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Napoleon’s Italian Campaign (green)
Napoleon was in charge of the French army in March 1796. He led the French and their 38,000 troops against the 38,000 Austrians and their allies. the 25,000 Piedmontese. His plan was to isolate a group and take them out very quickly, and this worked, He took out the Piedmontese easily, and scared the Austrians, pushing them further and further away. This was one of Bonaparte’s first successes. -
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Napoleon In Action
Napoleon Bonaparte was first put into action as leader of the army in France, and ended as being exiled away into the Americas, coming just a memory. This timeline is about the events Napoleon went through to try and bring success to France. -
Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign (yellow)
Napoleon wanted to establish scientific enterprise, and to ultimately seize Egypt. He wanted to improve his trade routes and he was very interested in learning. It was the primary purpose of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, a series of naval engagements. The campaign ended in defeat for Napoleon, as he was defeated at the Battle of the Nile. This was a success and a failure because he learned about Egypt and won battles and trade routes, but he lost the biggest one and was forced to leave. -
Consulate (yellow)
When Napoleon was given First Consul, he had wielded all real power. This wasn’t really a success and this did not stay long, as Napoleon disbanded it when he became self emperor in 1804. Yes, it did work while he was not in charge, but he disbanded it because he wanted to create a new government, -
Banque de France (green)
The Bank of France began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It was founded in 1800, and it was to foster economic recovery after the strong recession of the revolutionary period. This became a very big success for Napoleon, and this was in charge for many years. This created the euro system. -
Concordat of 1801 (green)
This was used to regulate relations between Napoleon and the Catholic Church. This solidified the Catholic church as the leading church, or majority in France. Napoleon was given the right to nominate bishops. The pope accepted the actions of those who had acquired church property, and by way of compensation the government engaged to give the bishops suitable salaries. This was a huge success for Napoleon, and this stayed in affect until 1905. Napoleon was finally on good terms with the church. -
Consul For Life (green)
Napoleon was part of a group that successfully overthrew the French Directory. The Directory was replaced with a three-member Consulate, and Napoleon became first consul, making him France's leading political figure. He established himself as the head of a more autocratic and centralized republican government in France while not declaring himself sole ruler. This was a success for Napoleon as this led him to becoming the Emperor of France. -
Napoleonic Code (green)
The Napoleonic Code, or The French Civil Code, had defined the concept of equality before the law and also secured the right to property. This was a success for Napoleon because this code abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom. This stuck around for many years. -
Declared self emperor (green)
In the Cathedral of Paris, Napoleon had crowned himself as emperor. He snatched the crown away from the pope, and began to cheer as he had just crowned himself Emperor of France. He had believed he was worthy and deserving of this spot. He began making changes fast, turning France around. This was a success for Napoleon, as most people believed he deserved the role. He had became successful in his early years, which helped his case even more. -
Battle of Trafalgar (red)
This event was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies. Napoleon was defeated by the British Fleet and Admiral Lord Nelson. This was a failure for Napoleon as he had to lie to his people about winning when he lost. -
Abolished Holy Roman Empire (green)
On this date, Francis II abdicated his title and released all imperial states and officials from their oaths and obligations to the empire. Napoleon already claimed himself as emperor, so Francis ll stepped down and gave up his actual reign. Napoleon finally got his chance to be the real emperor, and it was a success. He changed the Holy Roman Empire to the Confederation of the Rhine. -
Continental System (red)
In the Napoleonic wars, the blockade designed by Napoleon to stop Great Britain through the destruction of British commerce was put into use. Napoleon's plan to weaken Britain's economy by banning trade between Britain and states occupied by or allied with France did not work. This was a fail and actually hurt Napoleon and France more than it did Britain. -
Resistance in Spain (red)
On this day in history, Napoleon decided to invade Spain. This had started the Peninsular war, which was one of many wars in the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon was defeated by Spain after very long years of fighting. Napoleon underestimated the possibility of popular resistance to the occupation of Spain by French armies. Therefore, this resulted in another failure for Napoleon. -
Napoleon’s Invade of Russia (yellow)
At first, it seemed as if France might win against Russia. France had moved Russia far, and were making them retreat by the day. France took over Moscow and waited for one peace treaty, which they never received. France and Russia both has lost tons of troops, and the french had way less food. They were dying of sickness and hunger by the minute, Napoleon decided to leave them, and he headed back to Paris. Later on, this led to his defeat but he still stood in reign for two more years. -
Battle of Nations at Leipzig (red)
This was a very close defeat for Napoleon, as he almost pulled off a victory. The German campaign had 560,000 soldiers, an overwhelming amount. They had heavy artillery and were difficult for France. Defeated again, Napoleon was forced to return to France while the Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine. This lowered Napoleon’s confidence and he aaa almost out of options on what to do next. He was exiled to Elba in May of 1814. -
Hundred Days (red)
The Hundred Days were known as the war of the Seventh Coalition. This marked the time of Napoleon’s return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris. The events after his return were gruesome, as he lost the battle of Waterloo, and had to give the throne to Louis XVIII. The hundred days were a fail, as this was supposed to be a comeback for Napoleon, but instead drove him into the dirt even more. -
Waterloo (red)
The Battle of Waterloo is known as Napoleon’s final defeat. In 1815, this was the battle that marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition, which was a British led army that involved many of their allies as well. This was under the command of the Duke of Wellington. -
Abdication (red)
Napoleon returned to Paris in the hope of retaining political support for his position as Emperor of the French. He hoped to be able to continue the war. It was not to be; instead the members of the two chambers created a Provisional Government and demanded that Napoleon abdicate. Therefore, this was Napoleon’s last defeat. He was kicked out of Paris and ultimately was just a memory. His son was deposed and France surrendered days later.