Napoleon Bonaparte
Andrew Dudik
Background
In 1789, the French people began a revolution that would radically change the landscape of Europe. It started simply enough as a demand for rights and political freedoms, but developed into a multi-continent conflict fueled by a new revolutionary spirit and a small man from corsica named Napoleon Bonaparte.
Turning Point
One can easily write entire books analyzing the effects of Napoleon’s March across the European continent and beyond. The effects of his ultimately failed attempt to produce a new order in Europe under himself create an environment where he actually succeeded in changing the social structure of the continent, the way wars were fought, and the way governments mobilized their populations. The first thing one notices when examining Napoleons new way to wage war is the massive scale.1794, the French Army had gone from a massive force of 200,000 to a staggeringly large 1,000,000. The concept of the levy en masse, or mass conscription had never been seen before until the French Wars of Revolution. (Connely, xiv) This system, fully exploited by Napoleon, led to the incredible casualty numbers of the Napoleonic Wars as conscripts flew headlong into musket and cannon fire. In addition to the changes on the battlefield, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars created the idea of the nation state within France and eventually abroad. Traditionally, wars had been dynastic with little interest or involvement from the people other than the taxes they paid. The creation of the new ideals of the state led to the mobilization of entire populations into the war effort.
Away from the realm of war, the ideals of the French Revolution were exported to everywhere the French armies traveled As Napoleon conquered empire after empire, he destroyed the old hierarchies and government, free people from serfdom and leaving poor people with fighting skills all over the continent ready for revolution. Ultimately, you can see how effect Napoleon’s campaign across Europe really was even in the contemporary moment. After his final exile, the European powers met at the Congress of Vienna to hammer out how exactly to put everything that Napoleon destroyed back together. (Esdaile, p. 532)
Effect
The Congress of Vienna took their time attempting to rebuild the status quo in Europe that Napoleon pulverized. The ideas of Napoleon and the French Revolution however were stuck fast in the fabric of Europe. Governments, even ones being reappointed back into power, gave sweeping reforms to their people. As hard as the powers at be tried however, Napoleon’s other legacy would soon be roaming Europe again. Large conscript armies were here to stay and would war against each other on the continent and abroad. Casualties would be horrendous. World War I saw the same Napoleonic mentality of throwing men against men in mind boggling numbers. It would see the same total war pioneered by the French take hold and whole nations militarized for the good of the “nation”. Napoleon forever changed the face of Europe, just prior to the great age of Imperialism that would spread the European values Napoleon so deeply affected all over the world. In this way, his campaigns would continue to change the world long after he had died in exile.
Bibliography
Connelly, Owen. Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns. Lanham, MD [etc.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print.
Esdaile, Charles J. Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.
Andrew Dudik
Background
In 1789, the French people began a revolution that would radically change the landscape of Europe. It started simply enough as a demand for rights and political freedoms, but developed into a multi-continent conflict fueled by a new revolutionary spirit and a small man from corsica named Napoleon Bonaparte.
Turning Point
One can easily write entire books analyzing the effects of Napoleon’s March across the European continent and beyond. The effects of his ultimately failed attempt to produce a new order in Europe under himself create an environment where he actually succeeded in changing the social structure of the continent, the way wars were fought, and the way governments mobilized their populations. The first thing one notices when examining Napoleons new way to wage war is the massive scale.1794, the French Army had gone from a massive force of 200,000 to a staggeringly large 1,000,000. The concept of the levy en masse, or mass conscription had never been seen before until the French Wars of Revolution. (Connely, xiv) This system, fully exploited by Napoleon, led to the incredible casualty numbers of the Napoleonic Wars as conscripts flew headlong into musket and cannon fire. In addition to the changes on the battlefield, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars created the idea of the nation state within France and eventually abroad. Traditionally, wars had been dynastic with little interest or involvement from the people other than the taxes they paid. The creation of the new ideals of the state led to the mobilization of entire populations into the war effort.
Away from the realm of war, the ideals of the French Revolution were exported to everywhere the French armies traveled As Napoleon conquered empire after empire, he destroyed the old hierarchies and government, free people from serfdom and leaving poor people with fighting skills all over the continent ready for revolution. Ultimately, you can see how effect Napoleon’s campaign across Europe really was even in the contemporary moment. After his final exile, the European powers met at the Congress of Vienna to hammer out how exactly to put everything that Napoleon destroyed back together. (Esdaile, p. 532)
Effect
The Congress of Vienna took their time attempting to rebuild the status quo in Europe that Napoleon pulverized. The ideas of Napoleon and the French Revolution however were stuck fast in the fabric of Europe. Governments, even ones being reappointed back into power, gave sweeping reforms to their people. As hard as the powers at be tried however, Napoleon’s other legacy would soon be roaming Europe again. Large conscript armies were here to stay and would war against each other on the continent and abroad. Casualties would be horrendous. World War I saw the same Napoleonic mentality of throwing men against men in mind boggling numbers. It would see the same total war pioneered by the French take hold and whole nations militarized for the good of the “nation”. Napoleon forever changed the face of Europe, just prior to the great age of Imperialism that would spread the European values Napoleon so deeply affected all over the world. In this way, his campaigns would continue to change the world long after he had died in exile.
Bibliography
Connelly, Owen. Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns. Lanham, MD [etc.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Print.
Esdaile, Charles J. Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.