Why Was France Ultimately Defeated between 1812 and 1815 - Term Paper Example

 The Ultimate Defeat of Napoleon in France: 1812-1815 Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military commanders in history, and his campaigns have been used throughout the history of war. During the French Revolutionary War, as noted by Wikipedia (2006), Napoleon became a successful general at the unprecedented age of 25. He was the child of minor Corsican nobility and made himself known and popular during the war. Because of surrounding himself with members of his elite guard who were all at least 6 feet tall, he appeared shorter than he actually was, and most people have a mistaken impression of his size, but he exuded confidence and was highly ambitious. He decided early on a military career and won a scholarship to a military academy. His ensuing military conquests threatened the stability of the world and made France a powerful force. He built an empire extending throughout Europe, but his quest for France’s total world domination was doomed to failure. Napoleon’s Conquests Napoleon was decidedly effective against the Austrians in Italy in 1796. Ever a great self-publicist, he maintained the popular profile of a political independent, thanks partly to the newspapers he ran. Because he controlled printed matter in France, he was able to influence public opinion. His political talents and military expertise on land expanded his powers. He did, however, fail in his attempt to invade Egypt, and, crushed by the British navy, he was forced to abandon much of his army and return to the European front. In the meantime, however, the French public was aware only of his military successes, and he was considered a hero. Napoleon took control of France after overthrowing the republic. By 1801, as First Consul, he had restored order in France. He established the Civil Code on March 21, 1804, and it was renamed Code Napoleon in 1907. With its stress on clearly written and accessible law, it was a major step in establishing the rule of law. The principal tenet of the Civil Code was that every French person was equal before the law. Napoleon wanted to replace a series of existing laws in France with a standard code for all people. However, the law was inconsistent in that it established supremacy of husband with respect to wife and children, but allowed divorce on a relatively liberal basis, including divorce by mutual consent. Other major points of the law were: Laws could be applied only if duly promulgated and if published officially. No secret laws were authorized. Ex post facto laws were prohibited. Judges prohibited from passing from general judgments of a legislative value. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia Napoleon's empire controlled–either directly or through states under his sway–France, Portugal, Spain, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands, and large parts of modern Italy, Germany and Poland. Alliance with Russia between 1807 and 1812, and dominance over the remaining continental powers of Austria and Prussia, showed the empire at its peak. Napoleon’s rule began with the annihilation of the French monarchy, which would never again be in control. He established an independent nationhood based on ability and rose to power through political coups. The French Directory was replaced by the Consulate, a new government run by three consuls (Bonaparte, Sieyės and Roger Ducos) with Bonaparte as First Consul (Time Traveller’s). In 1804, Napoleon declared himself emperor and ruled from 1804-1814 when he abdicated to Elba, and then reclaimed power from March to June 1815. Continental System Napoleon established the Continental System in 1806, his scheme to stop all shipping of British goods into Europe, which ended up hurting France more than Britain, and leading to the rise of nationalism in Europe. The response of the United Kingdom with a counter blockade indirectly led to the War of 1812 (Napoleonic, 2006). One of the most dramatic results of this commercial warfare was “the English bombardment of neutral Copenhagen and the seizure of the Danish fleet by the British navy” (Continental System). Areas of Napoleonic Rule and Beginning of Downfall In 1800, France dominated the European continent except for Britain. By 1809, most of Europe from the English Channel to the Russian border was either part of the French Empire, controlled by France or allied to it by treaty. Napoleon’s successes resulted from his “strategy to move his army rapidly, attacking quickly, and defeating each of the disconnected enemy units” (Napoleonic, 2006). The strategy of opposing armies, however, was to avoid engagement while withdrawing, forcing Napoleon’s supply lines to be overextended. In 1812, Napoleon chose to invade Russia when it became evident that Alexander was considering breaking off its alliance with France, which would lead to rebellion by other countries. As was the case in his unsuccessful invasion of Egypt in the late 1700s due to his underestimation of the British fleet, he made a rapid and decisive move to invade Russia, without considering the onset of winter and Russian strategy, but the Russians repeatedly avoided battle and, as they retreated, taking Napoleon and his troops all the way to Moscow, burned crops and slaughtered livestock. In addition to being hungry, French troops had to face the harsh Russian winter, and Napoleon lost half his troops before the major battle of the campaign even began. Napoleon had no choice but to turn away and return to France defeated. He was again defeated at Leipzig in 1813, which destroyed French power in Germany and Poland. This was the beginning of the end for the French empire constructed by Napoleon. Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo, according to Britannica, was caused by his inability to surprise and prevent Wellington and Gebhard von Blücher from joining forces to defeat him. This ended his rule, and he abdicated in exile to the island of Saint Helena. With this, his second abdication and exile, the era of the Napoleonic Wars and the power of the French empire ended. Wikipedia notes that the invasion of Russia was a disaster, and Napoleon’s empire ultimately suffered complete military defeat. The Bourbon monarchy was restored in 1814 and 1815. Factors Leading to Napoleon’s Loss of Power Successes or defeats of a nation’s army are the causes or at least the symptoms of increase or decrease of a nation’s power. For instance, when the Austrian armies were defeated by Napoleon, the rights and power of France were increased. The victories of the French at Jena and at Auerstadt destroyed the independence of Prussia. Two factors in 1812, however, had a dire affect on Napoleon’s empire. From 1812 to 1815, the War of 1812 was being fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its colonies in British North America (Canada) on land and sea. To enforce its blockade of French ports, where it was suspected cargo was being sent there by the United States, the British boarded