The Queen of Prussia is right, because like all uncontrolled conquerors, Napoleon also experienced his Waterloo-this has become an idiom to commemorate his ultimate failure. This ending began with his 18 12 expedition to Russia. In order to explore Russia, he assembled 600,000 troops. With the largest army in history, the whole world expects him to win soon. But the result is just the opposite. Russian troops avoided every battle and repeatedly withdrew to the hinterland. In September, Napoleon's "army" approached Moscow, which was almost an empty city. A few days later, Russian troops set fire to the whole city. Napoleon knew that his army could not spend the winter in Russia without adequate accommodation and supplies. He proposed a truce to the czar-but there was no response. He had no choice but to order a retreat. However, the retreat was a disaster for his "army". Thousands of soldiers die every day from hunger, fatigue and Russian counterattacks. In the end, only 5,000 people returned to their hometown.
Napoleon's defeat, which has always been famous for his invincibility, greatly inspired his enemies and urged them to unite. Prussia, Austria, Russia, Britain and Sweden declared war on France together. 181310/October 16 to 19, the famous "National Congress War" was held near Leipzig. Napoleon's newly formed army was unable to compete with the allies and suffered a second fiasco. 18 14, when the allies entered Paris, Napoleon had to abdicate and was exiled to the island of Elba. A year later, he made a comeback, returned to Paris again, overthrew the newly established king and took power. He established another army, but was completely defeated by Prussia and British troops near Waterloo in 18 15. As a prisoner of the British government, Napoleon finally 182 1 died on the Atlantic island of St. Helena on May 5th.
Emperor Napoleon's rule lasted only ten years, and then his great empire collapsed like a house of cards. What he left to future generations was not his achievements as commander-in-chief, but his reforms as head of government. Among them, especially the civil code promulgated by 1804, which realized many important demands of the revolution: to implement unified laws for all French people; All citizens are equal before the law; Personal freedom; Cancel the hierarchy; Entering public office only depends on performance, not on birth; Freedom of operation; Freedom to choose a job; Owning property; Religious freedom and civil marriage. The civil code has become a model of civil law in Europe and other countries in the world.
Similarly, the administrative reform also won Napoleon a lot of praise. France is divided into 98 administrative regions, which are not independent, but accept the instructions of Paris. Also controlled by the central government is the education system under the unified supervision of the state, which implements a unified teaching plan nationwide-until today, the graduation standards of French schools are still unified nationwide.
Napoleon also carried out reforms after his military victory in Germany. For example, the secularization of the church management area, that is, giving management power to secular managers; The original 1 12 imperial parish disappeared from the political map. In addition, 350 imperial knight jurisdictions and many imperial cities are no longer independent kingdoms, but are under the jurisdiction of princes. The era of fragmented empire composed of hundreds of small countries and the smallest territory is over; A stronger and more vital medium-sized country was born. In this "administrative clean-up", the main winners are Baden, Wü rttemberg and Bavaria, and their territories have obviously expanded. The public lifestyle of citizens has also been reorganized and standardized according to the new French law. This is a great progress, although citizens are deprived of the right to make political decisions, because Germany does not have a parliament elected by the people.
Prussia and Austria also failed to get rid of the influence of French thought and fell into the pressure of reform. "In order to prevent the outbreak of the revolution, we must reform. We must help those who are protected by God. " A Prussian official described the situation like this. Von Stein and Baron von Hardenbergh set out to draft a reform plan, which was mainly based on the French model. The educational reform in middle schools and universities mainly implements the thought of william von humboldt, a famous scholar. To this day, Humboldt spirit still runs through German university education. The general idea of the reform is to make Prussia's subjects become independent citizens who can participate in the work of the country with a sense of responsibility-perhaps at some point, there will be a people's representative body on an equal footing with the king.
