Napoleon Bonaparte – Great History

Napoleon’s Crossing of the Alps

By 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte had established himself as First Consul of the French Republic, making himself functionally the autocratic head of state of a centralised republican government. Wielding his newfound and profound executive power, he pacified royalist rebels, established a new national bank to stabilise the economy, cracked down on banditry in the French countryside, reforms that were only exemplified by state owned newspapers. In what many describe as a benevolent dictatorship, Napoleon transformed France from the chaos of the early Republic into the stability of the Consulate. However, France’s foreign affairs position was nowhere near as good as its domestic one.

After Napoleon’s initial triumph in Northern Italy, the Second Coalition declared war on France. The powers of the Second Coalition sought to reverse French expansion across Europe, dismantle the satellite republics established during the Revolutionary Wars, and weaken France’s new republican regime. Specifically, Russian Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov had recaptured the Northern Italian territories that Napoleon had conquered in 1797, leaving French forces under the command of General André Masséna starving and in desperate need of supplies on the Mediterranean coast. When Tsar Paul I withdrew Russia from the coalition, it still left almost 100,000 Austrians in Northern Italy, under the Command of Field Marshal Michael von Melas.

Napoleon eventually rallied 60,000 reserve troops in order to liberate the French Forces at Genoa, reclaim Northern Italy and defeat the Austrians. A much more cautious man than Napoleon might have reinforced Masséna from the west, taking advantage of pre-existing friendly supply roots and would avoid a treacherous trek over the Alps. However, he believed that driving back enemy forces on his own supply depots could leave to a stalemate. So he took an incredibly bold plan. Though armies had crossed the Alps many times since antiquity, few had attempted to move a large force with artillery through such difficult terrain at speed and in secrecy. What it did require, however, was Masséna holding the line. By April, this was a very real fear that eventually materialised.

A map of French Positions by 1800 (Epic History, YouTube)

On April 6th, Melas launched a massive offensive against Masséna’s forces, which split his army in two and forced him to retreat into the city of Genoa, beginning a siege from both the land and sea. Fearing that the fall of Genoa would force him to be trapped between the mountains and the Austrian forces, Napoleon rallies his forces on May 6th to advance from Geneva across the Alps.

An army can pass always, and at any season, wherever two men can set their feet.
Napoleon, May 1800

The Alps are a great land to cross. At around 100 miles in width and peaks reaching over 14,000 feet, the Army of the Reserve, numbering roughly 40,000 men, crossed through several Alpine passes, with the main body using the Great St Bernard Pass, which has a peak of around 8,600 feet, a march that was led by General Jean Lannes on May 8th. Despite the spring season, the mountains were blanketed in thick snow and. To reduce the likelihood of an avalanche decimating the troops, they travelled at night and early morning. Despite the men considering mutiny due to the rough conditions, they eventually reached St Bernard Hospice, where food and rest was prepared.

An illustration of the hospice on the pass

Despite the brutal conditions, losses during the crossing were surprisingly light. Contrary to the propaganda of the era, Napoleon himself made the crossing on a sure-footed mule as opposed to a charger. Lannes’ advanced guard swept aside Austrian outposts and surprised an outpost at Châtillon. However, they encountered fierce opposition by Captain Josef Stockard von Bernkopf at Fort Bard.

Conditions in besieged Genoa became desperate, with food shortages reducing troops and civilians to eating horses and other animals as famine intensified. Not only that, but General Jean-de-Dieu Soult was badly wounded and captured by Austrian Forces. At Fort Bard, a small Austrian garrison temporarily blocked the French advance. Unable to quickly storm the fort, Napoleon ordered artillery dragged past the position at night with wheels wrapped to reduce noise. Lannes attacked the enemy at Ivrea before advancing on Romana. Napoleon rapidly entered Lombardy, seized Milan, and threatened Austrian communications, forcing Melas to abandon his wider strategic position and confront the French army. Napoleon had seized the strategic initiative, but Austria’s army remained intact. The campaign’s outcome would be decided weeks later on the plains near Marengo.

We have struck here like lightning […] the enemy can hardly believe it
Napoleon to Joseph Bonaparte, 24th May, 1800

An idealised portrait of Napoleon crossing the Alps in 1800

The Brumaire Coup

By October of 1799, Napoleon had returned from Egypt. Despite his humiliating defeat at the siege of Acre, his popularity could not be higher, thanks to his self published propaganda. However, France was still in crisis. With prices soaring, taxes on the rise and banditry rife, people called for Napoleon to save the country.

