BIOGRAPHY OF Napoleon Bonaparte,Napoleon Bonaparte: The Strategic Genius

                                                      

                                                BIOGRAPHY OF Napoleon Bonaparte

 He is remembered as a military genius, a tacticianwithout peer. At the age of 35, having just crowned himselfthe First Emperor of France, he set about conquering all of Europe. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte and he was,above all else, a master propagandist. He made use of his extraordinary way withwords to publish political manifestos, newspapers, and, later, his autobiography. He regularly commissioned portraits and sculpturesand was acutely aware of how to present himself in the best light. Even when he made moves to crown himself Emperor,he used propaganda and political nouse to convince the populace that it was their idea. Napoleon has always aroused one of two emotions;hatred or loyalty. Everything around him seemed bigger than life. Yet, he had none of the physical traits thatwe associate with power – he was short (five foot, two), had extremely pale skin, smalldelicate hands and a large head set on a short, stout neck. Despite this, his inner self-belief projectedthe aura of invincibility that made him a natural leader of men. It led him to the dizzying heights of victory– and the crushing despair of defeat. In this week’s Biographix, we discover thereal Napoleon Bonaparte . . . “ I found the crown of France in the gutter,and I picked it up.” Early Life In the Spring of 1769, the tiny island nationof Corsica was under siege.

A hardy band of Corsican patriots were determinedto repel the French army that had invaded their land. They never stood a chance. After a year of fighting, death and carnagethe rebels were defeated. The survivors trudged through the mountainsback to their homes. Among them were Letitzia and Carlo Bonaparte. Letitzia was six months pregnant. It was the Day of the Feast of Assumption,August 15th, 1769 when Letitzia gave birth to her second child. He was named Napoleon. Napoleon’s father, Carlo, gave up the flagof Corsican independence once French victory was assured. He refused to fight on in the mountains withhis former patriot hold outs. The 23- year-old university student ingratiatedhimself to the French overlords and quickly took on the trappings of French privilege. It was something that his second son wouldnever forgive him for, viewing his father as a traitor who had betrayed his countrymen. Carlo entered upon a law practice. Before long he had won election to the CorsicanAssembly. He became accepted among the elite of Corsicansociety and was viewed with favor by the French rulers. Yet, the more successful he became, the moreit drove a wedge between he and his second son. In contrast to how he viewed his father, theyoung Napoleon simply adored his mother. Letitzia was a strong willed, hardy woman. Of her 13 pregnancies, she ended up with 8children. A harsh disciplinarian, she would tolerateno nonsense. Yet, Napoleon would later reminisce that allof his success in life was due to the training that he had received at his mother’s knee. Military Academy Napoleon set foot on the French mainland forthe first time in the winter of 1778, his father having secured him a position aat theprestigious Royal Military College at Brienne in Northern France. He hated it.

Accustomed to the warmth of the Mediterranean,the harsh climate shivered him to his bones. To top it off, the skinny, uncoordinated countryboy could hardly speak any French. Any one of the facts that he was a scholarshipboy, a country bumpkin and a loyal Corsican with a strange accent would have been enoughto make him the target of bullies. Yet, somehow, Napoleon accustomed himselfto life at Brienne. His stubbornness and tough exterior made himimmune to the taunts of his more privileged classmates. Soon they, along with his teachers, lost interestin the sullen, always serious Bonaparte. Napoleon became a loner. At the age of 16, Napoleon began his militaryapprenticeship as a second lieutenant, training with the country’s most elite artilleryunit. He learnt his trade well and developed intoa skilled handler of arms and a capable handler of men. Yet, the advancement that he had mapped outfor himself was slow in coming. He soon realized that hard work and applicationwere not enough to forge a stellar military career; position and money also played theirpart. He had neither. By his late teens, Napoleon found himselfin a state of frustrated inertia. He knew that he was destined for great things. Yet nothing was happening for him. He was bored to death. What Napoleon needed was a cataclysmic eventthat would upend the existing order and present him with the opportunity to grab hold of andshape the future. Little did he know that it was waiting justaround  the corner. Paris in Flames On July 14, 1789 Paris erupted in revolution.

