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Summer of 1793: showed Napoleon's skill for military strategy, gaining him promotion and credit.
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He shut down a mob of royalists trying to take back control over Paris by using artillery and targeting the crowd/mob. At this time, he was 26 years old.
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He led his troops across the Mediterranean Sea and gained control of much of Egypt, but in the Battle of the Nile, British commander Admiral Horatio Nelson trapped the French ships and destroyed their fleet, resulting in Napoleon's loss.
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Members of the Directory legislature were forced to hand over the government to Napoleon. Coup d'état is a forced transfer of power.
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A civil war had started in Saint Domingue and Napoleon believed it was beneficial to take control as Napoleon wanted to further stretch his power to the Americas.
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Due to the failed French Expedition to Saint Domingue, Napoleon had to give up his goal of extending power to the Americas, selling the territory for $11.25 million in addition to forgiving the $3.75 million of French debt.
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Napoleon wanted to conquer all of Europe, resulting in continuous wars for over a decade. During this time, France became the dominant power in Europe and grew rapidly, though later it would collapse at an even faster rate.
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He established a plebiscite, asking if voters desired to declare France as an empire, of which they voted favorably.
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Napoleon sent troops to conquer Portugal and took control of Spain, but the Spanish revolted due to their opposition of a foreign ruler. Great Britain supported Spain's revolt and despite Napoleon's great efforts, the start of a guerrilla war on Spain's part kept French troops cornered, eventually forcing Napoleon to retreat from Spain.
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After crossing into Russia and finding nothing, the French and Russians fought their first battle in August, resulting in a French victory, though with heavy casualties. Once the French reached Moscow, they found the city in ruins. With the harsh environment and the resulting suffering of troops, France left Moscow. On their way home, they went through harsh conditions on top of Russian peasants targeting the French soldiers. Only 94,000 of the 600,000 soldiers survived.
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Russia, Prussia, Austria, Great Britain defeated Napolean at the German city of Leipzig, triumphantly entering Paris in March 1814. Napoleon had to give up his throne, his empire being minimized to the single Mediterranean island of Elba.
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This was a brief period of hope for Napoleon as he came back to Paris who greeting him with cheers, soldiers sent to arrest him even siding with him.
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Great Britain and Prussia went against Napoleon, who was driven off at the end of the battle. Both sides resulted in heavy losses of 50,000 men in total. This was the downfall of Napoleon and the end of the Napoleonic wars.