However, not everyone was happy with this. The French Directory, a group of 5 individuals who had executive power in France, believed that Napoleon should be court-martialled for abandoning his men in Egypt under the command of Jean-Baptiste Kléber. However, moving against such a hugely popular general would cause mass upheaval, and make the Directory’s position weaker than it already was. Napoleon was a notable critic of the Directory, stating to General Paul Thiélbault that:

These men are bringing France down to the level of their own blundering. They are degrading her. Well, what can generals expect from this government of lawyers.
Napoleon speaking to Thiélbault, October 26th, 1799

A painting of the formation of the French Directory

The members of the Directory consisted of Paul Barras, permanent member of the Directory since its formation in 1795 and a close ally of Napoleon but was seen as corrupt, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, one of the leading political thinkers in France and author of “What is the Third Estate?” which was a widely influential political pamphlet in the Revolution, Louis-Jérôme Gohier, a staunch Jacobin and former Minister of Justice, Jean-François Moulin, another staunch Jacobin and General, and Roger Ducos, a more moderate ally of Sieyès. This executive branch was not without a legislative one, that being the Council of 500, who proposed laws, and the Council of Elders, who passed them. The two councils all dressed in clothes reminiscent of robes worn in the Roman Republic. However, all three of these institutions were seen as corrupt and unfit to govern France. And one of the people who say it was Sieyès himself.

Sieyès, who believed that the current system was corrupt and in need of desperate change with a constitution that he would pen, began webbing a mass conspiracy to overthrow the French Government as it stood. It began with Maurice de Talleyrand, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and an influential political figure. He also recruited a fellow Director, the ever loyal Roger Ducos, as well as roping in the Presidents of both the Council of 500 and the Council of Elders. Joseph Fouché, Minister of Police, became aware of the conspiracy. Whilst he did not join, he stated that he would not intervene. However, there was one man that Sieyès needed in order to secure the army. He called this man “The Sword”, a populary military figurehead to be used at the decisive moment before being “sheathed” afterwards. After considering multiple options, Sieyès eventually approached General Jean Victor Marie Moreau, who declined, but personally recommended a different man.

There’s your man. [Napoleon Bonaparte] will make a better job of your coup d’état than I could.
Moreau on Napoleon Bonaparte

Despite the President of the Council of 500 being Napoleon’s own brother, Lucien Bonaparte, Sieyès disliked Napoleon’s clear ambition. However, Talleyrand managed to convince Sieyès to let Napoleon into the plot. Eventually, a conspiracy came together within a week of Napoleon and Sieyès’ first encounter. The date was set for November 7th, or the 16th of Brumaire on the Revolutionary Calendar (RC), and would take two days. In case anything went awry, the conspirators had safety measures. Sieyès had a briefcase full of money and good to go. Fouché had an arrest warrant drafted for Napoleon in case he needed to switch sides. Napoleon himself slept with a pair of loaded pistols at his bedside.

However, the plot had to be delayed by 48 hours, during which time, Napoleon visited the house of General Jean Bernadotte, where he had dinner with Bernadotte, Moreau and General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, in order to get more allies in the army for the coup. Whilst Moreau agreed to assist and Jourdan agreed to stay neutral, Bernadotte was outraged, crying that Napoleon would be guillotined. Napoleon responded with two simple words.

We’ll see.
Napoleon to Bernadotte

November 9th (17 Brumaire RC) finally rolled around. Having rallied 60 officers to his house, Napoleon initiated the call to arms. Meanwhile, an unscheduled meeting of the Council of Elders was held in the Tuileries Palace, the seat of the French Government. Here, the Moderates quickly passed two measures, that Napoleon would take charge of the Paris Military District and that the next days Council Meetings shall take place at the Château de Saint-Cloud, a palace approximately 5 miles outside the city, both of which were under the pretence that a Jacobin Revolution was underway in Paris. Across town at Luxembourg Palace, Ducos and Sieyès both resigned their positions as Directors and attempted to convince Barras, Gohier and Moulin to do the same. Whilst Barras complied with the help of a hefty bribe, Gohier and Moulin refused. As a result they were placed under house arrest under the observation of General Moreau. With the executive branch now gone, the conspirators could make their move.

