The Campaigns of Napoleon

by David G Chandler

  (4) campaign of 1800, see Part Five passim: original plan, 267; adapted, 269, 274; relations with Moreau, 96, 268, 269; creation of Army of Reserve, 265, 276; role of Massena, 274, 275, 286; hand forced by Melas, 270, 271; final preparations, 276-77, 278; the passage of the Alps, 279; Fort Bard, 280; arrival in Po Valley, 281; marches on Milan, 281, 282, 283; siege of Genoa, 285; move to Stradella, 287, 288; hears of fall of Genoa, 284; reaction, 285; battle of Mombello, 287, 288; advance on Marengo, 289; detachment of Desaix, 289; detachment of Lapoype, 291; miscalculation of Melas’s intentions, 289-90; battle of Marengo, 290-98; recall of Desaix, 291, 293; final attack, 295, 296; armistice, 296; appeal to Vienna, 302; return to Paris, 298; and the Hohen-linden campaign, 302; Peace of Leoben, 303; and the Army of Egypt, 303; preliminaries and Peace of Amiens, 303, 305, 319, 320; made Consul for life, 304, 317

  (5) work of civil reconstruction, see Part Six (first half): relationship with French people, 313, 314, 509; political problems, 312, 313; and the Jacobins, 308; and the Royalists, 307, 308; and the civil servants, 311; and the army, 310, 314, 382, 439; and the politicians, 312; and the clergy, 310; and the peasantry, 314; and the townsfolk, 314; reorders Constitution, 312-13; use of plebiscites, 313; use of decrees “senatus consultum,” 313, 390, 866; suppresses conspiracies, 308, 309, 318; the Concordat, 310, 311; the Codes, 316, 317; public education, 316; internal economic policy, 314, 315; trade policy, 315; colonial policy, 320; appointment of ministers, 312; institutes awards systems, 311; the Legion of Honour, 311; recreates army, 322, and see also Part Six (second half) and Armies (Index B); worsening relations with England, 319, 320; new war, 321; creates the Army of England, 321; crowned Emperor, 307, 318-19, 381, 412; invasion preparations, 322, 323, 324; the Camp of Boulogne, 323, 325; reviews, 323; project abandoned, 325; worsening relations with Austria and Russia, 327, 328, 331; wider war, 331

  (6) campaign of 1805, see Part Seven passim: plans, 384; preparations, 385, 386, 387, 390; advance to the Rhine, 390; wheel to the Danube, 391-92; the river crossed, 394-95; moves from Augsburg, 395; Mack trapped, 396-97; the capitulation of Ulm, 399, 400, 402; pursuit of Kutusov, 403-4; and Murat’s errors, 405, 406, 408; advance beyond Vienna, 407; worsening strategic situation, 409, 410, 411; reaches Brünn, 408; selects Austerlitz battlefield, 412; deludes his foes, 381, 411; battle of Austerlitz, 413-33; Austria sues for peace, 432, 438; measure of achievement, see Chapter 38 passim

  (7) campaign of 1806, see Part Eight passim: relations with Prussia, 331, 444; growing ambitions of Napoleon, 446-49, 450, 451; alliances and marriages, 446; creates the Confederation of the Rhine, 449; sets up new kingdoms and principalities, 450; troubles in Italy, 448; scorn for Frederick William III, 444; respect for Frederick the Great, 444, 454, 499; disbelieves news of Prussian moves, 460; takes precautions, 460; his plans, 462-66; advance through the Thuringerwald, 468-71; changes line of advance, 474; miscalculates enemy strength at Jena, 475, 479; joins Lannes, 475; and the battle of Jena, 477, 479-88; learns of Auerstadt, 488; initial disbelief, 488; honours Davout, 489, 495; the pursuit, 497-502; political failure, 505-6; the Berlin Decrees (Continental System), 511, 512, 594; underlying cracks in the façade, 511, 513; summary of achievement, see Chapter 43

