Napoleon's Domination of Europe

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Napoleonic Europe
1795-1815
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Corsica
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• In 1799, Napoleon stages a Coup d etat and forms
  a new government The Consulate
• He is named First Consul in a plebiscite
• In 1804 he holds a second plebiscite creating the
  French Empire and becomes Emperor of France

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Coronation of Emperor Napoleon I (1804)
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Crowning of Empress Josephine
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Napoleons Domination of Europe

• After becoming emperor, Napoleon began preparing
  an invasion of Great Britain
• In 1805, the British declared war on France and
  formed the Third Coalition
• Two major battles decided the fate of this
  Coalition. They were
• The Battle of Cape Trafalgar
• The Battle of Austerlitz

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Battle of Cape Trafalgar October 21, 1805

• Napoleon planned to destroy the British navy and
  invade England
• A combined French and Spanish fleet lured the
  British into a battle off the southern coast of
  Spain
• The British under Admiral Horatio Nelson
  destroyed the fleet. However, Nelson was killed
  in the battle
• The defeat caused Napoleon to abandon plans to
  invade Britain

Admiral Horatio Nelson
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Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805)

• The Russians were forced to flee back to Poland
• The Austrians signed a treaty making them an ally
  of France.
• Napoleon broke up The Holy Roman Empire and
  formed the Confederation of the Rhine. He added
  it to his empire.

• Napoleon crushed a combined Austrian and Russian
  Army at the small Austrian town of Austerlitz,
  by luring them into a trap

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Napoleons Defeat of Prussia
1806-1807

• After Napoleon created the Confederation of the
  Rhine, the Prussians began to fear his plans for
  the German territory
• The Prussians decided to attack the French
  unaided. Big Mistake!
• French and Prussian forces met in two major
  battles which gave Napoleon control of Western
  Europe. They were
• The Battle of Jena
• The Battle of Friedland

Arc de Triomphe, Paris Built in 1807 to
commemorate Napoleons victories
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Battle of Jena - 1806

• French forces crushed the Prussians and drove
  them into Poland
• The French captured and occupied Berlin
• Prussia retreated into Poland and joined the
  Russian forces which had been defeated earlier at
  Austerlitz
• The new alliance planned to defeat Napoleon at
  the Polish town of Friedland

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Battle of Friedland - (June 1807)

• Napoleon defeated a combined Russian and Prussian
  Army Prussia became an ally of France
• Napoleon created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw as a
  buffer against Russia
• Napoleon met with Russian Czar Alexander I and
  signed the Peace of Tilsit which gave France
  control of Western Europe and allowed Russia to
  control Eastern Europe

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The Continental System 1806-1812

• In an attempt to crush the British economy,
  Napoleon ordered all European countries to stop
  trading with England. This was known as the
  Continental System.
• Britain responded with Orders in Council,
  blockading European ports.
• The navies of both sides seized neutral ships,
  especially American ship.
• In the long run, France was hurt more by the
  Continental System than was England

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The Peninsular Campaign (1808-1814)

• Portugal refused to join the Continental System.
  In 1808, Napoleon decided to invade and force
  them to join
• After defeating Portugal, Napoleon tried to
  conquer Spain and place his brother Joseph on the
  throne.
• Intense Spanish nationalism led to savage
  guerilla warfare between the Spanish people and
  French troops
• The campaign dragged on for 6 years.
• More than 300,000 French soldiers died. These
  men would be needed later.
• The Spanish success aroused Nationalism
  throughout Europe, and inspired subjected
  countries to fight back

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The Russian Campaign (1812)

• Invade Russia to force them back into the
  Continental System
• Started with 600,000 men. Largest in history
• Russians retreated slowly as winter set in
• Napoleons troops got caught in Moscow during
  winter and were forced to retreat
• Most disastrous retreat in military history
• By the end of the campaign only 10,000 men
  remained.

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