a short napoleon Bonaparte's biography?

Answer 1

Napoleon was born on Corsica in 1767, an island which had recently been ceded to France, but whose people were primarily Italian (in Italian, the final "e" on his name is pronounced). His family had some nobility but were not very rich. He went to France to become an officer in the Army when the Revolution broke out. When he was commissioned as an officer, he gained fame by putting down a riot in Paris against the government by firing point-blank on the rioters with artillery. He rapidly rose in rank, and in 1797 commanded French troops which swept through Northern Italy. He then became general of an Army that invaded Egypt and the Holy Land. This invasion was a scientific boom, since many specialists analyzed Egyptian buildings and ruins for the first time. However, the military expedition ended in disaster because the English fleet destroyed the French fleet and troops could not be resupplied.

Napoleon returned to France. Downplaying the disaster, he became a member of the ruling clique in France. He pushed others out of the way, and took the title Emperor after a plebisicte (a yes or no vote) approved . The next years were marked with periodic wars to control Europe. He was a brilliant tactician, whose battles became the model on which Civil War generals in the US planned their campaigns. However, his efforts were thwarted by British sea power. In 1805, he planned to invade England by sea, but the fleet he assembled was defeated at Trafalger by Lord Nelson.

By 1807, he had defeated all powers that opposed him in the field, Prussia, Austria, Holland, and Russia. He signed a treaty with Czar Alexander I of Russia of friendship and agreeing not to trade with England (the Continental System). His troops occupied Spain and Portugal, Belgium, Holland, half of Germany and much of Italy. He installed many members of his family as rulers in these areas, most of which were failures.

In 1808, his powers started to crumble. England landed troops in Spain under Sir Arthur Wellsley (Duke of Wellington), which was to fight the French army of occupation for five years. War broke out with Austria and Prussia, which Napoleon won, but not without the brilliant victories of his earlier campaigns. To keep the peace, he divorced his wife Josephine and married a daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Soon, it was apparent that Russia was not obeying the treaty. With troops from France and allied countries, Napoleon invaded Russia with some 600,000 troops in the summer of 1812.

The Russians retreated before this onslaught until the Battle of Borodino where close to 300,000 men fought with over 50,000 casulties in ONE DAY. ( If you see War and Peace with Henry Fonda, this battle is portrayed.) The Russians also pursued a "sorched earth policy", which denied the French food and supplies (shades of Sherman's March in 1864). The Russians left Moscow to the French, but when the French entered in September, much of the city was burnt down, probably by Russian troop left behind. Napoleon remained in Moscow for a month, fulling expecting the Czar to ask for peace. But this did not happen.

With his Army reduced to less than 1/3 of its original strength and the winter coming, Napoleon retreated from Moscow. He planned to head South, but Russian forces outflanked him and he suffered defeats. So he was forced to retreat over the same ground of his advance. This was a terrible retreat, much of which occurred in sub-freezing cold and snow, with Russian troops harassing the survivors and killing most who fell into their hands alive. About 9 of 10 persons who left Moscow died in the retreat.

Napoleon rushed back to Paris to get affairs back into order and raise a new Army. The Austians, Dutch and Prussians attacked in 1813, and were battled to a draw at Leipzig in Germany. The British cleared Spain and invaded France. In 1814, Napoleon abdicated his throne. The victorious nationals allowed him to become "Emperor" of Elba, a small island in the Mediterranian Sea. The upheavals of over 20 years of war started to sorted out at the Congress of Vienna.

However, Napoleon grew bored of Elba, and in a surprise move, escaped from the island and returned to France. France was restored as a monarchy, ruled by Louis XVIII. However, troops sent to stop Napoleon refused to fire on him and switched sides, so in early 1815, he returned to Paris, and Louis XVIII prudently fled. This coup d'etat prompted another military campaign, which culimated in the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the only time Napoleon faced the Duke of Wellington. The French could not fully coordinate their attacks on the British lines, and Wellington's troops put up a stiff defense until the Prussian Army under Bleucher arrived. Their efforts destroyed the French Army. Napoleon surrendered to the British, who exiled him to Saint Helena in the Atlantic. Here, without glory, without power, and in the keep of a unsympathetic governor, he died in 1821.

Napoleon left a mark on history. He claimed that his invasions were to spread the goals of the French Revolution, and many of these were positive (the metric system, Code Napoleon). However, historian believe that he was just an opportunist. For the most part, his efforts to remake the map of Europe with his family as rulers failed, only Sweden agreed to be ruled by one of his generals, whose descendents still are in power. On the other hand, the countries that fought against him marveled at the ability of the French to sweep across Europe against much larger forces. This gave birth to the concept of nationalism, a major concept in 19th Century Europe.

He had an impact on Western Hemispheric history. To raise money and sell out territory what did not seen able to be maintained, he sold the US the Louisiana Territory, lands ruled by France for $ 15,000,000. Troops were sent to Haiti to put down a rebellion, but were driven off the island. His conquest of Spain weakened the hold of Spain on Central and South America, and lead to local revolts from which the current nations there were born.

Answer 2

Short Biography Of Napoleon Bonaparte