The first stage of the war broke out whenBritain declared war on France on 18 May 1803. After some minor campaigns, Britain allied withAustria, Russia, and several minor powers to form the Third Coalition in April 1805. Napoleon defeated the alliedRusso-Austrian armies in the subsequent war which climaxed in French victories atUlm andat Austerlitz, leading to the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire and Austria being forced to make peace by the end of the year. Britain and Russia remained at war with France. Concerned about increasing French power,Prussia joined Britain and Russia in the Fourth Coalition, which resumed war in October 1806. Napoleon defeated the Prussiansat Jena-Auerstedt and the Russiansat Friedland, bringing anuneasy peace to the continent by July 1807, and again leaving Britain as France's sole major enemy. Britain was unable to dispute French dominance on the continent but obtained hegemony over the seas after a string of victories includingTrafalgar. Russia used the interim peace to resolve wars with theOttomans,Swedes, andIranians.
Hoping to isolate and weaken Britain economically through hisContinental System, Napoleon launched aninvasion of Portugal, the only remaining British ally in continental Europe. After occupyingLisbon in November 1807, and with the bulk of French troops present in Spain, Napoleon seized the opportunity to turn against his former ally, depose the reigningSpanish royal family, and declare his brother asJoseph I the King of Spain in 1808, to the disapproval of the vast majority of the Spanish populace. Spain subsequently joined Britain and Portugal, with the three powers engaging France in thePeninsular War. The diversion of French armies to the large new Anglo-Spanish front led to Austria reentering the conflict and forming the Fifth Coalition in April 1809, principally composed of Austria, Spain, and Britain. At first, the Austrians won a significant victoryat Aspern-Essling but they were quickly defeatedat Wagram, forcing the imposition of an even harsher peace in October 1809. Britain, Spain, and Portugal remained at war with France.
Concurrently Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, routinely violated the Continental System, prompting Napoleon tolaunch a massive invasion in June 1812. The resulting campaign was costly for both sides, but ultimately ended in disaster for France and the near-destruction of Napoleon'sGrande Armée. French forces retreated from Russian territory by December 1812 and began reconstituting their lost strength. Encouraged by the defeat, Austria, Prussia, and several minor powers joined Russia, Britain, and Spain in a Sixth Coalition and began a campaign against France. The Sixth Coalition decisively defeated Napoleonat Leipzig in October 1813. The allies then invaded France on two fronts: the Russians, Austrians, and Prussians (plus minor allies)invaded France from the east, while the British, Spanish, and Portuguese (plus minor allies)invaded France from the west. Coalition troopscaptured Paris at the end of March 1814,forced Napoleon to abdicate in April, exiled him to the island ofElba, andrestored power to the Bourbons.
Napoleon escaped from exile in February 1815 and reassumed control of France for around one hundred days, ignitingthe eponymous conflict. The allies formed the Seventh Coalition, which defeated him atWaterloo in June 1815 and exiled him to the island ofSaint Helena, where he died six years later in 1821.[19]
Britain ended theTreaty of Amiens, declaring war on France in May 1803. Among the reasons were Napoleon's changes to the international system in Western Europe, especially inSwitzerland, Germany,Italy, and theNetherlands. HistorianFrederick Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleon's assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, even though KingGeorge III was anelector of theHoly Roman Empire. For its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers.[21]
The British hastily enforced a navalblockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain and sought to eliminate Britain's Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him. The so-calledContinental System formed aLeague of Armed Neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France. The British responded by capturing the Danish fleet at theBattle of Copenhagen, breaking up the league, and later secured dominance over the seas at theBattle of Trafalgar, allowing it to freely continue its strategy.
Plans to invade British North America pushed the United States to declare war on Britain in theWar of 1812, but it did not become an ally of France. Grievances over control ofPoland and Russia's withdrawal from the Continental System led toNapoleon invading Russia in June 1812. The invasion was an unmitigated disaster for Napoleon;scorched earth tactics, desertion, French strategic failures at theBattle of Borodino, and the onset of the Russian winter compelled Napoleon to retreat with massive losses. Napoleon suffered further setbacks: French power in the Iberian Peninsula was broken at theBattle of Vitoria the following summer, and a new alliance began, theWar of the Sixth Coalition.
The wars revolutionised European warfare; the application ofmass conscription andtotal war led to campaigns of unprecedented scale, as whole nations committed all theireconomic and industrial resources to a collective war effort.[25] Tactically, theFrench Army had redefined the role ofartillery, while Napoleon emphasised mobility to offset numerical disadvantages,[26] andaerial surveillance was used for the first time in warfare.[27] The highly successfulSpanish guerrillas demonstrated the capability of a people driven by fervent nationalism against an occupying force.[28][page range too broad]Due to the longevity of the wars, the extent of Napoleon's conquests, and the popularity of the ideals of theFrench Revolution, the period had a deep impact on European social culture. Many subsequent revolutions, such as theRussian Revolution, looked to the French as a source of inspiration,[29] whileits core founding tenets greatly expanded the arena ofhuman rights and shaped modern political philosophies in use today.[30]
British historians occasionally refer to the nearly continuous period of warfare from 1792 to 1815 as the Great French War, or as the final phase of the Anglo-FrenchSecond Hundred Years' War, spanning the period 1689 to 1815.[33] Historian Mike Rapport (2013) suggested using the term "French Wars" to unambiguously describe the entire period from 1792 to 1815.[34]
In France, the Napoleonic Wars are generally integrated with the French Revolutionary Wars:Les guerres de la Révolution et de l'Empire.[35][better source needed]
German historiography may count the War of the Second Coalition (1798/9–1801/2), during which Napoleon had seized power, as theErster Napoleonischer Krieg ("First Napoleonic War").[36]
In Dutch historiography, it is common to refer to the 7 major wars between 1792 and 1815 as theCoalition Wars (coalitieoorlogen), referring to the first two as the French Revolution Wars (Franse Revolutieoorlogen).[37][better source needed]
Napoleon was, and remains, famous for his battlefield victories, and historians have spent enormous attention in analysing them.[38][page needed] In 2008, Donald Sutherland wrote:
The ideal Napoleonic battle was to manipulate the enemy into an unfavourable position through manoeuvre and deception, force him to commit his main forces and reserve to the main battle and then undertake an enveloping attack with uncommitted or reserve troops on the flank or rear. Such a surprise attack would either produce a devastating effect on morale or force him to weaken his main battle line. Either way, the enemy's own impulsiveness began the process by which even a smaller French army could defeat the enemy's forces one by one.[39]
After 1807, Napoleon's creation of a highly mobile, well-armed artillery force gave artillery usage an increased tactical importance. Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defences, could now use massed artillery as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line. Once that was achieved he sent in infantry and cavalry.[40][page range too broad]
Britain was irritated by several French actions following theTreaty of Amiens. Bonaparte annexedPiedmont andElba, made himself President of theItalian Republic, a state in northern Italy that France had set up, and failed to evacuateHolland, as it had agreed to do in the treaty. France then continued to interfere with British trade despite peace having been made and complained about Britain harbouring certain individuals and not cracking down on the anti-French press.[41]
Malta was captured by Britain during the war and was subject to a complex arrangement in the 10th article of the Treaty of Amiens, where it was to be restored to theKnights of St. John with aNeapolitan garrison and placed under the guarantee of third powers. The weakening of the Knights of St. John by the confiscation of their assets in France and Spain along with delays in obtaining guarantees prevented the British from evacuating it after three months as stipulated in the treaty.[42]
Swiss resistance collapsed before anything could be accomplished, and, after a month, Britain countermanded the orders to not restore Cape Colony. At the same time, Russia finally joined the guarantee regarding Malta. Concerned that there would be hostilities when Bonaparte found out that Cape Colony had beenretained, the British began to procrastinate on the evacuation of Malta.[44] In January 1803, a government paper in France published a report from a commercial agent which noted the ease with whichEgypt could be conquered. The British seized on this to demand satisfaction and security before evacuating Malta, which was a convenient stepping stone to Egypt. France disclaimed any desire to seize Egypt and asked what sort of satisfaction was required, but the British were unable to give a response.[45] There was still no thought of going to war; Prime MinisterHenry Addington publicly affirmed that Britain was in a state of peace.[46]
In early March 1803, theAddington ministry received word that Cape Colony had been reoccupied by the British army, in accordance with the orders which had subsequently been countermanded. On 8 March they ordered military preparations to guard against possible French retaliation and justified them by claiming that it was only in response to French preparations and that they were conducting serious negotiations with France. In a few days, it was known that Cape Colony had been handed over in accordance with the counter-orders, but it was too late. Bonaparte berated the British ambassadorLord Whitworth in front of 200 spectators over the military preparations.[47]
The Addington ministry realised they would face an inquiry over their reasons for the military preparations, and during April unsuccessfully attempted to secure the support ofWilliam Pitt to shield them from damage.[48] In the same month, the ministry issued an ultimatum to France, demanding a retention ofMalta for at least ten years, the permanent acquisition of the island ofLampedusa from theKingdom of Sicily, and the evacuation ofHolland. They also offered to recognise French gains in Italy if they evacuated Switzerland and compensated theKingdom of Sardinia for his territorial losses. France offered to place Malta in the hands of Russia to satisfy British concerns, pull out of Holland when Malta was evacuated, and form a convention to give satisfaction to Britain on other issues. The Addington ministry denied that Russia had made an offer, and Whitworth leftParis.[49] Bonaparte sent a secret offer where he agreed to let Britain retain Malta if France could occupy theOtranto peninsula inNaples.[50] Such efforts were futile, and Britain declared war on 18 May 1803.