  (8) campaign of 1807, see Part Nine passim: first plan of campaign, 513, 514, 520; distaste for a winter campaign, 513; advances to Warsaw, 515, 516; repulses Russians, 516, 521-25; enters winter quarters, 525, 526; diplomatic moves, 527, 528; and Marie Walewska, 526-27; defensive preparations, 529; the Russian attack, 528, 529; the French fail to trap the foe, 530-35; the battle of Eylau, 535-50; winter quarters again, 551, 559; siege of Danzig, 560-64; recalls Massena, 560; spring campaign, 565-67; battle of Heilsberg, 567-69; advances toward Konigsberg, 569-72; battle of Friedland, 572-85; advance to Tilsit, 583; meeting with the Tsar, 586; the Congress of Tilsit, 585-90; and the Queen of Prussia, 588; diplomatic manoeuvring, 587-89; the outcome, apparent and real, 589-90, 593-95; true nature of the Russian enπnte, 589; returns to France, 589

  (9) campaign of 1808, see Part Ten passim: Napoleon’s attitude toward Spain and Portugal, 521, 540, 596; pressure, 597; denounces Portugal, 597; the Continental System, 511, 594; defects of the Continental System, 595; British countermeasures, 595; British attack Copenhagen, 594, 599; Napoleon sends Junot to Portugal, 598; treaty with Godoy, 598; Spanish intrigues, 601-7; summons the Bourbons to Bayonne, 607-609; orders military intervention, 605; gives crown to Joseph, 609; the revolt of Madrid, 610; the Spanish Rising, 611; failure of initial French moves, 612-16; Bailen, 616-18; Vimiero, 619; flight of Joseph, 618-19; Napoleon decides to intervene, 620-22; preparatory Congress of Erfurt, 622-25; significance of Congress of Erfurt, 624; troops transferred to Spain, 630; Napoleon’s arrival, 630; Napoleon’s plan, 630-31; Napoleon’s plan in action, 632-35; destruction of Spanish armies, 636-42; recapture of Madrid, 643; Sir John Moore’s red herring, 649, 657; the crossing of the passes, 650; the pursuit, 651-58; handed over to Souk, 653; grave news from Vienna, 654; Napoleon returns to Paris, 658; assessment of the campaign, see Chapter 61

  (10) campaign of 1809, see Part Eleven passim: Austrian plots, 663-67; Napoleon’s countermeasures, 667-72; held up in Paris, 671; delegates command to Berthier, 671; his plan, 671; confusions, 678-79; initial moves, 670-78; Napoleon’s arrival on the Danube, 679; new plan, 680-82; the six-day fight, 682-94; battle of Eckmühl, 684-91; pursuit of Archduke Charles, 692; disappointments, 688; Napoleon wounded at Ratisbon, 692; advances on Vienna, 694; captures the capital, 695; hasty crossing to north bank of Danube, 696-99; near-defeat of Aspern-Essling, 700-707; renewed preparations, 708-10; the second crossing 710-16, battle of Wagram, 716-29; disgrace of Berna-dotte, 724; pursuit of the Austrians, 730; armistice and peace, 730, 732; the forces of German nationalism, 736; assessment of the campaign, see Chapter 66

  (11) campaign of 1812, see Parts Twelve and Thirteen passim: deterioration of the “spirit of Tilsit,” 739; the divorce, 744; marriage negotiations, 744; the Continental System, 742; rival ambitions and interests, 740, 744, 745; Bernadotte and Sweden, 745; the slope to war, 746-49, 765; Napoleon’s attitude, 746, 747; French preparations, 753-59; advance to the Niemen, 766, 767; conference of Dresden, 767; Napoleon’s plan, 759-64; unhappy augury at the Niemen, 777; the first three envelopments fail, 770, 777, 780, 782, 785; the battle of Smolensk, 785-90; the crucial decision, 791-92; advance to Borodino, 801-4; the battle of Borodino, 794-808; occupation of Moscow, 808; the fire, 809; effects of, 814, 815; attempted negotiations with the Tsar, 813, 814, 815; rebuffed, 815, 816; decision to retreat, 819; alternatives, 817-19; the move toward Kaluga, 820; the battle of Maloyaroslavets, 821-23; Napoleon nearly captured, 822; retreats along old route, 823; disintegration of Napoleon’s army, 824-48; the role of the weather, 779, 827, 831, 833, 850, 858; battle of Krasnoe, 829; Smolensk abandoned, 828, 829; Ney’s great exploit, 830-32; crisis at the Beresina, 832-33; a crossing found, 835; the battle of the Beresina, 836-47; Napoleon’s orders unheeded, 842, 845; the tragedy at the bridges, 844, 845; retreat to Smorgoni, 847, 848; the Malet Conspiracy, 826, 848; Napoleon decides to leave the army, 848; hands over command to Murat, 849; reaches Paris, 849; the reaction, 850; assessment of the campaign, see Chapter 75

