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The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of conflicts fought between the First French Empire under Napoleon (1804–1815) and a fluctuating array of European coalitions. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), and produced a period of ...
- 18 May 1803 – 20 November 1815, (12 years, 5 months and 4 weeks)
- Overview
- The defeat of Austria, 1800–01
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts between Napoleon’s France and a shifting web of alliances among other European powers. The wars lasted from about 1800 to 1815, and for a brief time they made Napoleon the master of Europe.
When did the Napoleonic Wars take place?
The Napoleonic Wars took place from about 1800 to 1815. They were a continuation of the French Revolutionary wars, which ran from 1792 to 1799. Together these conflicts represented 23 years of nearly uninterrupted war in Europe.
Why were the Napoleonic Wars important?
The Congress of Vienna, which was the settlement that followed the Napoleonic Wars, remade the map of Europe and set the stage for the emergence of Germany and Italy as unified states. The pressures of the Napoleonic Wars also likely prompted Napoleon to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
How did the Napoleonic Wars end?
Though Bonaparte had to embark on the campaigns of 1800 with inadequate forces and funds, the weaknesses of allied strategy went far to offset the disadvantages under which he laboured. Austria had decided on an equal division of its strength by maintaining armies of approximately 100,000 men in both the German and Italian theatres. Instead of reinforcing Austrian strength in northern Italy, where there was most hope of success, the British government spent its efforts in limited and isolated enterprises, among them an expedition of 6,000 men to capture Belle-Île off the Brittany coast and another of 5,000 to join the 6,000 already on the Balearic Island of Minorca. When in June these two forces were diverted to cooperate with the Austrians they arrived off the Italian coast too late to be of use.
Bonaparte’s plan was to treat Italy as a secondary theatre and to seek a decisive victory in Germany. It proved impossible to increase Victor Moreau’s Army of the Rhine to more than 120,000—too small a margin of superiority to guarantee the success required. Nevertheless, Bonaparte was busy with the creation of an army of reserve which was to be concentrated around Dijon and was destined to act under his command in Italy. Until he had engaged this force in the south, Bonaparte would be able, should the need arise, to take it to Moreau’s assistance. In Italy André Masséna’s 30,000–40,000 outnumbered troops were to face the Austrians in the Apennines and in the Maritime Alps until the army of reserve, marching to the south of the Army of the Rhine, should cross the Alps, fall upon the Austrians’ lines of communication, cut off their retreat from Piedmont, and bring them to battle. Bonaparte had hoped that Moreau would mass the Army of the Rhine in Switzerland and cross the river at Schaffhausen to turn the Austrian left in strength and obtain a decisive victory before dispatching some of his army to join the force descending on the rear of the Austrians in Italy. Moreau, however, preferred to cross the Rhine at intervals over a distance of 60 miles (approximately 100 km) and to encounter the Austrians before concentrating his own forces.
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Napoleonic Wars, (1799–1815) Series of wars that ranged France against shifting alliances of European powers. Originally an attempt to maintain French strength established by the French Revolutionary Wars, they became efforts by Napoleon to affirm his supremacy in the balance of European power. A victory over Austria at the Battle of Marengo ...
The Napoleonic Wars comprised a series of global conflicts fought during Napoleon Bonaparte 's imperial rule over France (1805–1815). They formed to some extent an extension of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789. These wars revolutionized European armies and artillery, as well as military systems, and took place on a scale ...
Apr 22, 2013 · A comprehensive overview of the Napoleonic Wars, a turning point in European affairs and a major break with the past. Learn about the causes, course, and consequences of the wars, as well as the ideological, geopolitical, and military aspects of the conflict.
Napoleonic Wars, series of wars between Napoleonic France and other European powers that produced a brief French hegemony over most of Europe. Along with the French Revolutionary wars, the Napoleonic Wars constitute a 23-year period of recurrent conflict that ended with the Battle of Waterloo.
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of conflicts fought between the First French Empire under Napoleon (1804–1815) and a fluctuating array of European coalitions. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), and produced a period of French domination over Continental Europe. The wars ...