Britain ended the uneasy truce created by the Treaty of Amiens when it had declared war on France in May 1803. The British were increasingly angered by Napoleon's reordering of the international system in Western Europe, especially in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Kagan argues that Britain was especially alarmed by Napoleon's assertion of control over Switzerland. The British felt insulted when Napoleon said they deserved no voice in European affairs (even though King George was anelector of theHoly Roman Empire) and sought to censor the London newspapers that were vilifying him.[21]
Britain had a sense of loss of control, as well as loss of markets, and was worried by Napoleon's possible threat to itsoverseas colonies. McLynn argues that Britain went to war in 1803 out of a "mixture of economic motives and national neuroses—an irrational anxiety about Napoleon's motives and intentions." McLynn concludes that it proved to be the right choice for Britain because, in the long run, Napoleon's intentions were hostile to the British national interest. Napoleon was not ready for war, and so this was the best time for Britain to stop them. Britain seized upon the Malta issue, refusing to evacuate the island.[51]
The deeper British grievance with Napoleon was his attempts to assume personal control of Europe, making the international system unstable, and forcing Britain to the sidelines.[52][53][page needed][21][page needed] Numerous scholars have argued that Napoleon's aggressive posture made him enemies and cost him potential allies.[54] As late as 1808, the continental powers affirmed most of his gains and titles, but the continuing conflict with Britain led him to start thePeninsular War and theinvasion of Russia, which many scholars see as a dramatic miscalculation.[55][56][57]
There was one serious attempt to negotiate peace with France during the war, made byCharles James Fox in 1806. The British offered to accept French conquests on the continent in exchange for France recognising British overseas conquests and restoring Hanover to George III. The French were willing to recognise Britain's control over Malta, the Cape Colony,Tobago, andFrench India but wanted to obtain Sicily in exchange for the restoration of Hanover, a condition which Fox's delegation refused.[58][page needed]
Unlike its many coalition partners, Britain remained at war during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. Protected by naval supremacy (in the alleged words of AdmiralJervis to the House of Lords "I do not say, my Lords, that the French will not come. I say only they will not come by sea"), Britain did not have to spend the entire war defending itself and could thus focus on supporting its embattled allies, maintaining low-intensity land warfare on a global scale for over a decade. The British government paid out a large amount of money to other European states so that they could pay armies in the field against France. These payments are colloquially known as theGolden Cavalry of St George. TheBritish Army provided long-term support to the Spanish rebellion in the Peninsular War of 1808–1814, assisted by Spanishguerrilla ('little war') tactics. Anglo-Portuguese forces underArthur Wellesley supported the Spanish, who campaigned successfully against the French armies, eventually driving them from Spain and allowing Britain to invade southern France. By 1815, the British Army played the central role in the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.
Beyond minor actions against French imperial interests, the Napoleonic Wars were much less global in their scope than preceding conflicts such as theSeven Years' War, which historians term a "world war".
In response to the naval blockade of the French coasts enacted by the British government on 16 May 1806, Napoleon issued theBerlin Decree on November 21, 1806, which brought into effect theContinental System.[59] This policy aimed to eliminate the threat from Britain by closing French-controlled territory to its trade. Britain maintained a standing army of 220,000 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, of whom less than 50% were available for campaigning. The rest were necessary for garrisoningIreland and the colonies and providing security for Britain. France's strength peaked at around 2,500,000 full-time and part-time soldiers including several hundred thousandNational Guardsmen whom Napoleon could draft into the military if necessary. Both nations enlisted large numbers of sedentary militia who were unsuited for campaigning and were mostly employed to release regular forces for active duty.[60]
The Royal Navy disrupted France's extra-continental trade by seizing and threatening French shipping andcolonial possessions, but could do nothing about France's trade with the major continental economies, and posed little threat to French territory in Europe. France's population and agricultural capacity greatly outstripped Britain's. Britain had the greatest industrial capacity in Europe, and its mastery of the seas allowed it to build up considerable economic strength through trade. This ensured that France could never consolidate its control over Europe in peace. Many in the French government believed that cutting Britain off from the Continent would end its economic influence over Europe and isolate it.
A key element in British success was its ability to mobilise the nation's industrial and financial resources, and apply them to defeating France. Though the UK had a population of approximately 16 million against France's 30 million, the French numerical advantage was offset by British subsidies that paid for many of the Austrian and Russian soldiers, peaking at about 450,000 men in 1813.[60][61][page needed] Under the Anglo–Russian agreement of 1803, Britain paid a subsidy of £1.5 million for every 100,000 Russian soldiers in the field.[62]
British national output continued to be strong, and the well-organised business sector channeled products into what the military needed. Britain used its economic power to expand the Royal Navy, doubling the number offrigates, adding 50 per cent more largeships of the line, and increasing the number of sailors from 15,000 to 133,000 in eight years after the war began in 1793. France saw its navy shrink by more than half.[63] The smuggling of finished products into the continent undermined French efforts to weaken the British economy by cutting off markets. Subsidies to Russia and Austria kept them in the war. The British budget in 1814 reached £98 million, including £10 million for the Royal Navy, £40 million for the army, £10 million for the allies, and £38 million as interest on the national debt, which had soared to £679 million, more than double the GDP. This debt was supported by hundreds of thousands of investors and taxpayers, despite the higher taxes on land and a new income tax. The cost of the war amounted to £831 million.[aa] In contrast, the French financial system was inadequate and Napoleon's forces had to rely in part on requisitions from conquered lands.[65][page range too broad][66][page needed][67]
From London in 1813 to 1815,Nathan Mayer Rothschild was crucial in almost single-handedly financing the British war effort, organising the shipment of bullion to the Duke of Wellington's armies across Europe, as well as arranging the payment of British financial subsidies to their continental allies.[68]
Britain gathered allies to form the Third Coalition against The French Empire after Napoleon was self-proclaimed as emperor.[70][page range too broad][71] In response, Napoleonseriously considered an invasion of Great Britain,[72][73] massing 180,000 troops atBoulogne. Before he could invade, he needed to achieve naval superiority—or at least to pull the British fleet away from theEnglish Channel. A complex plan to distract the British by threatening their possessions in theWest Indies failed when a Franco-Spanish fleet under AdmiralVilleneuve turned back after an indecisive action offCape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. The Royal Navy blockaded Villeneuve inCádiz until he left forNaples on 19 October; the British squadron caught and overwhelmingly defeated a Franco-Spanish fleet in theBattle of Trafalgar on 21 October (the British commander,Lord Nelson, died in the battle). Napoleon never again had the opportunity to challenge the British at sea, nor to threaten an invasion. He again turned his attention to the enemies on the Continent.
European strategic situation in 1805 before the War of the Third Coalition
In April 1805, Britain and Russia signed a treaty with the aim of removing the French from theBatavian Republic (roughly present-day Netherlands) and theSwiss Confederation. Austria joined the alliance after the annexation ofGenoa (Ligurian Republic) and the proclamation of Napoleon asKing of Italy on 17 March 1805. Sweden, which had already agreed to leaseSwedish Pomerania as a military base for British troops against France, entered the coalition on 9 August.
The Austrians began the war by invadingBavaria on 8 September 1805 with an army of about 72,000 underKarl Mack von Leiberich,[74] and the French army marched out fromBoulogne in late July 1805 to confront them.[citation needed] AtUlm (25 September – 20 October) Napoleon surrounded Mack's army, forcing its surrender without significant losses.
With the main Austrian army north of theAlps defeated (another army underArchduke Charles fought againstAndré Masséna'sFrench army in Italy), Napoleon occupiedVienna on 13 November. Far from his supply lines, he faced a larger Austro–Russian army under the command ofMikhail Kutuzov, with EmperorAlexander I of Russia personally present. On 2 December, Napoleon crushed the Austro–Russian force inMoravia atAusterlitz (usually considered his greatest victory). He inflicted 25,000 casualties on a numerically superior enemy army while sustaining fewer than 7,000 in his own force.
Surrender of the town ofUlm, 20 October 1805The French enteringVienna on 13 November 1805
Austria signed theTreaty of Pressburg (26 December 1805) and left the coalition. The treaty required the Austrians to give upVenetia to the French-dominatedKingdom of Italy and theTyrol to Bavaria. With the withdrawal of Austria from the war, stalemate ensued. Napoleon's army had a record of continuous unbroken victories on land, but the full force of the Russian army had not yet come into play. Napoleon had now consolidated his hold on France, had taken control of Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and most of Western Germany and northern Italy. His admirers say that Napoleon wanted to stop now, but was forced to continue in order to gain greater security from the countries that refused to accept his conquests. Esdaile rejects that explanation and instead says that it was a good time to stop expansion, for the major powers were ready to accept Napoleon as he was:
in 1806 both Russia and Britain had been positively eager to make peace, and they might well have agreed to terms that would have left the Napoleonic imperium almost completely intact. As for Austria and Prussia, they simply wanted to be left alone. To have secured a compromise peace, then, would have been comparatively easy. But Napoleon was prepared to make no concessions.[75]
Within months of the collapse of the Third Coalition, theFourth Coalition (1806–1807) against France was formed by Britain, Prussia, Russia,Saxony, and Sweden. In July 1806, Napoleon formed theConfederation of the Rhine out of the many small German states which constituted theRhineland and most other western parts of Germany. Heamalgamated many of the smaller states into larger electorates, duchies, and kingdoms to make the governance of non-Prussian Germany smoother. Napoleon elevated the rulers of the two largest Confederation states,Saxony andBavaria, to the status of kings.