The spark that unleashed the revolution inall it’s fury occurred when a crowd took over an armory called Hotel des Invalides,grabbed it’s weaponry and stormed the Bastille prison in search of powder and shot. Word spread of the crowd’s success and uprisingsbegan all over France, with granaries and manor houses overrun. The country was in turmoil. Twenty-year-old Napoleon was far from Pariswhen revolution broke forth. Though not a revolutionary himself, he welcomedthe revolt which was shaking the system of privileges which he so despised. After all, it was this very system which hadprevented him from attaining to the advancement of rank that he felt was his due. When the French Republic was declared in theFall of 1792, the ambitious Corsican wanted to play a part. Formulating a plan, he took leave of absencefrom the army and returned to Corsica, which was now a part of France. He was intent on entering local politics andrising through the ranks until he could assert his influence on the national stage. The Corsican governor, however, rebuffed Napoleon,calling him ‘a big, inexperienced boy’. Napoleon reacted by setting up a power baseto oppose the Governor. He attracted a following of young, impetuouscronies. But the establishment proved too strong. Napoleon was forced to flee to the mountains.

 He and his entire family were labelled traitorsand enemies of the fatherland. Setting sail for France in June, 1793, Napoleonwas tougher, more steely eyed and more hard skinned as a result of his unhappy experiencein Corsica. The experience also caused a mental displacement;no longer a Corsican he was now thoroughly French. That France, however, was going to have tobe molded to make it worthy of him. Taking Control Napoleon returned to the army as an artillerycaptain. He was quickly ordered to Toulon, a city of28,000 which had broken into open rebellion. The citizens of this southern port city hadthrown their port open to the British. It was the French artillery’s job to preventthe British from gaining a foothold – and to subjugate the rebels. The problem was that the British were defendingthe city from their ships’ cannons. Napoleon knew that he had been presented withthe opportunity that could transform his destiny. Aristocratic officers had fled France, leavinga vacuum that Napoleon was all too eager to fill. All he had to do was prove himself. On his command, guns and supplies were rushedin from Provence, and his gunners were taught to man them. The regular infantry were intensely retrainedunder Bonaparte’s direct supervision. He also began to display flashes of the charismawhich would forge an unbreakable loyalty within his ranks. On December 17, he personally led the assaultof Fort Eguilette. His bravery and cunning were immediately apparent. Throwing himself into the fray, he foughtwith fury. Unlike most commanders, Napoleon led fromthe front.

 A horse was shot from under him and an enemybayonet slashed him in the thigh. Yet, he continued to attack and his forcesquickly overcame the resistance. Within hours, 10 British ships had been destroyedand those that remained were in retreat. The local people were subjugated. It was a stunning victory for Napoleon, onewhich led to a promotion to Brigadier General. In the spring of 1795, Napoleon visited Paris,his ambition burning brighter than ever. While there, he was charged with subjugatingthe Parisian mobs by any means necessary. He jumped at the opportunity, gathering cannonand musket to equip his poorly armed force. He set his guns up inside the Tuileries inpositions that made it impregnable. When the attack came, Napoleon commanded hismen to unleash a merciless hail of fire upon them. Waiting until he could see the whites of theireyes, he sent a barrage of grapeshot that decimated the Parisian mob. “The enemy attacked us. We killed a great many of them. Now, all is quiet. I could not be happier,” Bonaparte wroteto his brother. Napoleon was triumphant. Within a month he had been made a full general. At just 26 years of age he was the Commanderof the Army of the Interior. Victory After Victory As a reward for his success against the Parisianmobs, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. There he was charged with defeating France’senemies, the Austrians, along with their Italian allies, and push them back over the Alps. This was his first opportunity to fight onforeign soil and Napoleon was determined to capitalize on the opportunity. Prior to his arrival, Napoleon’s generalshad already written him off as a no account upstart with allusions of grandeur. When Bonaparte arrived in the flesh, his generalsquickly realized their mistake.