U.S. ships. The U.S. then passed the Embargo Act and called for expulsion of the British from Canada. At the same time, the long struggle between Britain—with a shifting series of European allies—and the French and European empire of Napoleon was taking place, and Napoleon was involved in a losing battle, beginning with Russia and ending with the United Kingdom. Throughout Napoleon’s career, it was the United Kingdom and more specifically the British navy which cracked the veneer of his empire and ultimately led to his final exile. The British navy was far superior to the French navy, and this kept France from having an upper hand in any maritime battle. In Egypt, Copenhagen, Trafalgar and Waterloo, the British navy triumphed and France was unable to meet the challenge. With all of Napoleon’s successes on land during his reign, his failures were invariably connected to maritime events, and each blow weakened the seemingly invincible French empire. The secret of success for the British navy was due to huge investment in money and manpower and irreplaceable experience in sea fighting (Hicks, 2006). In The War for All Oceans, the Adkins (2006) cover in detail the role of the British navy in protecting British trade and the weakening of Napoleon’s French empire as Britain came to control the oceans, offering confirmation of just how important the British navy was in ending Napoleon’s reign. Post 1815 In March 1815, Napoleon returned inauspiciously to France from his exile in Elba. At this time, known in history as Napoleon’s Hundred Days, Paul Austin’s eminently readable description of the event (2002) notes that no effort was made to keep Napoleon from marching inland with 800 men all the way to Paris, adding to his troops along the way. His successful march could have been halted anytime but inertia and perhaps disbelief that Napoleon was making this bold move allowed him to continue. In a choice between Bourbon monarchy and Bonaparte, Bonaparte won. After Napoleon’s first defeat and exile to Elba, Bourbon king Louis XVIII did his best to balance different factions in France, but when Napoleon returned to Paris in March, Louis fled, and Napoleon regained power. This, however, was short-lived with Napoleon’s total defeat at Waterloo, and the Bourbon faction took over, although the monarchy never regained its former power. Napoleon Bonaparte, for all his military success, was destined to be defeated. Perhaps it was because of his complete self-confidence and belief that he could rule the world, but he neglected to take into consideration the strengths of his enemies, for instance, the British navy. He also never studied the cultures of the countries he was attempting to control and the fact that they could meet his attacks with strategies of their own, for instance, in Russia, where the French were without supplies or sustenance, brought about defeat. But even with Napoleon’s final defeat and exile to Mount Helena in 1815, French culture and politics were forever affected by his actions. He put the country back on a stable financial footing and brought practical reform to the lives of the common people. He set up a nationwide education system and reformed the tax system, and many of his reforms have continued in Europe to this day. Napoleon had an ever-increasing effect on culture and technology, becoming a patron of both the arts and sciences while stimulating creative responses across Europe. Conclusion For all the changes wrought by Napoleon’s regime, the French empire was irrevocably destroyed, never to rise again. Both France and Great Britain have maintained power among the countries of the world, but the empire is a thing of the past. The British Empire also extended across much of Europe, Asia and America, but it too is obsolete. While Napoleon built his empire, the British were building theirs, and it is not surprising that the two empires were in conflict. Although the British navy caused Napoleon the most trouble, other factors led to his defeat. For instance: His inconsistency Lack of foresight Making decisions on his own Lack of cooperation between governments No acknowledgement of foreign navies An overview of this paper, however, shows that regardless of his faults, Napoleon Bonaparte is unforgettable in the history of the world, and it can be said that his contributions to the civilized world far outweigh his faults. Was Napoleon a genius or just lucky? He remains an enigma because of the enormous amount of material written about him, but few have ever had such a huge effect on economics, politics, technology, culture and society. It is perhaps his combination of luck, talent and force of will that allowed him to build an empire, rebuild it, and once more see it destroyed, and his reverberations have been felt across Europe for almost two centuries (Wilde, 2003). Before Napoleon came into power, France was a despotic nation ruled by a monarch with very few rights for the people. If he did nothing else, he at least showed France and the world how to change the law to benefit the people. There are those who call him a despot, and his belief that only he could rule gives some truth to that accusation, but overall, he was an unusual individual who will continue to be the subject of historians and will always be remembered, whether good or bad. References Adkins, Roy, and Adkins, Lesley. The War for All Oceans: From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo. Boston: Little, Brown, 2006. Austin, Paul Britton. (2002). 1815: The Return of Napoleon. London: Greenhill. Continental System. (n.d.) Columbia University Press. Retrieved November 6, 2006, from http://www.answers.com/topic/continental-system Hicks, Peter. (2006). The British Navy 1793-1802. Napoleon.org. Retrieved November 6, 2006, from http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/british_navy_17921802.asp Historic Figures: Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) (1769-1821). BBC.co.uk. Retrieved November 5, 2006, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml Napoleon. (2006). Napoleonic Europe. Retrieved November 5, 2006, from http://www.loyno.edu/~seduffy/napoleon.html Napoleon I of France. Updated March 31, 2006. Wikipedia Free Encyclopaedia. Retrieved November 5, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon Napoleonic Code. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved November 06, 2006, from Reference.com website: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Napoleonic_code Napoleonic Wars. (2006). Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia. Retrieved November 5, 2006, from http://www.answers.com/topic/napoleonic-wars-2 Time traveller’s guide to Napoleon’s Empire. (n.d.) Channel 4 Television. [online]. Retrieved November 6, 2006, from http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide18/part04.html Wilde, Robert. (2003). European History: Napoleon Bonaparte. [online]. Retrieved November 6, 2006, from http://europeanhistory.about.com/library/readyref/blpersonnapoleonbonaparteb.htm Read More