In August 1806, the Prussian king,Frederick William III, decided to go to war independently of any other great power. The army of Russia, a Prussian ally, in particular, was too far away to assist. On October 8, 1806, Napoleon unleashed all the French forces east of the Rhine into Prussia. Napoleon defeated a Prussian army atJena (14 October 1806), andDavout defeated another atAuerstädt on the same day. 160,000 French soldiers (increasing in number as the campaign went on) attacked Prussia, moving with such speed that they destroyed the entirePrussian Army as an effective military force. Out of 250,000 troops, the Prussians sustained 25,000 casualties, lost a further 150,000 as prisoners, 4,000 artillery pieces, and over 100,000 muskets. At Jena, Napoleon had fought only a detachment of the Prussian force. The battle at Auerstädt involved a single French corps defeating the bulk of the Prussian army. Napoleon entered Berlin on 27 October 1806. He visited the tomb ofFrederick the Great and instructed hismarshals to remove their hats there, saying, "If he were alive we wouldn't be here today". Napoleon had taken only 19 days from beginning his attack on Prussia to knock it out of the war with the capture of Berlin and the destruction of its principal armies at Jena and Auerstädt. Saxony abandoned Prussia, and together with small states from north Germany, allied with France.
In the next stage of the war, the French drove Russian forces out of Poland and employed many Polish and German soldiers in several sieges inSilesia andPomerania, with the assistance of Dutch and Italian soldiers in the latter case. Napoleon then turned north to confront the remainder of the Russian army and to try to capture the temporary Prussian capital atKönigsberg. A tactical draw atEylau (7–8 February 1807), followed by capitulation atDanzig (24 May 1807) and theBattle of Heilsberg (10 June 1807), forced the Russians to withdraw further north. Napoleon decisively beat the Russian army atFriedland (14 June 1807), following which Alexander had to make peace with Napoleon atTilsit (7 July 1807). In Germany and Poland, new Napoleonic client states, such as theKingdom of Westphalia,Duchy of Warsaw, andRepublic of Danzig, were established. Early that same year, the Frenchbesieged the fortified town of Kolberg, which resulted in a lifting of the siege by a peace treaty on 2 July.
By September, MarshalGuillaume Brune completed the occupation ofSwedish Pomerania, allowing the Swedish army to withdraw with all its munitions of war.
Britain's first response to Napoleon's Continental System was to launch a major naval attack againstDenmark. Although ostensibly neutral, Denmark was under heavy French and Russian pressure to pledgeits fleet to Napoleon. London could not take the chance of ignoring the Danish threat. In August 1807, the Royal Navybesieged and bombarded Copenhagen, leading to the capture of theDano–Norwegian fleet, and assuring use of the sea lanes in the North and Baltic seas for the British merchant fleet. Denmark joined the war on the side of France, but without a fleet it had little to offer,[76][page needed][77][page needed] beginning an engagement in anaval guerrilla war in which small gunboats attacked larger British ships in Danish and Norwegian waters. Denmark also committed themselves to participate in a war against Sweden together with France and Russia.
At Tilsit, Napoleon and Alexander had agreed that Russia should force Sweden to join the Continental System, which led to aRussian invasion of Finland in February 1808, followed by aDanish declaration of war in March. Napoleon also sent an auxiliary corps, consisting of troops from France,Spain andHolland, led by MarshalJean-Baptiste Bernadotte, to Denmark to participate in the invasion of Sweden. But British naval superiority prevented the armies from crossing theØresund strait, and the war came mainly to be fought along the Swedish–Norwegian border. At theCongress of Erfurt (September–October 1808), France and Russia further agreed on the division of Sweden into two parts separated by theGulf of Bothnia, where the eastern part became the RussianGrand Duchy of Finland. British voluntary attempts to assist Sweden with humanitarian aid remained limited, and did not prevent Sweden from adopting a more Napoleon-friendly policy.[78][page range too broad]
The war between Denmark and Britain effectively finished with a British victory at theBattle of Lyngør in 1812, involving the destruction of the last large Dano–Norwegian ship—thefrigateNajaden.
In 1807, Napoleon created a powerful outpost of his empire in Central Europe.Poland had recently beenpartitioned by its three neighbours, but Napoleon created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which depended on France from the beginning. The duchy consisted of lands seized by Austria and Prussia; its Grand Duke was Napoleon's ally KingFrederick Augustus I of Saxony, but Napoleon appointed the intendants who administered the country. The population of 4.3 million was released from occupation and, by 1814, sent about 200,000 men to Napoleon's armies. That included about 90,000 who marched with him to Moscow; few marched back.[79] The Russians strongly opposed any move towards an independent Poland and one reason Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 was to punish them. The Grand Duchy was absorbed into theRussian Empire as a semi-autonomousCongress Poland in 1815; Poland did not become a sovereign state again until 1918, following the collapse of the neighbouring Russian,German andAustro-Hungarian Empires in the aftermath ofWorld War I. Napoleon's impact on Poland was significant, including the Napoleonic legal code, the abolition ofserfdom, and the introduction of modern middle-class bureaucracies.[80][81]
The Iberian conflict began whenPortugal continued trade with Britain, despite French restrictions. WhenSpain failed to maintain the Continental System, the uneasy Spanish alliance with France ended in all but name. French troops gradually encroached on Spanish territory until they occupiedMadrid, and installed a client monarchy. This provoked an explosion ofpopular rebellions across Spain. Heavy British involvement soon followed.
After defeats in Spain suffered by France, Napoleon took charge and enjoyed success, retaking Madrid, defeating the Spanish, and forcing a withdrawal of the heavily out-numbered British army from the Iberian Peninsula (Battle of Corunna, 16 January 1809). But when he left, theguerrilla war against his forces in the countryside continued to tie down great numbers of troops. The outbreak of theWar of the Fifth Coalition prevented Napoleon from successfully wrapping up operations against British forces by necessitating his departure for Austria, and he never returned to the Peninsular theatre. The British then sent in a fresh army underSir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington).[82][page needed] For a time, the British and Portuguese remained restricted to the area aroundLisbon (behind their impregnableLines of Torres Vedras), while their Spanish allies werebesieged in Cádiz.
The Peninsular war proved a major disaster for France. Napoleon did well when he was in direct charge, but severe losses followed his departure, as he severely underestimated how much manpower would be needed. The effort in Spain was a drain on money, manpower and prestige. Historian David Gates called it the "Spanish ulcer".[83][page needed] Napoleon realised it had been a disaster for his cause, writing later, "That unfortunate war destroyed me ... All the circumstances of my disasters are bound up in that fatal knot."[84]
The Peninsular campaigns witnessed 60 major battles and 30 major sieges, more than any other of the Napoleonic conflicts, and lasted over six years, far longer than any of the others. France and her allies lost at least 91,000 killed in action and 237,000 wounded in the peninsula.[85] From 1812, the Peninsular War merged with theWar of the Sixth Coalition.
TheArchduke Charles with his staff at the Battle of Aspern-EsslingNapoleon giving orders at the Battle of Wagram
The Fifth Coalition (1809) of Britain and Austria against France formed as Britain engaged in thePeninsular War in Spain and Portugal. The sea became a majortheatre of war against Napoleon's allies. Austria, previously an ally of France, took the opportunity to attempt to restore its imperial territories in Germany as held prior to Austerlitz. During the time of the Fifth Coalition, the Royal Navy won a succession of victories in the French colonies. On land the major battles includedBattles of Raszyn,Eckmuhl,Raab,Aspern-Essling, andWagram.
On land, the Fifth Coalition attempted few extensive military endeavours. One, theWalcheren Expedition of 1809, involved a dual effort by the British Army and the Royal Navy to relieve Austrian forces under intense French pressure. It ended in disaster after the Army commander,John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, failed to capture the objective, the naval base of French-controlledAntwerp. For the most part of the years of the Fifth Coalition, British military operations on land (apart from the Iberian Peninsula) remained restricted to hit-and-run operations executed by the Royal Navy, which dominated the sea after having beaten down almost all substantial naval opposition from France and its allies and blockading what remained of France's naval forces in heavily fortified French-controlled ports. These rapid-attack operations were aimed mostly at destroying blockaded French naval and mercantile shipping and the disruption of French supplies, communications, and military units stationed near the coasts. Often, when British allies attempted military actions within several dozen miles or so of the sea, the Royal Navy would arrive, land troops and supplies, and aid the coalition's land forces in a concerted operation. Royal Navy ships even provided artillery support against French units when fighting strayed near enough to the coastline. The ability and quality of the land forces governed these operations. For example, when operating with inexperienced guerrilla forces in Spain, the Royal Navy sometimes failed to achieve its objectives because of the lack of manpower that the Navy's guerrilla allies had promised to supply.