In another field, Napoleon was also a great reformer-of course, not out of his will: the French-occupied vassal countries repeatedly had resistance movements; For the war, Napoleon paid more and more attention to money and soldiers. The more obvious his desire, the stronger his resistance. Especially in Germany, this resistance has become a national movement against Napoleon. If the poets and philosophers in this country have long regarded themselves as members of a "cultural nation", now they also want to be a "nation state". In his speech to the German nation, the philosopher John gottlieb Ficht asked his compatriots to "mold their own qualities" and become Germans again. "Let's worship in front of our bodies and spirits and become their prisoners." This desire to maintain national characteristics is also one of the reasons for the outbreak of the "war of liberation" that led to the end of French hegemony in Europe. The growing and sometimes too strong national consciousness of Germans also has its historical origin here.
Napoléon Bonaparte (1August 769 15- 182 1 May 5, 2008) was the first ruling country of France (1799- 1804). The emperor of the First Empire of France (1804- 18 14, 18 15), a strategist and politician, once occupied most of the territory of Western and Central Europe.
one's early years
Napoleon (meaning wild lion) 1769 was born in ajaccio, Corsica. His family is an Italian aristocratic family. As soon as Corsica was sold to France, the French king admitted that his father was a French aristocrat. Under the arrangement of his father, Napoleon went to Brehon Military Academy for education at the age of 9. 1784 After graduating with honors, he was sent to the Paris Military Academy.
Napoleon thought he was a foreigner at first, hoping to make Corsica independent from France one day. His father died at the age of 16. He dropped out of school and was awarded the title of second lieutenant in artillery. During his stay with the army, he read many works of enlightenment thinkers, among which Jean-jean-jacques rousseau's thoughts had a great influence on him. 1789 After the French Revolution broke out, Napoleon returned to Corsica, hoping to promote Corsica's independence, but was excluded by another pro-British and anti-French Poly Group, and finally his family fled to France.
1793 In July, Napoleon led troops to capture the royalist fortress of Toulon, so he was appreciated by jacobins. Napoleon was investigated for his close relationship with the robespierre brothers in the hot month coup of 1794, and was later removed from the rank of brigadier general because he refused to serve in the infantry unit of the Italian legion. 1795, entrusted by ballas, the governor of Paris, successfully put down the armed rebellion of the royalist party, and was promoted to lieutenant general of the army and commander of the garrison in Paris overnight, making a name for himself in the military and political circles.
Napoleon was an excellent strategist, who had a deep study of military knowledge at that time and was good at applying various military strategies to actual combat, especially advocating the centralized use of artillery and giving full play to the mobile role of cavalry. 1796 On March 2nd, Napoleon, 26, was appointed commander-in-chief of the French Italian army. On March 9th, he married his lover Joséphin Beauharnais and went to the front. In Italy, Napoleon's army repeatedly repelled the first anti-French alliance between Austria and Sa Ding, and finally forced the other side to sign an armistice treaty in favor of France.
The Battle of Egypt and the Seizure of Power
After the victory of the Italian campaign, Napoleon's prestige became higher and higher, and he became a new hero of the French. His rise made the governor feel threatened, so he was appointed as the commander of the Egyptian army and sent to the east to curb the expansion of British power in the region. In Napoleon's expedition, in addition to 2000 cannons, he also brought 175 scholars from various industries, as well as hundreds of boxes of books and research equipment. During the expedition, Napoleon once issued a famous instruction: "Let donkeys and scholars walk in the middle of the team." Napoleon himself was proficient in mathematics and loved literature and religion very much, which was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment.
However, 1798' s expedition to Egypt itself was a great failure. Napoleon's fleet was completely destroyed by British Admiral Nelson, and his troops were trapped in Egypt. 1799 When returning to China, there were only two small boats left in the 400 warships, and the original plan to invade India was blocked and suffered heavy losses.
At this time, the European anti-French alliance gradually formed, while the French royalist forces gradually rose. 1799 In August, Napoleon finally decided to go back to Paris. 1799 In June, Napoleon, who returned to France, was welcomed as the "savior". 165438+1October 9, Napoleon staged a coup in the foggy month and succeeded, becoming the first ruler of France, actually a dictator.