On November 10th (18 Brumaire RC), Napoleon woke up early to travel to the Château de Saint-Cloud. Joachim Murat, a newly promoted General of Division, had rallied 6,000 troops at the Château. As deputies of the Councils arrived, the vast military presence could not go unnoticed. At this meeting, the Jacobin deputies were permitted, who were furious at not having been included in the meeting of the previous day. When the sessions began at 1pm, chaos quickly descends upon the two chambers. Napoleon, having lost patience, barged into the meeting of the Council of Elders. Whilst he was trying to speak, he was heckled. When one deputy asked him “What about the constitution?” Napoleon responded by saying:

The Constitution! You yourselves have destroyed it. You violated it on 18 Fructidor [September 14th]; you violated it on 22 Floreal [May 11th]; you violated it on 30 Prairial [June 18th]. It no longer has the respect of anyone.
Napoleon to the Council of Elders

At this remark, there was an uproar in the council. Napoleon went on, demanding action and implying that the Elders were paid off with British money. Eventually, he was dragged out of the room by 4 soldiers. It did not take him long before he walked into the Council of 500. It was even more raucous in there. Napoleon could hardly get a word in, as he was shoved, grabbed and even punched, amid cries comparing him to Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell.

A painting of Napoleon (central) in the chaotic Council of 500

Eventually, a group of grenadiers retrieved Napoleon an took him out to the courtyard. Despite it not being a desirable option, military action had to be taken. A bruised and bloody Napoleon ordered grenadiers to go inside and dispel the chaos, but were stopped by the Council Guard at the doorstep. However, Lucien finally took initiative on the matter. On horseback, Lucien cried:

Citizen soldiers! The great majority of the Council is at this moment being terrorised by a handful of deputies armed with daggers. These brigands are doubt in English pay… I declare to you that these madmen have made themselves outlaws by their assaults on the liberty of this Council!
Lucien speaking to the crowd of soldiers in the courtyard

He then drew a sword and pointed it directly at Napoleon’s chest.

I swear that I will stab my own brother to the heart if he ever makes an assault on the liberty of Frenchmen.
Lucien speaking to the crowd of soldiers in the courtyard

Eventually, the grenadiers were let inside and the Councils were dispersed quickly. Some accounts suggest that robes and hats were left behind as deputies leapt out of windows. Soon, a new measure was passed by the remaining moderate deputies. It detailed that the Councils shall not meet for 4 months, that the Directory be abolished and replaced with a consulate. The third consul would be Ducos, the second would be Sieyès and the first consul would be Napoleon Bonaparte.

Just six years earlier, Napoleon was a young Corsican leading his first major victory at 24 at Toulon. Now, he was 30 and leading one of the most powerful nations in the world. And yet, somehow, his ambitions still lead higher and higher. An ambition that would conquer Europe in years to come.

Napoleon’s Expedition to Egypt

Napoleon returned to Paris from his campaign in Italy and was lauded as a hero. His campaign was so successful that the French Government believed that Napoleon was capable of an invasion of mainland Britain. However, as the War of the Second Coalition broke out, Napoleon soon realised that the French Navy was nowhere near powerful enough to take on the powerful Royal Navy. Instead, he decided to take out Britain’s supply line to India by taking control of Ottoman Controlled Egypt, whilst also securing the Sultan of the Indian Mysore Kingdom as a potential ally.

By 1798, Napoleon was elected to the French Academy of Sciences, after which he went to Egypt with 40,000 soldiers, and a collection of 167 scientists, mathematicians, naturalists, chemists and geodesists. However, on the way there, he managed to capture Malta, then under the control of The Order of St John of Jerusalem. They put up little fight and Napoleon only lost 3 men. On July 1st of 1798, Napoleon’s forces landed in Alexandria. They combatted the Ottomans on multiple occasions, most notably at the Battle of the Pyramids, which was located approximately 24km (15 miles) from the Great Pyramids of Giza. In the battle, there was less than 30 French casualties compared to the nearly 2,000 they inflicted.

A painting of the Battle of the Pyramids (July 21st, 1798)

Despite this increase to French morale, disaster struck when Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed or captured all but 2 out of 17 French Ships in the Battle of the Nile. After this decisive loss in the Mediterranean Campaign, Napoleon travelled north to Damascus with 13,000 men, capturing the port towns of Gaza, Arish, Haifa and Jaffa. Most notably, Napoleon noticed that, when he attacked Jaffa, the defenders were largely made of Albanian prisoners of war on parole. As a result, when he conquered the town, he ordered the garrison to be executed by bayonet and drowning. Then, all the men, women and children were pillaged, murdered or raped for 2 days and nights.

