22 Facts About Napoleonic Wars

1.

Napoleonic Wars were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions.

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2.

Napoleonic Wars was exiled to the island of Elba, and the Bourbons were restored to power.

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3.

The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, which was the first of the Coalition Wars against the First French Republic after Napoleon's accession as leader of France.

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4.

Napoleonic Wars revolutionised European warfare; the application of mass conscription and total war led to campaigns of unprecedented scale, as whole nations committed all their economic and industrial resources to a collective war effort.

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5.

Napoleonic Wars further reorganised the French military forces, establishing a large reserve army positioned to support campaigns on the Rhine or in Italy.

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6.

In France, the Napoleonic Wars are generally integrated with the French Revolutionary Wars:.

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7.

In Dutch historiography, it is common to refer to the seven major wars between 1792 and 1815 as the Coalition Napoleonic Wars, referring to the first two as the French Revolution Napoleonic Wars (Franse Revolutieoorlogen).

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8.

Ideal Napoleonic Wars battle was to manipulate the enemy into an unfavourable position through manoeuvre and deception, force him to commit his main forces and reserve to the main battle and then undertake an enveloping attack with uncommitted or reserve troops on the flank or rear.

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9.

Beyond minor naval actions against British imperial interests, the Napoleonic Wars were much less global in scope than preceding conflicts such as the Seven Years' War, which historians term a "world war".

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10.

Napoleonic Wars again turned his attention to enemies on the Continent.

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11.

Napoleonic Wars inflicted 25, 000 casualties on a numerically superior enemy army while sustaining fewer than 7, 000 in his own force.

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12.

Napoleonic Wars amalgamated many of the smaller states into larger electorates, duchies, and kingdoms to make the governance of non-Prussian Germany smoother.

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13.

Napoleonic Wars visited the tomb of Frederick the Great and instructed his marshals to remove their hats there, saying, "If he were alive we wouldn't be here today".

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14.

Napoleonic Wars's hurried attempt to cross the Danube resulted in the major Battle of Aspern-Essling – Napoleon's first significant tactical defeat.

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15.

Napoleonic Wars were the direct cause of wars in the Americas and elsewhere.

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16.

The battle was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250, 000 men and resulting in at least 70, 000 casualties.

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17.

Napoleonic Wars intended to attack the coalition armies before they combined, in hope of driving the British into the sea and the Prussians out of the war.

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18.

Napoleonic Wars forced Prussia to fight at Ligny on 16 June 1815, and the defeated Prussians retreated in disorder.

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19.

Napoleonic Wars fell back to a previously reconnoitred position on an escarpment at Mont St Jean, a few miles south of the village of Waterloo.

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20.

Napoleonic Wars brought radical changes to Europe, but the reactionary forces returned and restored the Bourbon house to the French throne.

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21.

Napoleonic Wars'storians have explored how the Napoleonic wars became total wars.

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22.

Napoleonic Wars were a defining event of the early 19th century, and inspired many works of fiction, from then until the present day.

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