  (12) campaign of 1813, see Part Fourteen passim: the reconstruction of an army, 866-69; the last stages of the retreat, 850-52, 869-70; Napoleon’s orders to Eugène, 869; orders prove impracticable, 869-70; Berlin abandoned, 869; the Allied pursuit, 874, 878; Prussia’s defection, 871-73; Napoleon’s need of time, 874; plans for 1813 (the “master-scheme”), 875, 878; the first moves, 879-81; the battle of Lutzen, 881-87; the battle of Bautzen, 888-98; effects of cavalry shortage, 879, 896; quality of men, 867, 884; the armistice, 898; attempts at negotiation, 899; continued preparations, 899, 900-902; the new plan, 902, 904; the Allied strategy, 901; initial reverses, 903; Napoleon meets each threat, 904-906; intervention of Sweden and Austria in the struggle, 899, 903; the battle of Dresden, 906-10; balancing setbacks, 911, 912; the converging foes, 913-16; concentratio
n at Leipzig, 916, 919, 922; the manoeuvre of the Mulde against Blücher, 917-18; manoeuvre fails, 918, 919; the battle of Leipzig, 923-36; Napoleon orders a withdrawal, 932, 933; its execution, 935; the bridge destroyed, 935; the retreat to the Rhine, 937-39; the battle of Braunau, 937-38; assessment of the campaign, 939-41

  (13) campaign of 1814, see Part Fifteen passim: French resilience, 937, 945, 946; Allied hesitations, 947, 951; a new French army, 946; its qualities, 955; its defects, 955; French need for time, 946; the Allied plan, 947-49; Napoleon’s countermeasures, 949, 950, 952; move on St. Dizier, 958; the battle of Brienne and La Rothière, 959-64; switch to the southern sector, 965; Schwarzenberg repulsed, 965, 977, 979, 980-81; switch back to the north, 966; peace negotiations, 966; the battles of Vauchamps, Montmirail and Champaubert, 967-76; frustration at Chateau Thierry, 985; further moves, 986; the battles of Craonne and Laon, 987-88, 989-91; Napoleon decisively repulsed, 991-92; Napoleon recovers, 992-93; Napoleon moves south, 993; the battle of Arcis, 994-98; the French retreat, 998; the Allies converge on Paris, 999; Napoleon orders the evacuation of the Royal Family, 971, 1000; plans a diversion, 1000; his orders captured, 999; the Allies call his bluff, 1000; Napoleon rushes for Paris, 1000; reaches Fontainebleau, 1000, 1001; new plans, 1001; the marshals revolt, 1001; the two abdications, 1001-2; Napoleon attempts suicide, 1002; terms of the agreement, 1002-1003; farewell to army and journey to Elba, 1003; assessment of the campaign, 1003-1004

  (14) campaign of 1815, see Part Sixteen passim: Napoleon on Elba, his reforms, 1009; learns of unpopularity of new regime, 1010; makes a final gamble, 1011; lands near Frejus, 1011; initial caution of his welcome, 1011; advances to Grenoble, 1011; the “bandwagon” begins to roll, 1012; flight of the Bourbons, 1012; Napoleon reaches Paris, 1012; does not enjoy old status, 1012, 1014; nature of his decrees, 1014; his peace offensive, 1014; desperate military measures, 1014-15; Allied plans, 1015; Napoleon’s main plan, 1016-20; rapid concentration on the northeastern frontier, 1020; advances through Charleroi, 1023; failures of his lieutenants, 1026, 1029; strengths and weaknesses of the Armée du Nord, 1021-23; the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras, 1034-37; the extent of French success, 1056; the missed opportunity, 1058, 1059; errors of the seventeenth of June, 1060, 1061; Wellington escapes, 1060-62; effects of wet weather, 1062; Napoleon reaches Mont-St.-Jean, 1062; the night before Waterloo, 1062; the French battle plan, 1066-68; its inadequacies, 1068; Allied moves, 1068-69; the battle of Waterloo, 1072-90; too much left to Ney, 1076, 1080, 1084; Napoleon refuses the Guard, 1085; arrival of the Prussians, 1073, 1076, 1084, 1087; the French flight, 1089-90; events at Wavre, 1069, 1091; the Allied pursuit, 1094; the French rally under Soult, 1093; possible continuation of the struggle, 1094; ruled out by political events in Paris, 1095; Napoleon’s renewed abdication, 1095; retires to Malmaison, 1095; moves to Rochefort, 1095; plans to sail to the United States, 1095; surrenders instead to the Royal Navy, 1095; appeal to the Prince Regent, 1095; sails to St. Helena, 1095; death of, 1095; pictures, frontispiece, 33, 329, 743