After Napoleon, many major reforms were carried out in politics, education, justice, administration, legislation and economy. Among them, the most famous Code of Napoleon still has an important influence. It was drafted by Napoleon on the night of the coup, and many articles were finalized by Napoleon himself, basically adopting the more rational principles put forward in the early days of the French Revolution. This code was formally implemented in 1804. Even after more than a century, it is still the current law in France. Code plays an important role in the legislation of Germany, Spain, Switzerland and other countries. In an announcement to the people three weeks after the coup, Napoleon proudly declared: "Citizens, the Great Revolution has returned to the principles from which it originated. The Great Revolution is over. "
Conquer Europe and become emperor
1800, Napoleon defeated the Austrian army again, and Britain had to sign a peace treaty with France, forcing the second anti-French alliance to fall apart. 1802 In August, the eight-year constitution of the Republic was revised and changed to life-long governance. 1804165438+10.6, the Republic Constitution of 12 was adopted by referendum, and the French Republic was changed into the French Empire. Napoléon Bonaparte was the emperor of France and was called Napoleon I, but he was not crowned by Pope pope pius vii, but wore a crown on his head and crowned his wife as queen for one year.
1805 In August, Austria, Britain and Russia formed the third anti-French alliance, so Napoleon left Paris on September 24 and went eastward in person. By June of 10, the French army had occupied Munich. 101October 17 After fierce fighting between France and Austria in Ulm, the anti-French alliance surrendered. Then France won the battle of Austerlitz, and the anti-French alliance collapsed again, forcing Austria to cancel the title of Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon then joined the German vassal states to form the "Rhine Federation" and put it under his own protection. The following autumn, Britain, Russia and Prussia formed the fourth anti-French alliance, but in June 65438 +65438 10+April, the French army defeated the enemy in Jena and Olstadt at the same time, and the Prussian army was almost wiped out, so Napoleon gained most of Germany. 1in June, 807, the French army defeated the Russian army again in Poland. Napoleon met with Russian czar Alexander I and the two sides signed a peace treaty. The year before, Napoleon issued an Amnesty in Berlin, announcing the mainland blockade policy and prohibiting any trade between the European continent and Britain. Since then, France's dominance in the European continent has been established. Napoleon I was also the king of Italy, the protector of the Rhine Federation and the arbiter of the Swiss Federation, and named his brothers Joseph, Louis and Jerome the kings of Naples, Holland and Westphalia respectively.
Turning point: invasion of Spain, Austria and Russia
/kloc-at the end of 0/807, civil strife broke out in Spain, and the Spanish king was spurned by the people. Napoleon took the opportunity to invade Spain and made his eldest brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain. But this move was opposed by the Spanish, and Napoleon could not quell the local riots at all. 1808 Britain intervened in the Spanish dispute. British troops landed in Montego Bay on August 8th and occupied the whole of Portugal on August 30th. Later, with the support of local nationalists, they gradually drove the French out of the Iberian Peninsula.
Napoleon was in the quagmire of Spain, and the fifth anti-French alliance was formed at the beginning of 1809. Austria attacked French territory in Germany from behind, and Napoleon was forced to withdraw from Spain and lead his army eastward. Although the Austrian army gained an advantage at first, Napoleon quickly turned defeat into victory, forcing Austria to sign the Vienna Peace Treaty and cede land again. The following year, Napoleon married Princess Mary Louisa of Austria, and France and Austria formed an alliance.
By the end of 18 1 1, the relationship between France and Russia began to deteriorate. Russian czar Alexander I refused to continue to cooperate with France against Britain, and eventually the war broke out. Napoleon led an army of 500,000 people who spoke 12 languages into Russia. Russian troops retreated and did not resist until the French army entered Moscow after the Battle of Borodino on September 18 12 (70,000 French troops were killed and seriously injured). Napoleon thought Alexander I would compromise, but he was greeted by a sea of fire all over Moscow. At this time, another failed coup was planned in China, forcing him to rush back to France, and only 10000 people finally returned to France.