Napoleon’s army eventually reached the city of Acre. Believing it to be an easy victory, Napoleon decided to only use infantry to attack the city, believing that they would capitulate easily. He believed it would only take two weeks to capture the city before he would then march on Jerusalem. However, after one and a half months, the city stood firm. Many believe this was in part due to the large Albanian population of the city, fearing that they may share the same fate as Jaffa if they fell. Not only that but the British came in to assist, supplying the city’s defences with fresh sailors and marines, and sunk multiple French siege artillery ships. Once the French forces had finally managed to make a break through the wall of the city they discovered that the defenders had built a much deeper wall within. A cold, hungry and plague ridden French Army eventually retreated on May 21st, 1799, after a two month long siege.

A painting of the Siege of Acre (March 20th – May 21st 1799)

Napoleon returned to Egypt, having lost over 5,000 men in the siege, 2,000 of whom had succumbed to the bubonic plague. After this humiliating defeat, Napoleon decided to return to France without his army, fearing that the French Republic may soon collapse. Or was it perhaps him taking advantage of an opportunity?

Napoleon’s First Italian Campaign

After the Siege of Toulon, and a subsequent crushing of a Parisian Royalist uprising, Napoleon had managed to land himself the rank of Major General, one of the highest ranks in the French Revolutionary Army. He was assigned his own army and decided that, in order to rise the social hierarchy, he needed a woman. Despite many women finding him creepy and disgusting, he managed to marry Josephine de Beauharnais, an older widow with two children and a rather promiscuous background, on March 9th, 1796. Only two days later, the French Government ordered an all out offensive against Austria. Napoleon was assigned to a southern campaign through Italy as more of a distraction away from Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Jean Victor Marie Moreau. This would be his first major campaign, and it would be the first of many successes for Napoleon, at only 28-years-old.

You to whom nature has given spirit, sweetness, and beauty, you who alone can move and rule my heart, you who know all too well the absolute empire you exercise over it!
A letter Napoleon sent to Josephine in Februrary of 1797, during the Italian Campaign

The army assigned to him was demoralised, underpaid and in desperate need of equipment. However, Napoleon lifted their spirits with inspirational speeches, something that would become a staple of his career to come. Severely outnumbered, he would split his enemies into two and take them on separately, which would later become the iconic Napoleon strategy of dividing and conquering. Using this strategy, Sardinia was knocked out of the war and the Austrians were sent running. During the Austrian retreat, Napoleon was in the fray himself at the famous Battle of Lodi, aiming cannons and getting covered in mud, earning the respect of his men, to such an extent to the point where he ordered an almost suicidal charge over a river, they followed and succeeded.

Napoleon swept through Northern Italy, being welcomed in town after town with open arms, believing them to liberating the people from their Austrian oppressors. However, Napoleon would plunder towns and send riches back to France. It is estimated that Napoleon collected 45 million Francs in money, 12 million Francs worth of jewellery and precious metals, as well as an additional 300 art pieces, such as sculptures and paintings. He also used some of the money he plundered to pay his men, some of the first real money they had seen in ages.

During the campaign, Napoleon also became more influential in French politics. He created two newspapers, one for circulation amongst soldiers and the other for the French populous. Recognising his ambition, French Royalists warned that Napoleon may be on the path to becoming a dictator. In response, Napoleon sent General Charles-Pierre Augereau to Paris to support a coup that purged royalists from legislative councils. This meant that Paul Barras, one of the Directors of the Executive Branch of the French Government, had a firm grip on power but was now more dependent on Napoleon.

Whilst the northern front was at a stalemate, Napoleon began making a bee-line straight for Vienna. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, had to withdraw forces to Vienna, despite gaining a successful victory against the northern forces, due to Napoleon’s assault. After losing to Napoleon at the Battle of Tarvis, the Austrian government sued for peace when they learnt that Napoleon had arrived at Leoben, a city just 100km (62 miles) away from Vienna. With Napoleon overseeing negotiations himself, Austria allowed France to take control of much of Northern Italy as well as the low countries. He managed the establishment of many Sister Republics for the French Republic, of which he wrote constitutions and organised governments. Napoleon’s first success had been a great one, and it was only the beginning of his military career.