The strategic situation in Europe in February 1809The French Empire in 1812 at its greatest extent
Austria achieved some initial victories against the thinly spread army of MarshalBerthier. Napoleon left Berthier with only 170,000 men to defend France's entire eastern frontier (in the 1790s, 800,000 men had carried out the same task, but holding a much shorter front).
In the east, the Austrians drove into theDuchy of Warsaw but did not achieve their objectives at theBattle of Raszyn on 19 April 1809. TheArmy of the Duchy of Warsaw capturedWest Galicia following its earlier success. Napoleon assumed personal command and bolstered the army for a counter-attack on Austria. After a few small battles, the well-run campaign forced the Austrians to withdraw from Bavaria, and Napoleon advanced into Austria. His hurried attempt to cross theDanube resulted in the majorBattle of Aspern-Essling (22 May 1809) – Napoleon's first significant tactical defeat. But the Austrian commander,Archduke Charles, failed to follow up on his indecisive victory, allowing Napoleon to prepare and seize Vienna in early July. He defeated the Austrians atWagram, on 5–6 July. (It was during the middle of that battle that MarshalBernadotte was stripped of his command after retreating contrary to Napoleon's orders. Shortly thereafter, Bernadotte took up the offer from Sweden to fill the vacant position of Crown Prince there. Later he actively participated in wars against his former Emperor.)
The War of the Fifth Coalition ended with theTreaty of Schönbrunn (14 October 1809). In the east, only theTyrolese rebels led byAndreas Hofer continued to fight the French-Bavarian army until finally defeated in November 1809. In the west, the Peninsular War continued. Economic warfare between Britain and France continued: The British continued a naval blockade of French-controlled territory. Due to military shortages and lack of organisation in French territory, many breaches of the Continental System occurred and the French Continental System was largely ineffective and did little economic damage to Great Britain. Both sides entered further conflicts in attempts to enforce their blockade. As Napoleon realised that extensive trade was going through Spain and Russia, he invaded those two countries;[86] the British fought the United States in theWar of 1812 (1812–1815).
In 1810, the French Empire reached its greatest extent. Napoleon marriedMarie-Louise, an Austrian Archduchess, with the aim of ensuring a more stable alliance with Austria and of providing the Emperor with an heir (something his first wife,Joséphine, had failed to do). As well as the French Empire, Napoleon controlled the Swiss Confederation, theConfederation of the Rhine, the Duchy of Warsaw and theKingdom of Italy. Territories allied with the French included:
In August 1806, the rebels defeated the Ottomans at theBattle of Mišar
During the first phase, from 1804 to 1806, it was aconservativereaction to new abuses by theJanissaries andDahis, after they killedHadji Mustafa Pasha (vizier of theSanjak of Smederevo). He had created a militia of Serbs fighting the Janissaries that were expelled fromBelgrade and had found refuge withOsman Pazvantoğlu, governor of theSanjak of Vidin (in present-dayBulgaria), who pursued his own policy and sought independence, which brought him into conflict with the Serbs and later with theSublime Porte. The Janissaries managed to return to Belgrade and realized theSlaughter of the Knezes. Thus, the Serbs appealed toSultanSelim III for assistance against the Dahis, who had since rejected the authority of the Porte. Also,Karađorđe negotiated with the Austrian captain Sajtinski. At this meeting, he expressed the wish of the Serbian people that theAustrian Empire receive them as a kingdom under its protection like in thepast, asoccupation of 1788–1791 was still a fresh memory. However, the Austrian authorities, due to difficulties with Napoleon and because they wanted to maintain their neutrality in order to be correct with the Porte, could not accept his offers. So, the Serbs were forced to ask for the protection of the Russians, and therefore, on May 3, 1804, the Serb leaders sent a letter to the Russian envoy inConstantinople, in which they spoke of the problems and wishes of the Serbian people, but they also stressed that they would continue to be loyal to the Sultan. Due to the recentRusso-Ottoman alliance against France's expanding influence in theBalkans (the approach of French troops to the Turkish territories, likeoccupation of Corfu and other Ionian islands in 1797–99, influenced the Porte to conclude an alliance with Russia in 1798), the Russian government had a neutral policy toward the Serbian revolt until summer 1804, in which the goal was now to having Constantinople recognize Russia as the guarantor of peace in the region.[90]
In 1806, the Serbs rejectedIčko's Peace (the Ottomans seemed ready to grantSerbia autonomy, similar to that enjoyed by neighbouringWallachia, in order to enter in the Napoleonic Wars as an ally of the French) as they desired Russian support for their independence, starting a new phase of theuprising in which the Serbs planned to create their ownnational state, which would also include the territories ofBosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the pashaliks ofVidin,Nis,Leskovac, andPazar. Also, in theTraditionalist circles of Serbian rebels,[91]Petar I ofMontenegro developed a plan in 1807 to restore the medievalSerbian Empire ("Slaveno–Serb empire"), consisting on unifyPodgorica,Spuž,Žabljak, theBay of Kotor,Bosnia,Herzegovina,Dubrovnik andDalmatia withMontenegro,[92] which he informed the Russian court[92][91][93][94] and was also viewed byHabsburg Serb metropolitanStefan Stratimirović.[95] The title ofEmperor of the Serbs would be held by theRussian emperor asTsar,[92] but with the condition that Russians respected theindependence-autocephaly of theMontenegrin Orthodox Church. So, in February 1807, Petar I planned an invasion ofHerzegovina byMontenegrin forces and asked for Karađorđe's aid,[96] wanting to connect the territory occupied by the Serbian rebel forces and Montenegro, which succeeded after theBattle of Suvodol in 1809.[97] This support of Montenegro for the Serbs was reinforced due to the fact that in the war of 1806–1812, Ottoman troops, supported by French detachments on Illyria, attacked Montenegro along the entire border, and the Montenegrins did not have time to repel all the attacks. However, they managed to force the French troops to withdraw fromDubrovnik and conquered theBay of Kotor. Napoleon himself offered Petar I the title "Patriarch of the entire Serbian nation or of the entire Illyricum" on the condition that he cease cooperation with Russia and accept a French protectorate, which he refused for fear of an eventual papal status jurisdiction or anAnti-clerical policy.[91][98]
However, theTreaty of Tilsit between France and Russia against the Ottomans helped put a stop to hostilities in the Balkans, with a truce taking place (which was perceived extremely negatively in Serbia, despite the fact that the truce did not apply to the Serb rebels). Also, there was a secret clause that provided for the division of Turkish possessions in the Balkans between Russia and France[99] and the cancellation of the Slaveno-Serb empire project.[92] In 1809,Karađorđe appealed to an alliance with theHabsburgs and Napoleon, with no success,[100] even wrote personally to Napoleon seeking military assistance, and in 1810, dispatched an emissary to the French Empire.[101] However, the French did not believe that the rebels had the military capacity to defeat the Ottomans or expulse them from the Balkans. In 1812, under pressure from Napoleon, Russia was forced to sign theTreaty of Bucharest, which restored peace with the Ottomans.[102] One of the clauses of the treaty provided for the maintenance of Serbian autonomy, also, a truce was signed according to the Article 8 of the Treaty. Then, the Russians encouraged Karađorđe and his followers to negotiate directly with the Porte.[103][104]
TheWar of 1812 coincided with the War of the Sixth Coalition. Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, while Europeans often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain due to a variety of reasons, including British support forNative Americans resisting US settler expansion,interference with American merchant shipping, theimpressment of Royal Navy deserters from US merchantmen andexpansionist American desires to occupyCanada. France had interfered with American shipping as well, and the United States had considered declaring war on France. The war ended in a military stalemate, and there were no boundary changes at theTreaty of Ghent, which took effect in early 1815 when Napoleon was on Elba.[105][page needed]
The abdication of KingsCharles IV of Spain andFerdinand VII of Spain and the installation of Napoleon's brother as KingJosé provoked civil wars and revolutions, leading to the independence of most of Spain's mainland American colonies. InSpanish America, many local elites formed juntas and set up mechanisms to rule in the name of Ferdinand VII, whom they considered the legitimate Spanish monarch. The outbreak of theSpanish American wars of independence in most of the empire was a result of Napoleon's destabilizing actions in Spain, and led to the rise ofstrongmen in the wake of these wars.[106] The defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 caused an exodus of French soldiers into Latin America, where they joined ranks with the armies of the independence movements.[107] While these officials had a role in various victories such as theCapture of Valdivia (1820), some are held responsible for significant defeats at the hands of the royalists, as was the case at theSecond Battle of Cancha Rayada (1818).[107]
In contrast, the Portugueseroyal family escaped toBrazil and established the court there, resulting in political stability for Portuguese America. In 1816, Brazil was proclaimed an equal part of theUnited Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, paving the way to Brazilian independence six years later.
TheBattle of Borodino as depicted byLouis Lejeune. The battle was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars.