Defeat, Exile, Hundred Days Regime and Waterloo
18 13 Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria formed the sixth anti-French alliance, and the two sides fought fiercely in Germany many times. Although the French army won many victories, Napoleon was under increasing pressure. Until the battle of Leipzig in 10, the French army was defeated, the vassal state became independent from France, and the allies began to advance to Paris. 1865438+March 3, 20041day, Paris was occupied. The Allies demanded the unconditional surrender of France, and Napoleon had to abdicate. 181April 13 Napoleon signed the abdication edict at Fontainebleau Palace in Paris, and two days later Napoleon announced his unconditional surrender. Napoleon himself was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba after he abdicated. Napoleon retained the title of "Emperor", but his territory was limited to that small island.
Napoleon was almost assassinated on his way to the island of Elba and tried to commit suicide. In Paris, Louis Stanislas Xavier returned to France, became the king of France again, and the Bourbon Dynasty was restored. Napoleon's wife and son were imprisoned in Austria, and it was rumored that Napoleon would be exiled to an island in the Atlantic Ocean. All this left Napoleon with no choice. Finally, he escaped from the island on February 26th 18 15, and led 1000 people back to France on March 6th 1000. The French army sent to stop him continued to support Napoleon. On March 20th, Napoleon returned to Paris. By this time, his regular army10.4 million people, volunteers 200 thousand people. Louis Stanislas Xavier escaped and the Hundred Days Dynasty began.
However, the good times did not last long, and European countries quickly formed the seventh anti-French alliance. 18 15 June18 Napoleon's army was completely annihilated in the Battle of Waterloo, Belgium, and he formally surrendered on July15. The First Empire of France fell, and Louis Stanislas Xavier was restored again. Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena. 1821May 5, Napoleon died on the island. On May 8th, the conqueror was buried beside Tolbert Springs on St Helena and paid tribute to him. Today, there are still different opinions about the cause of Napoleon's death. The autopsy report of a British doctor showed that he died of severe gastric ulcer, but new research believes that Napoleon died of arsenic poisoning.
Nine years after his death, under the pressure of the people, the New Orleans dynasty erected a statue of Napoleon on the pillar of Vendom. 1840, Louis-Philippe of the French July Dynasty sent his son to retrieve Napoleon's body. 65438+ February 65438+In May of that year, Napoleon's coffin was transported back to Paris, passed through the Arc de Triomphe, and was buried in the old disabled soldiers' retirement home (Honorary Military Hospital) on the banks of the Seine.
affect
Napoleon was an excellent strategist. He personally participated in more than 60 battles in his life, and many battles he commanded are still of great significance in military history until today. However, his campaign broke the balance of power in Europe, leading other European powers to form anti-French alliances seven times, and finally defeated Napoleon completely. At the Vienna Conference after Napoleon's defeat, the new European order and balance were quickly rebuilt.
Although Napoleon was all-powerful for decades, his achievements were short-lived. After his abdication, the territory of France quickly returned to what it was before he took office. Napoleon's military career did not have a significant impact on later European history. The only thing that can make him go down in history is the Napoleonic Code, which is the embryonic form of legal systems in many modern democratic countries.
In addition, Napoleon was also the first person who put forward the idea of a United States of Europe and tried to realize it by force. Although he himself did not successfully realize this dream, today's Europe is moving towards the goal of integration.
Napoleon brought glory to France, and the French people always loved this French soldier (interestingly, he always thought that France was not his motherland before 18). After his body arrived in Paris on February 1840, 900,000 Parisians braved the cold to meet him. Years later, Napoleon also won the respect of his opponent. 1855, Queen Victoria of England took the Crown Prince (later Edward VII) to the Veterans Hospital, and the Queen asked the Prince to "kneel at the tomb of the great Napoleon".