did not allow the restoration of feudal orders. In foreign policy, Napoleon I embarked on the path of struggle for the military-political, commercial and industrial dominance of France in Europe and the world. This great commander, prudent politician, and subtle diplomat gave his talent to the service of the bourgeoisie and his immense ambition.
Confrontation and war. The main opponent of Napoleonic France was England. She feared an imbalance of power in Europe and sought to preserve her colonial possessions. England saw its main task in the overthrow of Napoleon and the return to power of the Bourbons.
The Amiens Peace Treaty of 1802 between France and England provided for the maintenance of the existing situation in Europe. England pledged to cleanse Egypt and Malta. However, both sides viewed the peace as a temporary respite, and in 1803 the war between them resumed. Napoleon I, who created the most powerful land army in Europe, could not resist the naval forces of England. On October 21, 1805, the combined Franco-Spanish fleet consisting of 33 battleships and 7 frigates was defeated by an English squadron under the command of Admiral Nelson at Cape Trafalgar. The English fleet consisted of 27 battleships and 4 frigates. Nelson was mortally wounded during the moment of victory. The defeat of the French fleet put an end to Napoleonic plans for landing on the British Isles. After this, France moved to a continental blockade of England, which prohibited French traders and French dependent countries from trading with England.
In Europe, a third anti-French coalition emerged, which included England, Russia, Austria and the Kingdom of Naples. The French army moved into Austria. On November 20, 1805, the Battle of Austerlitz took place, known as the Battle of Three Emperors. The combined forces of Austria and Russia were defeated. Under the terms of the Peace of Presburg, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II began to be called Austrian Emperor Francis I. In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist. Austria admitted defeat and was forced to give the French complete freedom of action in Italy.
Napoleon's army invaded Prussia in 1806. A fourth anti-French coalition emerged, which included England, Russia, Prussia and Sweden. However, in the battles of Jena and Auerstadt in October 1806, the Prussian army was defeated. In November 1806, the French occupied Berlin and occupied most of Prussia. In the western part of Germany, Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine from 16 German states under his auspices.
Russia continued the war in East Prussia, but the two battles of Preussisch-Eylau (February 7 - 8, 1807) and Friedland (June 14, 1807) did not bring it success. She was forced to sign the Peace of Tilsit on July 7, 1807 and recognize all the conquests of France, as well as join the continental blockade of England. From the Polish lands that were part of Prussia, Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw.
After the Peace of Tilsit, Napoleon I began to subjugate Portugal and Spain. At the end of 1807, the French army occupied Portugal, whose king fled to Brazil. Then the invasion of Spain began. The Spanish people rose up to fight against the French invaders. The people of Zaragoza heroically defended their city. They were blockaded by the fifty-thousand-strong French army for more than two months.
The Austrian government, taking advantage of the diversion of French forces to conquer Spain, began to prepare for a new war. In 1809, a fifth coalition arose, including England and Austria. The Austrian army began military operations in April 1809, but was defeated in the Battle of Wag-ram on July 5-6. Both sides suffered heavy losses (more than 60 thousand killed and wounded). According to the Treaty of Schönbrunn, Austria lost access to the sea and was forced to pay indemnity and join the continental blockade.
Destruction of feudal-absolutist orders. The wars of Napoleon I played an important role in the destruction of feudal relations in Europe.
The number of small states in Germany has decreased. The ruling circles of Prussia were forced, at the suggestion of Baron Stein, to issue a decree abolishing the personal serfdom of the peasants, although their duties in favor of the landowner remained. The military reform carried out by generals Scharngorst and Heisenau in Prussia abolished the recruitment of mercenaries, limited corporal punishment, and introduced short-term military training.
Napoleonic rule in Italian lands was accompanied by the elimination of the remnants of personal serfdom of peasants, the abolition of the landowners' court, and the introduction of the French civil code. In Spain, guilds, guilds, and a number of feudal duties of peasants were abolished. In the Duchy of Warsaw, personal serfdom of peasants was abolished, and the Napoleonic Codes were introduced.