They had vastly underestimated their new commander. He quickly put them in their place. For nearly two years their incompetence hadseen the French forces stagnating in the Alps with nothing to show for it but a generalsense of apathy and discontent. As the generals but their lips, Napoleon addressedthe troops . . . “Soldiers, you are naked and ill fed. No fame shines upon you. I will lead you into the most fertile plainsin the world; rich provinces and great cities will lie in your power. You will find there honor, glory and riches. The men were enraptured by their new leader. Smiling and laughing in their midst, he wasunlike anything they had seen before. He picked up their spirits and made them believein themselves. Infusing them with passion, he began moldingthem into a formidable fighting force. Meanwhile, the other European powers had becomevery nervous about what was going on in France. The execution of their king and queen ledto fears that the French experiment in democracy would spread and threaten their own kingdoms. This led them to quickly move against thenew French government.

This led to a series of wars between Franceand most of the major European powers. Napoleon built his army into the most efficientconquering force on the European mainland. Over the next three years he brought stunningvictories not only in Italy, but as far as Austria and parts of North Africa. His North African invasion was actually amove against Britain, which used Egypt as a trading route. Though he failed to bring Egypt under Control,Napoleon was greeted as a hero on his return to Paris in 1799. Yet, he faced a nation in turmoil. The government had no money, the Austriansand the Russians were threatening to invade and some people even wanted to bring backthe royal family. Rumors of a coup were rife.

With the people and the army behind him, Napoleontook charge of the Grand Assembly, installing a new government that was to be headed bythree provisional Consuls. One of those three men was Napoleon Bonapartehimself. And it was he who everyone knew was goingto wield the power. Immediately Napoleon took control. He adroitly sidelined the other two Consuls,personally rewriting the constitution to make himself First Consul. At 30 years of age, Napoleon Bonaparte hadrisen from his humble Corsican background to become the most powerful man in France. Absolute Power As the absolute central power in France, Napoleonhad inherited a nation that had limped from one failed attempt to replace the rule ofmonarchy to another. For many people, the conditions they foundthemselves in at the dawn of the 19th century were worse than before the Revolution. They looked to Napoleon to save them fromtheir despair. First, though, he had to save them from theAustrians. The Austrians had regrouped and gained backmost of the land that Napoleon had secured during the Italian campaign. The Archduke, Francis II, was intent on cuttingdown the Corsican usurper who thought he could do as he pleased. As was his custom, Napoleon decided to takethe offensive.

In the Spring of 1800 he took his 40,000 strongarmy across the French Alps. It was a harrowing trek, his men draggingfield artillery and provisions up steep, snow covered mountain ranges which towered to aheight of 10,500 feet. Men died en route and, as the Grand Armeestumbled down through the St Bernard Pass they were in a state of utter exhaustion. They had made the crossing in just six days. Battle was joined on June 14th. At day’s end 7,000 French men lay dead. The Austrians, who had finally retreated fromthe field of battle, left 14,000 bodies behind. The totally spent Grand Armee had won again. The Austrians withdrew and, early the nextyear, signed a peace treaty with Napoleon. Great Britain was the only nation that couldstand in Napoleon’s way. He was the supreme ruler of the land massthat was Europe. However, Great Britain had unquestioned commandof the seas. Fabulously rich due to her colonial conquestsand boasting the greatest navy in the world, Britain decided it was time to halt the riseof the Little General. She declared war on France on May 18, 1803.

 Napoleon decided it was time to invade England. Displaying the laser like focus that epitomizedthe man, he stated, “All my thoughts are directed towards England. I want only for a favorable wind to plantthe Imperial Eagle on the Tower of London.” As it turned out, the French invasion of GreatBritain never materialised. By September, 1805 war with Austria, now fortifiedby the Russians, was once again a priority. The Grand Armee was being rushed from theCoast to march into the heart of the Austrian Empire. Then, on October 21, the Royal Navy smashedthe combine Spanish-British fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar, leaving the French essentiallywithout a navy. The British were safe – for now. In December 2nd, 1804 Napoleon had himselfcrowned as the first Emperor of the French in a lavish ceremony. In all but name and place it was just likethe coronations of the old kings, with one telling difference. Napoleon, the controller of his own fate,placed the crown, all 80 jewel encrusted pounds of it, upon his own head! Austerlitz On December 2nd, 1805 Napoleon found himselfagain poised for battle against Austria, this time fortified by Russia. It would prove to be the Little General’sgreatest victory. He deliberately abandoned a strategic positionnear the town of Austerlitiz in the Austrian Empire so that his army, which numbered around68,000, would appear vulnerable.

