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Napoleon, often credited with being the
greatest ever military commander, was
born August 15th 1769, three months after
Corsica had been defeated in war and
taken over by France.
He was educated in France from the age
of nine. He later spent a year at the
Ecole Militaire in Paris before joining
an artillery division of the French Army
in 1785.
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France was a country of people
with great riches at that time, and
others in extreme poverty.
They had been at war with their
neighbouring counties, on and off,
for hundreds of years, such as
England, Russia, Holland, Austria,
Italy and Spain.
By 1789, the French people had
turned against King Louis XVI, with
the outbreak of the French
Revolution.
The revolutionaries had gained
control of France by 1792, with
Louis XVI brought to trial in
December of that year. He was
executed by guillotine January 21st
1793.
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A reign of terror followed, as the new
ruling faction, began executing all
potential enemies within their midst.
During the last six weeks of that period,
up to July 1794, nearly fourteen hundred
people, were guillotined in Paris alone.
France was then ruled by different
government factions until Napoleon became
ruler of France in 1799, and later,
Emperor in May 1804.
Napoleon had gained that position by
working his way up in the French army,
reaching the status of Brigadier General
by 1793. Later in that year, he played a
decisive part in the siege of Toulon, the
battle that saw British forces removed
from France. By 1796, he was leading an
army through Italy, further enhancing his
reputation with some famous victories.
Italy was followed by the invasion of
Egypt, with his defeat of the Egyptians
at the Battle of the Pyramids, gaining
him control of Cairo.
The French navy were defeated by the
British navy led by Admiral Horatio
Nelson at Aboukir Bay (Nile) August 1st
1798, this isolating Napoleons
expedition. Napoleon was then forced to
abandon his army and return to
France.
By 1799, Napoleon had become ruler of
France. The following year, he defeated
Austria in a war that brought peace to
the region for a time. The few years of
peace that followed, saw Napoleon
proclaimed Consul for life, then in 1804,
became Emperor of France, crowned by the
Pope.
As Napoleon then had the power he
craved, he set about his ambition of
ruling all of Europe, defeating the
countries that were plotting his
demise.
He led his armies to two great
victories against the Prussians (lands of
modern day Germany & Poland) in 1806,
and the Russians in 1807, then formed an
alliance with Russia. That alliance
allowed him to plot the downfall of his
greatest enemy, Britain.
Napoleon then sent troops to Britain's
ally Portugal, where they took control of
the port of Lisbon. The capture of Lisbon
was an attempt to cut Britain's supply
route from the far east.
British and Spanish troops were sent
to Portugal in response where they met
Napoleons Grand Army on the Iberian
Peninsular (lands of Spain &
Portugal). The series of wars that
followed, saw the Spanish troops defeated
and the British pushed back to the
coast.
By that time, most of Europe was under
Napoleons control. Britain and Austria
formed a coalition in 1809, and Russia
broke off its alliance with France in
1812. Napoleon then invaded Russia with a
multi national army of over 600,000 men,
capturing Moscow. However, the Russians
were far from defeated, and along with
the harsh Russian winter, they turned the
war around with Napoleon's army
eventually decimated and fleeing in
chaos, only 100,000 made it back to
France.
Prussia, Sweden and Austria then
declared war on France. Their combined
forces defeated Napoleon at the Battle of
the Nations in October 1813. That battle
saw Napoleon's army of 200,000 men and
700 cannon, face an Allied army of over
400,000 with 1,500 cannon.
By 1814, Napoleon was forced to
abdicate. He then went into exile on the
Island of Elba. The Bourbon King Louis
XVIII (younger brother of the executed
Louis XVI) was then restored to the
throne.
In March 1815, Napoleon returned to
France where he regained the throne
without bloodshed. By June of that year,
he had been defeated by the British
commander Duke of Wellington at the
Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleon was then forced into exile
for a second time. He spent the rest of
his life on the island of St Helena in
the South Atlantic. His death May 5th
1821, saw him buried on the island.
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His remains were moved from St
Helena in 1840 so they could be
reburied at the French army museum
at Invalides in Paris.
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Napoleon's Crypt at the
Invalides
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