Three Wars That Led To The Defeat

Three Wars That Led To The Defeat Of Napoleon Essay, Research Paper Three wars that led to the defeat of Napoleon Essay submitted by Unknown Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the most powerful men ever to walk the face of the earth. Many believe him to be the first anti-christ, just as Nostradamus predicted. To the troops he commanded, he was known as the “friendly little corporal” , and to the monarchs and kings that he overthrew, he was the “Corsican Ogre” (”Napoleon Bonaparte” ). Some thought him to be a great reformer. Others thought that he was a monster. However, friend and foe alike could both agree on one thing; Napoleon I, Emperor of France and leader of most of Europe for sixteen years, was one of the greatest and boldest military geniuses of all

time(”Napoleon Bonaparte”). However, like every great leader, Napoleon too had his downfall. Napoleon participated in three wars that led to his downfall: “The Attack on Russia”, “The War of Nations”, and “Waterloo”. Napoleon was once quoted as saying, “A battle is a dramatic action which has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The order of battle which the two armies take, the first movements to come to blows- this is the exposition; the counter- movement of the army under attack form the complication, which requires dispositions and and brings on crisis from which springs the result or Denouement (Gray 6)”. Napoleon thought himself to be invincible and God-like. He felt that he had a destiny to be one of the greatest military leaders to ever live. The man

thought that he could not be killed on the battle field, he was right. He went from a soldier to the Emperor of France in just ten short years; he fell in less than three. Napoleon led an army of six-hundred-thousand men into Russia (Reihn 159). Napoleon was always very concerned about his soldiers and made sure that they were well taken care of (Segur 58 ). Napoleon attacked Russia from the Neims River on June 24, 1812. As soon as they crossed the Neims, a Cossack surprised them and questioned them. They said they were French and that they had come to make war with Russia. Some of the soldiers chased the Cossack into the forest and fired at him (Segur 68). This made Napoleon very angry. They slept on the bank of the Neims with their weapons in hand. Napoleon also issued a fire

ban so that they would be undetected by their enemy. There was a great thunder-storm and they took shelter. From there he traveled to Kovno. From Kovno they pushed the Russians further into Russia. They kept on the Russians trail for a month (Segur 74). The Russians kept retreating back into the country, burning all supplies that Napoleon could use, be! cause the Russians knew that Napoleon’s supplies would not last very long (Reihn 159). After about a month they saw the enemy and immediately started firing their cannons at the enemy. The French won the first battle at Ostrovna. Napoleon’s brother-in-law Murat drove the remaining Russians into the woods. The Russians took new positions. The Russians came out of the woods yelling and screaming. The French beat them down, and

the Russians retreated back into the woods. Napoleon ordered the fighting to stop so he could survey the land and plan the next battle (Segur 89). By mid-summer the soldiers began to get worn out and the supplies broke down. The oxen and horses died and the soldiers had to marsh through the waterlogged soil. The Russians kept retreating and after a while one-hundred and fifty-thousand French soldiers had died. He attacked a walled city called Smolensk, hoping to force the Russians to fight there, but his army was beaten down. Napoleon had trouble sleeping and he tried to devise a plan to defeat the Russians. The Russians lost a third of their men. When Napoleon finally reached Moscow, it was on fire. All supplies and shelter were gone and he had no choice but to return back home