 He then weakened his right flank so as tolure the 90,000-strong foe into a trap. They left their center open to counterattackand Napoleon cut their line in two. By 4:30pm the Allies were either dead or farin retreat. The battlefield had fallen silent. The Battle of Austerlitz was over. What had begun as a great allied opportunityto finally defeat and destroy Napoleon Bonaparte had ended, not only in their own defeat, butin catastrophe. The grand victory at Austerlitz was followedup with a 21-day subjugation of Prussia. Over the next five years, victory followedvictory as, one by one, the European powers bowed to the dictates of Emperor Napoleon. Only one European nation remained to be broughtto heel – Russia. The Russian Campaign Napoleon and a colossal army crossed the NemanRiver on June 24th 1812 to intimidate Russia, but it turned out to be the undoing of hisempire. The Russians systematically retreated andscorched the earth, which dragged the French deep into their territory. Then, when they did did do battle, it wasthe bloodiest day of Napoleon’s career. The French entered Moscow a week later, onlyto find it evacuated. The retreat ended up being even more costly. Soldiers had insufficient clothing for thefreezing temperatures of an early winter, disease devastated the ranks, and Russianforces pursued them all the way. A little over a sixth of the 600,000 men whomarched into Russia came back. It was a blow from which the Little Generalwould never recover. By now the political map of Europe had changed. The British, Spanish and Portuguese pushedthe French back over the Pyrenees in the peninsular War.

 A grand coalition was formed, with the decisivevictory coming at the Battle of Liepzig in October 1813. Known as the Battle of the Nations, it left38,000 French dead or wounded and 20,000 captured. Exile & Return Napoleon escaped only to find open hostilityback in Paris. The Legislative Assembly, the Senate and evenhis own generals turned on him. He had no choice but to abdicate, which hedid on April 6, 1840. It was agreed to send Napoleon into exileon the Mediterranean island of Elba. After ten months of exile, Napoleon had hadenough. Somehow, on the night of February 26, 1815,he managed to sneak past his guards and set sail in a small boat for the mother country. With him were a handful of loyal soldiers. Miraculously, they managed to elude Britishwarships. Stepping foot back on French soil, he fixedhis sights on Paris and taking back what had been torn from him. After six days, he and his few men were haltedby an infantry regiment with strict orders to detain him. Napoleon, strode ahead of his followers andstood in their midst . . . Soldiers, he declared, if there is one amongyou who wants to kill his general and emperor, here I am. His charisma had done it again. Rather than rush to take him captive, themassed infantry broke into wild applause. Cheers of “long live the emperor!” filledthe air. Suddenly he had an army. As he closed in on Paris, he drew more andmore support. In one place after another, troops defectedfrom the Royal army and joined the rebel army.

 The writing was on the wall. By the time Napoleon rode into Paris, LouisXVIII had fled. Napoleon was back in command. The people welcomed him as a redeemed hero. Downfall Across Europe, the Allies were in shock anddisbelief. The devil had been unchained. They would have to unite once more to stophim. This time, though, they would have to totallydestroy the man, so that there was no coming back. Napoleon was declared an outlaw and a disturberof the tranquility of the world. They massed their armies for attack. The great reckoning was at hand. It would be delivered on a field of rye andclover just outside of a small Belgian town called Waterloo. On June 18th, 72,000 French soldiers faceda 68,000-strong allied force under the Duke of Wellington. While the fighting seemed even, Napoleon madetactical errors, including launching his Imperial Guard too late. His most fatal error was to wait until middaybefore ordering his initial attack in order to let the muddy ground dry. This gave the Prussian’s time to enter thefray later on. They smashed against his right flank and thebattle was lost. Four days later, Napoleon abdicated again– this time there would be no return. He was packed off to the remote British Colonyof Saint Helena. At 46, Napoleon was a man without a future. The man of unstoppable ambition, the man ofaction, the maker of headlines was confined to reading the newspaper and gardening. He died on May 5th, 1821 likely from stomachcancer. Days before, when he knew that his time wasup, he had whispered to one of his guards . . . To die is nothing. But, to live defeated and without glory isto die  every day.