  (15) Napoleon’s attitudes toward: the Bourbons of France, 206, 308, 309; the Bourbons of Spain, 596, 602; Alexander the Tsar, 448, 586, 589, 742, 747, 854; his family, 5, 6, 450-51, 607; Corsica, 7, 9, 17; destiny, see Introduction; education, 316; England, 207, 264, 302, 319-21, 327, 402, 411, 439, 451, 511, 624, 645, 649, 746, 1016, 1095; Frederick William III, 444, 744; French people, 313, 314, 509; Joseph, Emperor of Austria, 438, 900, 947; Josephine, 92; the King of Rome, 747; law, 316; the marshal-ate, 311, 1004; military history, 138; Marie Louise, 438, 971, 1002; the Orient, 209, 248, 422, 600, 746; Persia, 528; the Pope, 310; religion, 310; science, 316; Turkey, 527, 590; war, 141-43; work, 137, I45, 374; see also Art of war; Strategy; Tactics (Index B)

  (16) Napoleon’s art of war, see Part Three passim, Part Six (second half), and Military Formations (Index B)

  Napoleonic family, see Bonaparte; Josephine; Murat; Rome, the King of

  Narbonne, Count, French diplomatist, 767

  Nelson, Viscount, Sir Horatio, English admiral, 19, 44, 53, 206, 215, 217, 219, 255, 402

  Neuchâtel, Prince of, see Berthier

  Neverovski, N. B., Russian general, 784

  Ney, Michel, French marshal, Duke of Elchingen, Prince of the Moskowa, 394; biographical sketch, see Appendix; character of, 830-32, 1048, 1052; made a marshal, 434; during campaign of 1805, 394, 397, 399, 403; battle of Albeck, 398, 399; made Duke of Elchingen, 399; before Ulm, 400; during campaign of 1806, 472, 475, 495; at Jena, 483-84; conducts siege of Magdeburg, 502; during campaign of 1806-1807, 529, 533, 536; late arrival at battle of Eylau, 538, 538fn, 545, 548, 571; at battle of Friedland, 577, 578, 579; during campaign of 1808, 620, 621, 629, 630, 631, 634, 650, 652, 655; march to Tarragona, 637, 638; during campaign of 1812, 754, 774, 784, 794; at Smolensk, 786, 788; at battle of Borodino, 798, 800, 801; during the retreat, 825, 828, 830, 836, 844, 848, 851; escape from desperate odds, 830-32; earns nickname “bravest of the brave,” 830; effects of campaign on his health, 1021-22; reliance on Baron Jomini, 902; during campaign of 1813, 874, 881, 887, 889, 890, 893, 898, 903, 904, 905; at battle of Lutzen, 882, 884, 886; at battle of Bautzen, 895, 896; at battle of Dresden, 908, 910; advance on Berlin, 913; defeated at Dennewitz, 914, 915; at battle of Leipzig, 924, 926, 931; during campaign of 1814, 949, 951, 953, 959, 969, 973, 984, 993, 996; at Brienne, 961, 962; attack at Craonne, 998; at Laon, 989; at Arcis, 996, 998; key role in the Fontainebleau crisis, 1001; joins Louis XVIII, 1001, 1012; defects back to Napoleon, 1012, 1022; during campaign of 1815, 1021, 1022, 1035, 1040, 1047; commander of the left wing, 1029; slowness of, 1048, 1057, 1061; recalls d’Erlon, 1051; alternates with rashness, 1052; at battle of Quatre Bras, 1043, 1048, 1050, 1052, 1053; Napoleon’s orders to, 1040, 1042, 1059; misconduct on the seventeenth of June, 1061; in command of the battle on eighteenth, 1067, 1068, 1079, 1085, 1087; mishandles d’Erlon’s corps, 1076-78; mishandles cavalry attack, 1080-81; Napoleon’s opinion of, 1084; captures la Haie Sainte, 1085-86; calls for Guard, 1086; directs final attack, 1088; mentioned, 505, 552, 553, 555, 585, 789, 1033, 1038, 1056, 1091; picture, 434