TheTreaty of Tilsit in 1807 resulted in theAnglo–Russian War (1807–1812). EmperorAlexander I declared war on Britain after the British attack on Denmark in September 1807. British men-of-war supported the Swedish fleet during theFinnish War and won victories over the Russians in theGulf of Finland in July 1808 and August 1809. The success of the Russian army on land, however, forced Sweden to sign peace treaties with Russia in 1809 and with France in 1810, and to join the blockade against Britain. But Franco–Russian relations would become progressively worse after 1810, and the Russian war with Britain effectively ended. In April 1812, Britain, Russia, and Sweden signed secret agreements directed against Napoleon.[109][page needed]
The central issue for bothEmperorNapoleon I andTsarAlexander I was control over Poland. Each wanted a semi-independent Poland he could control. As Esdaile notes, "Implicit in the idea of a Russian Poland was, of course, a war against Napoleon."[110] Schroeder says Poland was "the root cause" of Napoleon's war with Russia, but Russia's refusal to support the Continental System was also a factor.[111]
In 1812, at the height of his power, Napoleon invaded Russia with a pan-EuropeanGrande Armée, consisting of 450,000 men (200,000 Frenchmen, and many soldiers of allies or subject areas). The French forces crossed theNiemen river on 24 June 1812. Russia proclaimed a Patriotic War, and Napoleon proclaimed a Second Polish war. The Poles supplied almost 100,000 men for the invasion force, but against their expectations, Napoleon avoided any concessions to Poland, having in mind further negotiations with Russia.[112][page needed]
TheGrande Armée marched through Russia, winning some relatively minor engagements and the majorBattle of Smolensk on 16–18 August. In the same days, part of the French Army led byMarshalNicolas Oudinot was stopped in theBattle of Polotsk by the right wing of the Russian Army, under command of GeneralPeter Wittgenstein. This prevented the French march on the Russian capital,Saint Petersburg; the fate of the invasion was decided in Moscow, where Napoleon led his forces in person.
The mainImperial Russian Army was commanded byField MarshalMichael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, who recognized that Napoleon's immediate goal was a decisive battle to crush the main Russian force in the west. In response, the Russian army usedscorched-earth tactics as it withdrew east, and harried theGrande Armée with lightCossack cavalry. TheGrande Armée did not adjust its operational methods in response.[113] Provisioning such an enormous army with adequate food and fresh water had proven difficult since the very start of the campaign, exacerbated by the sparse terrain ofwestern Russia; diseases such astyphus anddysentery rapidly became rampant among the rank and file. These factors led to most of the losses of the main column of theGrande Armée, which in one case amounted to 95,000 men, including deserters, in a week.[114]
The main Russian army retreated for almost three months. This constant retreat led to the increasing unpopularity of Barclay de Tolly (who was aBaltic German and already mistrusted by the Russian elite) and a respected Russian veteran, PrinceMikhail Kutuzov, was made the new Commander-in-Chief by Tsar Alexander. Finally, the two armies engaged in theBattle of Borodino on 7 September,[115][page needed] in the vicinity of Moscow. The battle was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 men and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties.
The battle was indecisive; the French captured the main positions on the battlefield but failed to destroy the Russian army. While Kutuzov had recognized the political need to give battle, he also recognized that Barclay de Tolly's strategies had proven effective, and that theGrande Armée was bleeding personnel and supplies more and more severely with every step they took deeper into Russia. Napoleon's logistical difficulties meant that French casualties simply could not be replaced, whereas the Russian army could reinforce itself far more readily.
Napoleon I enteredMoscow on 14 September, after the Russian Army had retreated yet again.[116] By then, the Russians had largely evacuated the city and released criminals from the prisons to inconvenience the French; the governor, CountFyodor Rostopchin, ordered the cityto be burnt.[117] Alexander I refused to capitulate, and the peace talks attempted by Napoleon failed. Rather than withdraw further east, the Russian army withdrew south, rebuilding its strength and preparing to interfere with a French withdrawal. In October, with no sign of clear victory in sight, Napoleon began the disastrous Great Retreat from Moscow.
Charles Joseph Minard's graph of the decreasing size of theGrande Armée represented by the width of the line as it marches to Moscow (tan) and back (black)
The French tried to reachKaluga and swing through southern Russia, where they could find food and forage supplies. In theBattle of Maloyaroslavets, the replenished Russian army blocked the road to Kaluga. While an indecisive engagement, it nevertheless doomed theGrande Armée; with the Russians refusing to be dislodged, Napoleon was forced to retreat back down theSmolensk road along which he had already advanced, and which had already been denuded of supplies – most crucially, food.
The French supply chain, already in tatters from the attrition of wagons and horses, began to collapse completely. The lack of horses also rendered Napoleon's cavalry ineffective, leaving theGrande Armée vulnerable to sustainedguerrilla warfare by Russian peasants and irregular troops. TheGrande Armée was dealt a further catastrophic blow by the onset of theRussian Winter, which the underfed and undersuppliedGrande Armée was unprepared to cope with.
When the remnants of Napoleon's armystruggled across the Berezina River in November with the Russian army in pursuit, only 27,000 fit soldiers survived, with 380,000 men dead or missing and 100,000 captured.[118] Napoleon then left his men and returned to Paris to prepare the defence against the advancing Russians. The campaign had effectively ended on 14 December 1812, when the last enemy troops left Russia. The Russians had lost around 210,000 men, but with their shorter supply lines, they soon replenished their armies. For every six soldiers of theGrande Armée that entered Russia, only one would make it out in fighting condition.
Fragment from the manuscript "Memoires onNapoleon's campaigns, experienced as a soldier of the second regiment". Written byJoseph Abbeel, a soldier participating in the War of the Sixth Coalition, 1805–1815.[119]
Seeing an opportunity inNapoleon I's historic defeat,Prussia,Sweden and several other German states switched sides, joiningRussia, theUnited Kingdom and others opposing Napoleon.[120][page range too broad] Napoleon vowed that he would create a new army as large as the one he had sent into Russia, and quickly built up his forces in the east from 30,000 to 130,000 and eventually to 400,000. Napoleon inflicted 40,000 casualties on the Allies atLützen (2 May 1813) andBautzen (20–21 May 1813). Both battles involved forces of over 250,000, making them some of the largest conflicts of the wars so far.Klemens von Metternich in November 1813 offered Napoleon theFrankfurt proposals. They would allowNapoleon to remainEmperor butFrance would be reduced to its "natural frontiers" and lose control of most of Italy and Germany and the Netherlands. Napoleon still expected to win the wars, and rejected the terms. By 1814, as the Allies were closing in onParis,Napoleon I did agree to the Frankfurt proposals, but it was too late and he rejected the new harsher terms proposed by the Allies.[121]
In thePeninsular War,Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, renewed theAnglo-Portuguese advance into Spain just after New Year in 1812, besieging and capturing the fortified towns ofCiudad Rodrigo,Badajoz, and crushing a French army at theBattle of Salamanca. As the French regrouped, the Anglo-Portuguese entered Madrid and advanced towardsBurgos, before retreating all the way to Portugal when renewed French concentrations threatened to trap them. As a consequence of the Salamanca campaign, the French were forced to end their long siege of Cádiz and to permanently evacuate the provinces ofAndalusia andAsturias.[122][page needed]
In a strategic move, Wellesley planned to move his supply base from Lisbon toSantander. The Anglo-Portuguese forces swept northwards in late May and seized Burgos. On 21 June, atVitoria, the combined Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies won againstJoseph Bonaparte, finally breaking French power in Spain. The French had to retreat from the Iberian peninsula, over thePyrenees.[123][page needed]
The belligerents declared an armistice from 4 June 1813 (continuing until 13 August) during which time both sides attempted to recover from the loss of approximately a quarter of a million men in the preceding two months. During this time coalition negotiations finally brought Austria out in open opposition to France. Two principal Austrian armies took the field, adding 300,000 men to the coalition armies in Germany. The Allies now had around 800,000 front-line soldiers in the German theatre, with a strategic reserve of 350,000 formed to support the front-line operations.[121]
TheBattle of Hanau (30–31 October 1813) was fought between Austro-Bavarian and French forces.
Napoleon succeeded in bringing the imperial forces in the region to around 650,000—although only 250,000 came under his direct command, with another 120,000 underNicolas Charles Oudinot and 30,000 under Davout. The remaining imperial forces came mostly from the Confederation of the Rhine, especially Saxony and Bavaria. In addition, to the south, Murat's Kingdom of Naples andEugène de Beauharnais's Kingdom of Italy had 100,000 armed men. In Spain, another 150,000 to 200,000 French troops steadily retreated before Anglo-Portuguese forces numbering around 100,000. Thus around 900,000 Frenchmen in all theatres faced around 1,800,000 coalition soldiers (including the strategic reserve under formation in Germany). The gross figures may mislead slightly, as most of the German troops fighting on the side of the French fought at best unreliably and stood on the verge of defecting to the Allies. One can reasonably say that Napoleon could count on no more than 450,000 men in Germany—which left him outnumbered about four to one.[121]
Following the end of the armistice, Napoleon seemed to have regained the initiative atDresden (August 1813), where he once again defeated a numerically superior coalition army and inflicted enormous casualties, while sustaining relatively few. The failures of his marshals and a slow resumption of the offensive on his part cost him any advantage that this victory might have secured. At theBattle of Leipzig in Saxony (16–19 October 1813), also called the "Battle of the Nations", 191,000 French fought more than 300,000 Allies, and the defeated French had to retreat into France. After the French withdrawal from Germany, Napoleon's remaining ally,Denmark–Norway, became isolated andfell to the coalition.[124]
Russian army enters Paris, 31 March 1814
Napoleon then fought a series of battles in France, including theBattle of Arcis-sur-Aube, but the overwhelming numbers of the Allies steadily forced him back. The Alliesentered Paris on 30 March 1814. During this time Napoleon fought hisSix Days' Campaign, in which he won many battles against the enemy forces advancing towards Paris. During this entire campaign, he never managed to field more than 70,000 men against more than half a million coalition soldiers. At theTreaty of Chaumont (9 March 1814), the Allies agreed to preserve the coalition until Napoleon's total defeat.[125]
Napoleon determined to fight on, even now, incapable of fathoming his fall from power. During the campaign, he had issued a decree for 900,000 fresh conscripts, but only a fraction of these materialised, and Napoleon's schemes for victory eventually gave way to the reality of his hopeless situation. Napoleon abdicated on 6 April. Occasional military actions continued in Italy, Spain, and Holland in early 1814.[125] An armistice was signed with the Allied Powers on 23 April 1814. TheFirst Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, officially ended the War of the Sixth Coalition.