From that moment, I foresaw what I might be. Already I felt the earth flee from beneath me, as if I were being carried into the sky.
Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Lodi

Casualties

First French Republic – 45,000 killed, captured or wounded
Coalition Forces (Sardinia, Habsburg Empire, Papal States, Venice) – 27,000 killed, 160,000 captured

The Siege of Toulon

The year was 1793. Louis XVI, the 45th King of France, was dead, beheaded by his own people. Outside of Paris, Royalist sentiment was abundant and, in an attempt to unite France behind one cause, the Revolutionary government declared war on Austria-Hungary, who believed that France’s anti-monarchist sentiment would spread across the continent. Austria called upon its allies and France was no in all out war with most major powers, including the United Kingdom, Sardinia, Spain and Prussia.

Naturally, this did not help the French cause and violent uprisings began sparking up across France. One such place these uprisings was the port city of Toulon, a highly strategic naval base in the Mediterranean. This uprising was, unsurprisingly, backed by the British, who were welcomed into the port with open arms. France had now lost the naval power of the Mediterranean without a shot being fired. France needed this port back desperately and sent 19,000 troops down to deal with the uprising. One of these forces was commanded by a then relatively unknown artillery officer, by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon was from the island of Corsica, which was purchased by France from Genoa not long before Napoleon was born. The island had widespread anti-French sentiment, which Napoleon agreed with. His father, on the other hand, gladly embraced the new French rulers, leading to father and son often butting heads. He was sent to military school in France, where he was heavily bullied due to his accent and his families lack of wealth. However, he held his ground and often stood up to bullies. When he wasn’t beating up the bullies, he would often be found alone reading about the conqueror’s of old, like Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. He wondered if it was possible if he could be as great and powerful as them.

Once he graduated, he was made Second Lieutenant in an artillery regiment. But Napoleon was not content with this. He had ambition and wanted more power. However, in pre-revolutionary France, military ranks were most often gained by nobility and nepotism, not by actual talent. Luckily for Napoleon, the Revolution occurred and the people of France were now on a more equal playing field. Whilst Napoleon was not too big on the violence and mass beheadings, he believed that, in order to rise the ranks, he must become pro-revolutionary.

General Jean-François Carteaux, the leader of the forces at Toulon, was a court painter by trade with zero military training so was not highly skilled in leadership positions. Not only that but one of his only professional officers was seriously wounded in battle. Antoine Saliceti, a Corsican deputy of the National Convention, recommended Napoleon, who was travelling near Toulon on his way to the front lines. Despite Napoleon having almost no military experience yet, Saliceti appreciated his manner and political aspirations. Carteaux had almost no choice but to accept Napoleon to lead the Siege of Toulon.

A map of Toulon, with the Fort’s labelled

Napoleon’s plan was simple. They needed to build up significantly more guns and train the infantry to operate them. Then, they would capture the southern Fort L’Eguilette, allowing them to inflict heavy artillery casualties on the British ships, forcing them to leave, which was important as the ships were the key source of defence. The first part of this plan, however, involved the capture of Mount Caire, where British troops were stationed. After an unsuccessful assault, due to Carteaux being hesitant to send the 3,000 men required to accomplish the task, command of Toulon was handed over to General Dugommier. He stated that:

There is only one possible plan – Bonaparte’s
General Dugommier speaking on Toulon

In order to build up the fortifications of Toulon, the British built a new fort called Fort Mulgrave. The area was so fortified it was called “Little Gibraltar” by the French. An unsuccessful British counter attack followed and, in the early hours of the 18th of December, 1793, in the pouring rain and howling wind, Napoleon’s forces charged up the hill. The muskets were useless as guns due to the rain and could only be used as clubs and bayonets. The second charge came, with Napoleon in this wave. During this, his horse was killed and he was wounded in his thigh, mere inches away from a fatal stab. However, despite this, the British were driven off the Mountain after severe hand to hand combat, and French artillery now observed Toulon.

The British, not wanting to lose their ships, began evacuating the city. Citizens, who feared being executed as traitors to the Republic, attempted to board the ships. Some 14,000 were evacuated whilst the rest of the city either drowned in the chaos or were executed by firing squad in the morning. This was the first victory of Napoleon Bonaparte, a path that would lead Europe down a 21 year long path of near endless war. At the time, Napoleon was only 24 and was promoted to Brigadier General.