  Normann, French general, 931

  Oldenburg, Duke of, brother-in-law of the Tsar, 745, 748

  Olssuviev, Russian general, 959, 969

  Orange, Prince of (the Elder), 490, 494

  Orange, General, Prince of (the Younger), 1017, 1028, 1050, 1052, 1065

  Ordener, Count M., French general, 83

  O’Reilly, Austrian general, 290

  Ostermann-Tolstoi, Russian general, 804, 909, 910, 912

  Ott, Austrian general, 271, 285, 288

  Oudinot, C. N., French marshal, Duke of Reggio, 407; biographical sketch, see Appendix; command in 1805, 407; at battle of Austerlitz, 416, 428, 431; at battle of Friedland, 572, 577, 582; during campaign of 1809, 670, 671, 681, 703; at battle of Abensburg, 684, 685; at Aspern-Essling, 703; at battle of Wagram, 711, 717, 719, 727; during campaign of 1812, 754, 774; at battle of Poltosk, 780-81; during the retreat, 835, 836, 847; at the Beresina, 836, 840, 844; during campaign of 1813, 874, 897; at Bautzen, 891, 894, 896; loses battle of Gross-beeren, 905; superseded by Ney, 913; at battle of Dennewitz, 914; at battle of Leipzig, 927, 936; during campaign of 1814, 965, 977; at battle of Arcis, 997, 998; picture, 730

  Paget, Lord, English general, 651, 655

  Pahalen, Count, Russian general, 659, 978

  Pajol, Count C. P., French general, 690, 1040, 1059

  Palafox, Francisco, Spanish statesman, 636

  Palafox, Joseph, Spanish captain-general at Aragon, 614, 626

  Palm, German bookseller, 452

  Paoli, Pascal, Corsican patriot, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17

  Parma, Duke of, 85

  Partonneaux, Count L., French general, 843

  Patrauld, Father, Napoleon’s schoolmaster, 7

  Patterson, Elizabeth, first wife of Jerome Bonaparte, 595

  Paul, the “mad Tsar” of Russia, 256, 327

  Pelet, Clozeau, Baron J. J. G., French general, 1086


  Perée, J. B. E., French rear-admiral, 223, 241

  Perponcher, G. H., Allied general, 1032, 1048

  Persia, Shah of, 528

  Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, 328

  Phélippeaux, Armand de, French émigré officer in British service, 237

  Phull, E. von, Prussian general, adviser to Tsar Alexander, 455, 753, 765

  Picton, Sir Thomas, English general, 1050, 1061, 1065, 1078

  Pirch, G. von I., Prussian general, 1017, 1038, 1093

  Piré, Count H. M. G. de Rosnyvinen, French general, 689, 1030

  Pirotte, Jean-Hubert, French soldier, 766

  Pitt, William, Prime Minister of England, 208, 255, 303; creates Third Coalition, 327, 331; death of, 439; picture, 326

  Pittoni, Austrian general, 62

  Pius VII, Holy Roman Pontiff, 101, 595, 748, 946

  Platov, M. I., Russian Cossack general, 520, 752, 782

  Poniatowski, J. A., Polish prince and French marshal, 670, 671; biographical sketch, see Appendix; service during campaign of 1812, 786, 794, 795; at battle of Borodino, 798, 800, 806; during campaign of 1813, 927; at battle of Leipzig, 928, 929, 934; promoted a marshal, 935; death of, 936; picture, 730

  Ponsonby, Hon. Sir W., English cavalry general, 1065, 1078, 1079, 1093

  Pope, the, see Pius VII

  Pradt, de, French commissary-general in Poland, 754