TheSeventh Coalition (1815) pitted Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, theNetherlands and several smaller German states against France. The period known as the Hundred Days began after Napoleon escaped from Elba and landed atCannes (1 March 1815). Travelling to Paris, picking up support as he went, he eventually overthrewLouis XVIII. The Allies rapidly gathered their armies to meet him again. Napoleon raised 280,000 men, whom he distributed among several armies. To add to the 90,000-strong standing army, he recalled well over a quarter of a million veterans from past campaigns and issued a decree for the eventual draft of around 2.5 million new men into the French army, which was never achieved. This faced an initial coalition force of about 700,000—although coalition campaign plans provided for one million front-line soldiers, supported by around 200,000 garrison, logistics and other auxiliary personnel.
Napoleon took about 124,000 men of the Army of the North on a pre-emptive strike against the Allies in Belgium.[126] He intended to attack the coalition armies before they combined, in hope of driving the British into the sea and the Prussians out of the war. His march to the frontier achieved the surprise he had planned, catching the Anglo-Dutch Army in a dispersed arrangement. The Prussians had been more wary, concentrating 75 per cent of their army in and aroundLigny. The Prussians forced theArmée du Nord to fight all the day of the 15th to reach Ligny in a delaying action by the Prussian 1st Corps. He forced Prussia to fight atLigny on 16 June 1815, and the defeated Prussians retreated in disorder. On the same day, the left wing of theArmée du Nord, under the command of MarshalMichel Ney, succeeded in stopping any of Wellington's forces going to aidBlücher's Prussians by fighting a blocking action atQuatre Bras. Ney failed to clear the cross-roads and Wellington reinforced the position. But with the Prussian retreat, Wellington too had to retreat. He fell back to a previously reconnoitred position on anescarpment atMont St Jean, a few miles south of the village ofWaterloo.
Map of the Waterloo campaign
Napoleon took the reserve of the Army of the North, and reunited his forces with those of Ney to pursue Wellington's army, after he ordered MarshalGrouchy to take the right wing of the Army of the North and stop the Prussians regrouping. In the first of a series of miscalculations, both Grouchy and Napoleon failed to realise that the Prussian forces were already reorganised and were assembling at the city ofWavre. The French army did nothing to stop a rather leisurely retreat that took place throughout the night and into the early morning by the Prussians. As the 4th, 1st, and 2nd Prussian Corps marched through the town towards Waterloo, the 3rd Prussian Corps took up blocking positions across the river, and although Grouchy engaged and defeated the Prussian rearguard under the command of Lt-Genvon Thielmann in theBattle of Wavre (18–19 June) it was 12 hours too late. In the end, 17,000 Prussians had kept 33,000 badly needed French reinforcements off the field.
Napoleon delayed the start of fighting at theBattle of Waterloo on the morning of 18 June for several hours while he waited for the ground to dry after the previous night's rain. By late afternoon, the French army had not succeeded in driving Wellington's forces from the escarpment on which they stood. When the Prussians arrived and attacked the French right flank in ever-increasing numbers, Napoleon's strategy of keeping the coalition armies divided had failed and a combined coalition general advance drove his army from the field in confusion.[127]
Grouchy organised a successful and well-ordered retreat towards Paris, where Marshal Davout had 117,000 men ready to turn back the 116,000 men of Blücher and Wellington. GeneralVandamme was defeated at theBattle of Issy and negotiations for surrender had begun.
On arriving at Paris three days after Waterloo, Napoleon still clung to the hope of a concerted national resistance; but the temper of thelegislative chambers, and of the public generally, did not favour his view. Lacking support Napoleon abdicated again on 22 June 1815, and on 15 July he surrendered to the British squadron atRochefort. The Allies exiled him to the remote South Atlantic island ofSaint Helena, where he died on 5 May 1821.
In Italy,Joachim Murat, whom the Allies had allowed to remain King ofNaples after Napoleon's initial defeat, once again allied with his brother-in-law, triggering theNeapolitan War (March to May 1815). Hoping to find support among Italian nationalists fearing the increasing influence of the Habsburgs in Italy, Murat issued theRimini Proclamation inciting them to war. The proclamation failed and the Austrians soon crushed Murat at theBattle of Tolentino (2–3 May 1815), forcing him to flee. TheBourbons returned to the throne of Naples on 20 May 1815. Murat tried to regain his throne, but after that failed, he was executed by firing squad on 13 October 1815.
TheSecond Treaty of Paris, signed on 20 November 1815, officially marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.[128]
The Napoleonic Wars brought radical changes to Europe, but thereactionary forces returned andrestored the Bourbon house to the French throne. Napoleon had succeeded in bringing most of Western Europe under one rule. In most European countries, subjugation in the French Empire brought with it many liberal features of the French Revolution including democracy,due process in courts, abolition ofserfdom, reduction of the power of the Catholic Church, and demand for constitutional limits on monarchs. The increasing voice of themiddle classes with rising commerce and industry meant that restored European monarchs found it difficult to restore pre-revolutionaryabsolutism and had to retain many of the reforms enacted during Napoleon's rule. Institutional legacies remain to this day in the form ofcivil law, with clearly definedcodes of law—an enduring legacy of theNapoleonic Code.
The national boundaries within Europe set by the Congress of Vienna, 1815
France's constant warfare with the combined forces of different combinations of, and eventually all, of the other major powers of Europe for over two decades finally took its toll. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, France no longer held the role of the dominantpower in Continental Europe, as it had since the times ofLouis XIV, as theCongress of Vienna produced a "balance of power" by resizing the main powers so they could balance each other and remain at peace. In this regard,Prussia was restored in its former borders, and also received large chunks ofPoland andSaxony. Greatly enlarged, Prussia became a permanentGreat Power. In order to drag Prussia's attention towards the west and France, the Congress also gave theRhineland andWestphalia to Prussia. These industrial regions transformed agrarian Prussia into an industrial leader in the nineteenth century.[22] Britain emerged as the most important economic power, and itsRoyal Navy held unquestioned naval superiority across the globe well into the 20th century.[129]
After the Napoleonic period, nationalism, a relatively new movement, became increasingly significant. This shaped much of the course of future European history. Its growth spelled the beginning of some states and the end of others, as the map of Europe changed dramatically in the hundred years following theNapoleonic Era. Rule byfiefdoms andaristocracy was widely replaced by national ideologies based on shared origins and culture. Bonaparte's reign over Europe sowed the seeds for the founding of the nation-states ofGermany andItaly by starting the process of consolidating city-states, kingdoms andprincipalities. At the end of the war, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden mainly as a compensation for the loss ofFinland which the other coalition members agreed to, but because Norway had signed itsown constitution on 17 May 1814Sweden initiated theSwedish–Norwegian War (1814). The war was a short one taking place between 26 July – 14 August 1814 and was a Swedish victory that putNorway into apersonal union with Sweden. The union was peacefully dissolved in 1905. TheUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands created as abuffer state against France dissolved rapidly with theindependence of Belgium in 1830.[130]
The century of relative transatlantic peace, after the Congress of Vienna, enabled the "greatest intercontinental migration in human history"[131] beginning with "a big spurt of immigration after the release of the dam erected by the Napoleonic Wars."[132] Immigration inflows relative to the US population rose to record levels (peaking at 1.6 per cent in 1850–51)[133][page range too broad] as 30 million Europeans relocated to the United States between 1815 and 1914.[134]
Another concept emerged from the Congress of Vienna—that of a unified Europe. After his defeat, Napoleon deplored the fact that his dream of a free and peaceful "European association" remained unaccomplished. Such a European association would share the same principles of government, system of measurement, currency andCivil Code. One-and-a-half centuries later, and after two world wars several of these ideals re-emerged in the form of theEuropean Union.
Until the time ofNapoleon, European states employed relatively small armies, made up of both national soldiers andmercenaries. These regulars were highly drilled, professional soldiers.Ancien Régime armies could only deploy small field armies due to rudimentary staffs and comprehensive yet cumbersome logistics. Both issues combined to limit field forces to approximately 30,000 men under a single commander.
Military innovators in the mid-18th century began to recognise the potential of an entire nation at war: a "nation in arms".[135]
The scale of warfare dramatically enlarged during the Revolutionary and subsequent Napoleonic Wars. During Europe's major pre-revolutionary war, theSeven Years' War of 1756–1763, few armies ever numbered more than 200,000 with field forces often numbering less than 30,000. The French innovations of separate corps (allowing a single commander to efficiently command more than the traditional command span of 30,000 men) and living off the land (which allowed field armies to deploy more men without requiring an equal increase in supply arrangements such as depots and supply trains) allowed the French republic to field much larger armies than their opponents. Napoleon ensured during the time of the French republic that separate French field armies operated as a single army under his control, often allowing him to substantially outnumber his opponents. This forced his continental opponents to also increase the size of their armies, moving away from the traditional small, well-drilled Ancien Régime armies of the 18th century to mass conscript armies.
