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Italian Campaign - Success
Napoleon led his men into a battle heavily outnumbered. He was still relatively unknown and caught many by surprise when he pulled off a major victory. This has a big boost on his rise to power and was a major victory. Ends February 9, 1801 -
Egyptian Campaign - Both
After the major victory in Italy, Napoleon looked toward Egypt for another one. He was beginning to think about how he could take over and he saw more victories as a good way to get people on his side. Although this campaign did not succeed in terms of a victory. He did not give up and it proved that he was hungry for fame and power. Ends September 2, 1801 -
Consulate - Both
Napoleon assisted in creating the new constitution, and it was set up with 3 consuls. The first, which was Napoleon, held almost all power with no real way of stopping him. The other two were nearly irrelevant with no real responsibilities. This allowed Napoleon to completely run France with no way of stopping him. -
Banque de France - Success
Napoleon created this in order to help the French people after they entered a deep recession post-war. People were very poor and Napoleon decided this was the best way to bring the country out of it. This reinstilled confidence in Napoleon and the French banking system. -
Concordat of 1801 - Success
Napoleon and the pope agreed to bring the church officially back into France. Napoleon could now appoint church officials and the government would be in charge of paying them. The church and government were now officially one. -
Consul for Life - Both
Napoleon wanted to insure that he and his family would rule forever, and therefore enacted this. This meant that he and any of his sons would rule forever. He wanted his family name to be cemented in French legacy and this insured that was possible. -
Napoleonic Code - Both
Men were now in complete control over their families and the rights of women were reduced to almost nothing. Children also lost most of their rights they previously had. Slavery was also reintroduced into France. -
Napoleon Declared Himself as Emperor - Fail
This is when Napoleon began to truly get crazy and begin to do irrational things that benefited no one but himself. It was the first time in thousands of years that someone was crowned emporer, and it was more of a flex on how wealthy and powerful he was. The coronation was all about him and he wouldn’t even let the pope crown him, he crowned himself. This made people angry but there wasn’t much they could do. -
Battle of Trafalgar - Fail
This was a major naval battle and one that would take many lives. 33 French ships could not handle the 27 British ships and this battle was pivotal for Britain. Napoleon was at the height of his power but following this battle, they insured that he would not be able to invade Britain at any time. This was a major loss for Napoleon because it proved he was inferior to Britain and he could not beat them. -
Holy Roman Empire Abolished - Success
After over 1,000 years of the Holy Roman Empire ruling over most of Europe, Napoleon and his troops were finally able to take them down. They had slowly been taking bits and pieces by winning small battles, but they decided to go for it all once they knew they were weak and could not stop them. -
Continental System - Success
Napoleon wanted to get back at British for his recent loss, so he blocked off all trade and from Britain. This completely locked them down and restricted there influx of goods and their ability to send goods out. In rebuttal, they attempted to block trade with France but they were too far behind. This stretched Britain too far and allowed Napoleon to regain some ground. Ended April 11, 1814 -
Resistance in Spain - Fail
Spain was sick of France rolling over all of Europe and wanted to stand up to them and give them a fight. This was one of the first wars where guerrilla tactics were utilized, and this modernized the tactic and made it common in wars to come. Ended April 17, 1814 -
Russia Invasion - Fail
Napoleon was still rolling through europe and doing whatever he wanted, and this continued as he attacked an ally. He raised a massive army to attack a Russian army less than half the size of his. Russia retreated away from the fight and France quickly began to struggle with hunger and shelter. Russians continued to retreat further and further into Russia, which hurt France severely. The French had to leave with heavy losses and not much gained. Ended December 14, 1812 -
Battle of Nations at Leipzig - Fail
Napoleon wanted to attack Leipzig and one by one take out the other nations. His plan seemed as though it would work, but it quickly failed and Napoleon had to get out. Although it was a quick fight, France suffered very heavy losses and it was the first time it was clear that Napoleon lost. Ended October 19, 1813 -
Hundred Days - Both
Napoleon returned to France after being away for nearly a year. Louis XVIII fled immediately in fear of Napoleon as he quickly retook France. He was able to rule for 100 days until he was taken over for the last time. Ended July 8, 1815 -
Defeated at Waterloo - Fail
After a few recent losses in Napoleon’s time, the French faced two opponents and were completely overwhelmed. They were hemmed in from all sides and never had much of a shot. This would be the defeat to end Napoleon’s rein in France and his dominance of Europe and beyond. -
Napoleon Abdication - Fail
Napoleon abdicated to his son and left the country in defeat and embarrassed of his losses. This was officially the end of Napoleon. He would not return until after his death when his body was brought back for a magnificent funeral.