The actions of Napoleon I to dismantle the feudal order in the conquered countries had progressive significance, as they opened the way for more rapid development of capitalism and weakened absolutist regimes. At the same time, taxes increased, the population was subject to indemnities and loans, and recruits were recruited, which aroused hatred of the enslavers and contributed to the emergence of national liberation movements.
Triumph and collapse of the Napoleonic Empire. By 1810, Napoleon I's empire had reached the zenith of its power. Almost all of continental Europe worked for France. French industrial production has advanced. New cities grew, ports, fortresses, canals, and roads were built. Many goods began to be exported from the country, especially silk and woolen fabrics. Foreign policy took on an increasingly aggressive character.
Napoleon I began preparing for war with Russia, the only power on the continent not subject to his control. The goal of the French emperor was to defeat Russia, then England and establish his world domination. On June 24, 1812, the army of Napoleon I crossed the Russian border. But already on October 18, 1812, the French were forced to retreat from Moscow. After crossing the Berezina, Napoleon I abandoned his army and secretly fled to Paris.
The defeat of Napoleonic army in Russia led to the growth of national liberation movements in European countries. The sixth coalition was formed, which included Russia, England, Sweden, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and then Austria. On October 16 - 19, 1813, in the Battle of Leipzig, called the Battle of the Nations, the French army was defeated and retreated across the Rhine. In the spring of 1814, military operations took place in France. On March 31, 1814, Allied troops entered Paris. The Bourbon dynasty was restored in France, Napoleon I was exiled to Fr. Elbe.
On May 30, 1814, a peace treaty was signed in Paris, according to which France was deprived of all occupied territories. The treaty provided for the convening of an international congress to resolve issues related to the collapse of the empire of Napoleon I. However, Napoleon I tried once again to return to power. He escaped from the Elbe, landed in the south of France, gathered an army and began a campaign against Paris. He managed to capture Paris and hold on to power for 100 days (March-June 1815). The last, seventh, coalition has emerged. On June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, the French army was defeated by the Allies under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon I surrendered and was exiled to Fr. Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died in 1821.
Vienna system of international relations. Holy Alliance. In September 1814, the Congress of Vienna opened, at which all European states were represented. It lasted until June 1815. Congress established an international order that went down in history as the Vienna System. It included two main elements - restoration, as far as possible, of the pre-Napoleonic order and new borders in the interests of the victors.
The congress participants were forced to reckon with the socio-economic and political changes that took place in France. The new owners retained the acquired property, and the rights of the old and new nobility of bourgeois origin were equalized. An indemnity of 700 million francs was imposed on France; before its payment, the northeastern departments of the country were occupied by allied forces, and the actions of the French government came under the control of four allied (English, Russian, Austrian, Prussian) ambassadors in Paris.
The Congress of Vienna approved new borders in Europe. France retained its territory within the borders of 1792. The fragmentation of Germany and Italy was consolidated. The German Confederation was created from 38 German states under the auspices of Austria. Prussia expanded at the expense of Saxony and West German lands around the Rhine, part of the Duchy of Warsaw with the city of Poznan. Lombardy and Venice were transferred to Austria. The Russian Empire included a part of the Duchy of Warsaw called the Kingdom of Poland with relatively large internal autonomy. Norway was taken away from Napoleon I's ally, Denmark, and transferred to Swedish rule. England expanded its colonial possessions outside of Europe.
A significant addition to the Vienna system was the Holy Alliance, created at the suggestion of Alexander I. Its main goal was to provide mutual assistance to protect monarchical power, the Christian religion, and the foundations of the Vienna system. The Holy Alliance turned into an instrument of armed suppression of revolutions and national liberation movements of the 20s - 40s. XIX century
The Vienna system lasted for several decades and was controversial. There were disagreements between its founders on many issues of European and world politics.