TheBattle of Marengo, which largely ended the War of the Second Coalition, was fought with fewer than 60,000 men on both sides. TheBattle of Austerlitz which ended the War of the Third Coalition involved fewer than 160,000 men. TheBattle of Friedland which led to peace with Russia in 1807 involved about 150,000 men.
After these defeats, the continental powers developed various forms of mass conscription to allow them to face France on even terms, and the size of field armies increased rapidly. TheBattle of Wagram of 1809 involved 300,000 men, and 500,000 fought atLeipzig in 1813, of whom 150,000 were killed or wounded.
About a million French soldiers became casualties (wounded, invalided or killed), a higher proportion than in theFirst World War. The European total may have reached 5,000,000 military deaths, including disease.[136][137][verification needed]
France had the second-largest population in Europe by the end of the 18th century (28 million, as compared to Britain's 12 million and Russia's 35 to 40 million).[138][page range too broad] It was well poised to take advantage of thelevée en masse. Before Napoleon's efforts,Lazare Carnot played a large part in the reorganisation of theFrench Revolutionary Army from 1793 to 1794—a time which saw previous French misfortunes reversed, with Republican armies advancing on all fronts.
Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812. HisGrande Armée had lost about half a million men.
The French army peaked in size in the 1790s with 1.5 million Frenchmen enlisted although battlefield strength was much less. Haphazard bookkeeping, rudimentary medical support and lax recruitment standards ensured that many soldiers either never existed, fell ill or were unable to withstand the physical demands of soldiering.
About 2.8 million Frenchmen fought on land and about 150,000 at sea, bringing the total for France to almost 3 million combatants during almost 25 years of warfare.[9]
Britain had 750,000 men under arms between 1792 and 1815 as itsarmy expanded from 40,000 men in 1793[citation needed] to a peak of 250,000 men in 1813.[8] Over 250,000 sailors served in theRoyal Navy. In September 1812, Russia had 900,000 enlisted men in itsarmy, and between 1799 and 1815 2.1 million men served in its army. Another 200,000 served in theImperial Russian Navy. Out of the 900,000 men, the field armies deployed against France numbered less than 250,000.
There are no consistent statistics for other major combatants.Austria's forces peaked at about 576,000 (during the War of the Sixth Coalition) and had little or no naval component yet never fielded more than 250,000 men in field armies. After Britain, Austria proved the most persistent enemy of France; more than a million Austrians served during the long wars. Its large army was overall quite homogeneous and solid and in 1813 operated in Germany (140,000 men), Italy and the Balkans (90,000 men at its peak, about 50,000 men during most of the campaigning on these fronts). Austria's manpower was becoming quite limited towards the end of the wars, leading its generals to favour cautious and conservative strategies, to limit their losses.
Prussia never had more than 320,000 men under arms at any time. In 1813–1815, the core of itsarmy (about 100,000 men) was characterised by competence and determination, but the bulk of its forces consisted of second- and third-line troops, as well asmilitiamen of variable strength. Many of these troops performed reasonably well and often displayed considerable bravery but lacked the professionalism of their regular counterparts and were not as well equipped. Others were largely unfit for operations, except sieges. During the 1813 campaign, 130,000 men were used in the military operations, with 100,000 effectively participating in the mainGerman campaign, and about 30,000 being used to besiege isolated French garrisons.[5]
Spain's armies also peaked at around 200,000 men, not including more than 50,000 guerrillas scattered over Spain. In addition theMaratha Empire, theOttoman Empire,Italy,Naples and theDuchy of Warsaw each had more than 100,000 men under arms. Even small nations now had armies rivalling the size of theGreat Powers' forces of past wars but most of these were poor quality forces only suitable for garrison duties. The size of their combat forces remained modest yet they could still provide a welcome addition to the major powers. The percentage of French troops in theGrande Armée which Napoleon led into Russia was about 50 per cent while the French allies also provided a significant contribution to the French forces in Spain. As these small nations joined the coalition forces in 1813–1814, they provided a useful addition to the coalition while depriving Napoleon of much-needed manpower.
The initial stages of theIndustrial Revolution had much to do with larger military forces—it became easy to mass-produce weapons and thus to equip larger forces. Britain was the largest single manufacturer of armaments in this period. It supplied most of the weapons used by the coalition powers throughout the conflicts. France produced the second-largest total of armaments, equipping its own huge forces as well as those of theConfederation of the Rhine and other allies.[139]
Napoleon showed innovative tendencies in his use of mobility to offset numerical disadvantages, as demonstrated in the rout of the Austro–Russian forces in 1805 in theBattle of Austerlitz. The French Army redefined the role of artillery, forming independent, mobile units, as opposed to the previous tradition of attaching artillery pieces in support of troops.[26]
Thesemaphore system had allowed the French War-Minister, Carnot, to communicate with French forces on the frontiers throughout the 1790s. The French continued to use this system throughout the Napoleonic wars.Aerial surveillance was used for the first time when the French used a hot-air balloon to survey coalition positions before theBattle of Fleurus, on 26 June 1794.[27]
Historians have explored how the Napoleonic wars became total wars. Most historians argue that the escalation in size and scope came from two sources. First was the ideological clash between revolutionary/egalitarian and conservative/hierarchical belief systems. Second was the emergence ofnationalism in France, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere, that made these "people's wars" instead of contests between monarchs.[140] Bell has argued that even more important than ideology and nationalism were the intellectual transformations in the culture of war that came about through theAge of Enlightenment.[141] One factor, he says, is that war was no longer a routine event but a transforming experience for societies—a total experience. Secondly, the military emerged in its own right as a separate sphere of society distinct from the ordinary civilian world. The French Revolution made every civilian a part of the war machine, either as a soldier through universal conscription, or as a vital cog in the home front machinery supporting and supplying the army. Out of that, says Bell, came "militarism", the belief that the military role was morally superior to the civilian role in times of great national crisis. The fighting army represented the essence of the nation's soul.[ab] As Napoleon proclaimed, "It is the soldier who founds a Republic and it is the soldier who maintains it."[142] Napoleon said on his career "I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution."[143]
Intelligence played a pivotal factor throughout the Napoleonic Wars and could very well have changed the tide of war. The use and misuse of military intelligence dictated the course of many major battles during the Napoleonic Wars. Some of the major battles that were dictated by the use of intelligence include: TheBattle of Waterloo,Battle of Leipzig,Battle of Salamanca, and theBattle of Vitoria. A major exception to the greater use of superior military intelligence to claim victory was theBattle of Jena in 1806. At the Battle of Jena even Prussian superior military intelligence was not enough to counter the sheer military force of Napoleons' armies.
The use of intelligence varied greatly across the major world powers of the war.Napoleon at this time had more supply of intelligence given to him than any French general before him. However, Napoleon was not an advocate of military intelligence at this time as he often found it unreliable and inaccurate when compared to his own preconceived notions of the enemy. Napoleon rather studied his enemy via domestic newspapers, diplomatic publications, maps, and prior documents of military engagements in the theaters of war in which he would operate. It was this stout and constant study of the enemy which made Napoleon the military mastermind of his time. Whereas, his opponents—Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia—were much more reliant on traditional intelligence-gathering methods and were much quicker and more willing to act on them.
The methods of Intelligence during these wars were to include the formation of vast and complex networks of corresponding agents, codebreaking, and cryptanalysis. The greatest cipher to be used to hide military operations during this time was known as theGreat Paris Cipher used by the French. However, thanks to the hard work of British codebreakers likeGeorge Scovell, the British were able to crack French ciphers and gain vast amounts of military intelligence on Napoleon and his armies.[144][page needed]
French diplomatTalleyrand served as a source of intelligence for the Coalition powers against Napoleon.[145][146] At theCongress of Erfurt in September–October 1808, Talleyrand secretly counseled Tsar Alexander. Alexander's attitude towards Napoleon was one of apprehensive opposition. Talleyrand believed Napoleon would eventually destroy the empire he had worked to build across multiple rulers.[147] After his resignation in 1807 from the ministry, Talleyrand began to accept bribes from hostile powers (mainly Austria, but also Russia), to betray Napoleon's secrets.[148]
The Napoleonic Wars were a defining event of the early 19th century, and inspired many works of fiction, from then until the present day.
Leo Tolstoy's epic novelWar and Peace recounts Napoleon's wars between 1805 and 1812 (especially the disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia and subsequent retreat) from a Russian perspective.
Les Misérables byVictor Hugo takes place against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars and subsequent decades, and in its unabridged form contains an epic telling of theBattle of Waterloo.
Adieu is a novella byHonoré de Balzac in which can be found a short description of the French retreat from Russia, particularly thebattle of Berezina, where the fictional couple of the story are tragically separated. Years later after imprisonment, the husband returns to find his wife still in a state of utter shock and amnesia. He has the battle and their separation reenacted, hoping the memory will heal her state.
