Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 7

Vishnu Shankar Mr. Victorine World History 24 October 2011.

Napoleonic Wars Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Corsica. Educated at military school, he quickly advanced to fame and becoming the leader of France. His charisma and success as a military leader makes him one of the most famous symbols of the glory of France. He is known for providing direction, military strength, and support to France after one of the bloodiest times in French history, the French revolution. Known militarily for his brilliant planning and strategy, the Napoleonic Wars and battles have served as a foundation for all military planning around the world in battles today. Napoleons first successful military campaign was the march of his army into Italy on April 2, 1796. Even though Napoleon was badly outnumbered by 15,000 soldiers, his brilliant plan of divide and conquer allowed him to succeed in the campaign. planning and strategy, the Napoleonic Wars and battles have served as a foundation for all military planning around the world in battles today. As Napoleon faced two armies of the Austrians and the Piedmontese, he planned to strike and conquer them separately. When Napoleon spread his troops out, the enemy didnt know where he was so the enemy started to spread their troops out too. In lightning efficiency, Napoleon concentrated on key strategic points and exploited the lack of army strength in one area. In just two weeks, he beat the Piedmont army. One Piedmontese officer would complain They sent a young madman who attacks right, left, and from the rear. Its an intolerable way of making war. In just a matter of 24

days, Piedmont surrendered. This first victory demonstrated the brilliant planning of Napoleon in the Italian campaign. However, not all of Napoleons pursuits ended completely successfully. For instance, in his campaign in Egypt he faced opposition from the British. Great Britain had the most dominant navy, and Napoleon wanted to disrupt British trade route by controlling the Mediterranean area. At that time in history, it was very difficult for a European army to conquer the East because the terrain, weather, and environment was unknown. So, it was a major risk on Napoleons part to take part in an Egyptian expedition. On July 1, 1798, Napoleon landed with 35,000 soldiers in Egypt. Napoleon quickly captured Alexandria and went on to attempt capturing Cairo, a key city in Egypt. The Egyptians were part of a Turkish Empire, ruled by the Mamelukes, one of the fiercest warriors in the Middle East. Due to brilliant planning and strategy for Napoleon, he placed his men in tight formation and reserved ammunition until the Mamelukes where only 50 feet from the French soldiers. Furthermore, Napoleons strategy consisted of organizing his army into five squares. In these squares, men were both kneeling and standing. This was advantageous as there was continuous firing from either the lower or upper rank. In the end the French lost only a 30 men while the Egyptians lost over 5,000 soldiers. The dreams of Napoleon were ended, when a British admiral caught a French ship on the coast of Egypt and blew it pieces. This left Bonaparte along with many other soldiers trapped in Egypt. Eventually, Napoleon was able to get a ship back to France. Known in France for his brilliant strategy, military campaigns, Napoleon left a prominent mark on the world. He is known all over the world for a military commander that led with intelligence and strategy rather than just brute strength. He paved the way

for lot of the military strategies seen in wars commonly today through his famous Napoleonic wars.

Works Cited "BBC - History - Napoleon Bonaparte." BBC - Homepage. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml>. "Napoleon Bonaparte History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts." History.com History Made Every Day American & World History. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://www.history.com/topics/napoleon>. "Napoleon's Strategy and Tactics : Victories and Defeats : Principles of War." Napoleon, His Army and Enemies : Napoleonic Battles : Uniforms : Maps : Tactics. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Napoleon_tactics.htm>. "PBS - Napoleon: Napoleon at War." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_war/campaign/page_5.html>. "SparkNotes: Napoleon Bonaparte: The Egyptian Campaign and Napoleon's Rise." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. Oct. 2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/napoleon/section3.rhtml>.

Вам также может понравиться