William Makepeace Thackeray's novelVanity Fair takes place during the 1815 Napoleonic War – one of its protagonists dies at theBattle of Waterloo. Thackeray states in Chapter XXX "We do not claim to rank among the military novelists. Our place is with the non-combatants. When the decks are cleared for action we go below and wait meekly." And indeed he presents no descriptions of military leaders, strategy, or combat; he describes anxious non-combatants waiting in Brussels for news.
The Duel, a short story byJoseph Conrad, recounts the story based on true events of two FrenchHussar officers who carry a long grudge and fight in duels each time they meet during the Napoleonic wars. The short story was adapted by directorRidley Scott into the1977 Cannes Film Festival's Best First Work award-winning filmThe Duellists.
Mr Midshipman Easy (1836), semi-autobiographical novel by CaptainFrederick Marryat, who served as a Royal Navy officer (1806–1830) including during Napoleonic Wars, and who wrote many novels, and who was a pioneer of the Napoleonic wars sea story about the experiences of British naval officers.
Le Colonel Chabert by Honoré de Balzac. After being severely wounded during theBattle of Eylau (1807), Chabert, a famous colonel of thecuirassiers, was erroneously recorded as dead and buried unconscious with French casualties. After extricating himself from his grave and being nursed back to health by local peasants, it takes several years for him to recover. When he returns to the Paris of theBourbon Restoration, he discovers that his "widow", a former prostitute that Chabert made rich and honourable, has married the wealthy Count Ferraud. She has also liquidated all of Chabert's belongings and pretends not to recognise her first husband. Seeking to regain his name and monies that were wrongly given away as inheritance, he hires Derville, an attorney, to win back his money and his honour.
The novelistJane Austen lived much of her life during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and two of her brothers served in theRoyal Navy. Austen almost never refers to specific dates or historical events in her novels, but wartime England forms part of the general backdrop to several of them: inPride and Prejudice (1813, but possibly written during the 1790s), the localmilitia (civilian volunteers) has been called up for home defence and its officers play an important role in the plot; inMansfield Park (1814), Fanny Price's brother William is amidshipman (officer in training) in theRoyal Navy; and inPersuasion (1818), Frederick Wentworth and several other characters are naval officers recently returned from service.
Charlotte Brontë's novelShirley (1849), set during the Napoleonic Wars, explores some of the economic effects of war on rural Yorkshire.
Fyodor Dostoevsky's bookThe Idiot had a character, General Ivolgin, who witnessed and recounted his relationship with Napoleon during the Campaign of Russia.
Roger Brook is a fictional secret agent and Napoleonic Wars Era gallant, later identified as the Chevalier de Breuc, in a series of twelve novels byDennis Wheatley
R. F. Delderfield, two novels about the Napoleonic Wars;Seven Men of Gascony (1949) about seven French infantrymen serving in a succession of Napoleonic campaigns, andToo Few For Drums (1964) about British soldiers cut off behind the French lines in Portugal in 1810, during the Peninsular War.
TheSharpe series byBernard Cornwell stars the character Richard Sharpe, a soldier in the British Army, who fights throughout the Napoleonic Wars. It was adapted into theSharpe TV Series starringSean Bean.
TheBloody Jack book series byLouis A. Meyer is set during the Second Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars, and retells many famous battles of the age. The heroine, Jacky, meets Bonaparte.
The Napoleonic Wars provide the backdrop forThe Emperor,The Victory,The Regency andThe Campaigners, Volumes 11, 12, 13 and 14 respectively ofThe Morland Dynasty, a series of historical novels by the authorCynthia Harrod-Eagles.
G.S. Beard, author of two novels (2010) about John Fury, British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars.
Napoleon's Blackguards, a novel by Stephen McGarry, set in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars about the travails of an elite unit of Napoleon'sIrish Legion.
Robert Challoner, author of three novels in the series about Charles Oakshott, British naval officer in Napoleonic Wars.
David Donachie's John Pearce series about a pressed seaman who becomes a British naval officer during the French Revolution wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Julian Stockwin's Thomas Kydd series portrays one man's journey from pressed man to Admiral in the time of the French and Napoleonic Wars
Simon Scarrow – Napoleonic series. Rise of Napoleon and Wellington from humble beginnings to history's most remarkable and notable leaders. Four books in the series.
Georgette Heyer's 1937 novelAn Infamous Army recounts the fortunes of a family in the run-up to and during the course of, theBattle of Waterloo. Heyer's novel is noted for its meticulous research on the progress of the battle, combining her noted period romance writing with her detailed research into regency history.
InJasper Kent's novelTwelve, 1812 Russian Invasion serves as a base story for the book. In later books from The Danilov Quintet, this war is constantly mentioned.
TheFighting Sail series by Alaric Bond portrays life and action aboard Royal Naval vessels during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. From the lower decks to the quarterdeck Bond's detailed settings are realistic. Narratives are told not just from a commissioned officer's point of view but include varied perspectives, including warranted officers, ordinary and able seamen, marines, supernumeraries, and women aboard presenting a broader, more complete picture of the Georgian Navy.[149]
^The termAustrian Empire came into use after Napoleon crowned himselfEmperor of the French in 1804, by whichFrancis II, Holy Roman Emperor took the titleEmperor of Austria (Kaiser von Österreich) in response. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, and consequentlyEmperor of Austria became Francis' primary title. For this reason,Austrian Empire is often used instead ofHoly Roman Empire for brevity's sake when speaking of the Napoleonic Wars, even though the two entities are not synonymous.
^abcdAfter the French victory against theFourth andFifth coalitions, Prussia and Austria became allies of France and contributed forces to theFrench Invasion of Russia in 1812. Both countries joined theSixth Coalition when the invasion failed.
^TheKingdom of Hungary participated in the war with separate Hungarian regiments[1][2] in the Imperial and Royal Army, and also by a traditional army ("insurrectio").[3] The Hungarian Diet voted to join in war and agreed to pay one third of the war expenses.
^abWhen Russia allied with France, itconquered Finland, which was under Swedish rule at the time. AfterMarshal Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden, Sweden nominally declaredwar on the United Kingdom, but no actual fighting was done. Sweden became a leading member of theSixth Coalition and declared war on France in 1812.
^abThe Iranian Qajar Dynastyfought a war against Russia from 1804 to 1813. At the start of the war, Iran received support from France. When Russia became an ally of France in 1807, French support for Iran ended, and Iran was instead supported by the United Kingdom.
^Sixteen of France's allies among the German states (including Bavaria and Württemberg) established theConfederation of the Rhine in July 1806 following theBattle of Austerlitz (December 1805).
^Nominally only. Ferdinandabdicated in 1808, but was proclaimed King by theSupreme Central Junta that year. Although recognised as King, he was unable to act as such, and the governing of the parts of Spain that were not occupied by the French fell to the Central Junta and later theCortes of Cadiz.
^Equivalent to £3.5 trillion as proportion of UK GDP in 2016.[64]
^Many historians say it was not the "first" total war; for a critique of Bell seeFrederick C. Schneid (2012).Napoleonic Wars. Potomac Books. p. 1802.ISBN978-1-59797-578-0.Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved18 June 2015.
^Buffinton, Arthur H. (1929).The Second Hundred Years' War, 1689–1815. See also:Crouzet, Francois (1996). "The Second Hundred Years War: Some Reflections".French History.10 (4):432–450.doi:10.1093/fh/10.4.432.ISSN0269-1191, andScott, H. M. (1992). "Review: The Second 'Hundred Years War' 1689–1815".The Historical Journal.35:443–469.doi:10.1017/S0018246X00025887.S2CID162306794.
^McConachy 2001, pp. 617–640: McConachy rejects the alternative theory that growing reliance on artillery by the French army beginning in 1807 was an outgrowth of the declining quality of the French infantry and, later, France's inferiority in cavalry numbers
^abMeriage, Lawrence P. (September 1978). "The First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of the Eastern Question".Slavic Review.37 (3):421–439.doi:10.2307/2497684.ISSN0037-6779.JSTOR2497684.
^Vucinich, Wayne S. The First Serbian Uprising, 1804–1813. Social Science Monographs, Brooklyn College Press, 1982.
^abcОслобођење, независност и уједињење Србије и Црне Горе. Београд: Историјски музеј Србије. 1999. p. 116.
^abcdЈован Милићевић (1994). "Петар I Петровић, Идеја о обнови српске државе".Црна Гора 1797–1851.Историјa српског народа, V-1. Београд. pp. 170–171.
^Bulletin scientifique. Vol. 22–23. Le Conseil. 1986. p. 300.This was the time when Petar I devised his visionary programme of creation of a Slavonic-Serb state
^Soviet Studies in History. Vol. 20. International Arts and Sciences Press. 1982. p. 28.Montenegro sent to Russia in the spring of 1807 a project for establishing a Slavic-Serbian kingdom in the Balkans
^Scott, Franklin D. (1984).The Peopling of America: Perspectives of Immigration. p. 24.Hansen, Marcus (1940).The Atlantic Migration. pp. 79–106, termed this a "new beginning" for American immigration. For further background context, see"North Atlantic, 1815–19". Migration as a travel business.Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved3 June 2015.
^Roberts, Andrew (April 2007). "Talleyrand: the old fraud".New Criterion.25 (8)."Men like M. de Talleyrand are like sharp instruments with which it is dangerous to play" concluded a sagacious Prince Metternich (a long-term paymaster).
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