Napoleon I of France - a NON-ENTRY

Napoleon I of France - a NON-ENTRY.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769
in Corsica to Italian family of noble line.
His father, representative to Louis XVI court,
ensured his son at military school in France was taught.

France was embroiled throughout those years in bloody revolution
of the People versus Royalists demanding Constitution.
Offended European States had formed a Coalition
against the new Republic seen as threat to their position.

In 1795 young Bonaparte was given command
by the National Convention to repel a Royalist band
attacking the headquarters in the Palais Tuileries
where, with well-placed artillery, he cleared the streets with ease.

This brought him to the notice of the new Directory
and especially Barras, its leader, who was quick to see
the military expertise Napoleon had gained.
Thus, within weeks, a full command young Bonaparte obtained.

To Barras’ former mistress, Josephine de Beauharnais,
Napoleon became attached. He married her, just days
before he left to govern the Italian campaign
successfully, with Northern Italy to France’s gain.

From Italy he drove the Austrian armies and, in turn,
forced Austria to sue for peace, the Low Countries to earn
for France by special treaty. With the Pope dethroned in Rome,
Napoleon became his nation’s hero back at home.

He next proposed an expedition to protect French trade
by seizing Egypt, which the Empire Ottoman had made
their province and, in 1798, successfully
took Malta then went on to Alexandria by sea.

The British Royal Navy had pursued him all the while
and, catching up, destroyed his ships in the Battle of the Nile.
Although Napoleon, on land, gained many a victory,
Lord Nelson, temporarily, robbed all support by sea.

When the British ships departed, Bonaparte was ordered back
for a Second Coalition threatened imminent attack
but, with his return to Paris, hostile plans were seen to cease
and the public now proclaimed him as ‘Protector of the Peace’.

The Republic now was bankrupt, the corrupt Directory
was unpopular and, to prevent internal anarchy,
a coup was planned to overthrow the current Constitution
appointing in its place three Consuls to provide solution.

Napoleon himself a Constitution freshly drafted
appointing him, for life, First Consul – others being shafted.
Most powerful in France he instituted new reforms
including the Napoleonic Code’s judicial norms.

He then returned to Italy, which Austria’d rewon
and, after several victories, it seemed peace had begun
but monarchies of Europe still refused to recognize
the Republic, fearing revolution elsewhere might arise.

An army Bonaparte had sent, Haiti to control,
by yellow fever was destroyed and so he sold the whole
of French possessions on the mainland North America,
by Louisiana Purchase, to US – three cents per acre!

Napoleon at Notre Dame in the year 1804,
with Josephine as Empress, crowned himself as Emperor
and, in Milan’s cathedral was crowned King of Italy
in May 1805, with the iron crown of Lombardy.

The British and the Austrians, with Russia on their side,
formed a third Coalition. Nelson, sailing with the tide,
defeated at Trafalgar both the French and Spanish fleet
thus gaining lasting sea control no other yet can meet.

But, at the field of Austerlitz, resounding victory
was gained by French against the Austro/Russian enemy
and then, at Jena-Auerstedt, the Prussians were defeated
and, next in Poland, Russian Cossack cavalry unseated.

When Portugal did not comply with Bonaparte’s demand
he sought the help of Spain to offer martial reprimand.
When they refused, Napoleon invaded Spain as well.
Atrocities by French troops in Iberia were hell.

In 1810 Napoleon divorced his Josephine
and married the Archduchess Marie Louise as his Queen.
He hoped thus to bring Austria forever to his side
by taking this illustrious Hapsburg Princess as his bride.

In 1812 Napoleon broke his Russo-French Alliance.
Three hundred thousand Russian troops deployed to show defiance
along the Polish borders, obviously in preparation
for what seemed now inevitable – Bonaparte’s invasion.

On 22nd. June the French invasion was commenced,
a brief resistance offered by the Russians at Smolensk.
Thereafter they avoided any open confrontation
retreating ever deeper through the vastness of their nation.

As they withdrew they burned and wiped out everything in sight
and soon Napoleon’s “Grande Armee” fell into serious plight.
As Winter came the army was reduced to half its strength
by hunger, death, disease, desertions right throughout its length.

At Borodino where, at last, the Russians took a stand,
he mustered but 130 thousand able troops on hand.
The ensuing bloody battle gained him Pyrrhic victory,
six hundred long miles deep inside that hostile territory.

The sequel was his uncontested entry to Moscow
and ignominious retreat in freezing chill and snow.
Five hundred-seventy thousand men he’d lost in that campaign
and less than forty thousand made it back to France again.

Encouraged by Napoleon’s heavy losses while in Russia,
another Coalition formed, this time including Prussia
plus the United Kingdom, Russia, Portugal and Spain.
Napoleon defeated them at Dresden yet again.

But Coalition numbers still continued to increase
as Austria and Sweden joined with Hungary and Greece.
Eventually, L’Armee Francais was pinned down by a force
of twice its size at the largest of Napoleonic wars.

The French withdrew in order but their army was reduced
to a mere one hundred thousand men. Napoleon deduced
that France was now surrounded by “a total ring of hate”
and, urged by all his marshals, he agreed to abdicate.

In March of 1814, Paris, fully occupied
by Coalition forces, Bonaparte was now denied
his wife or son (who both came under Austrian control);
he was exiled to the Isle of Elba (an isolated hole).

In France, the Royalists had taken over and restored
King Louis XVIII to power with full accord.
Napoleon escaped from Elba, March 1815,
returning to the mainland to a very different scene.

The King sent, under Marshal Ney, the entire 5th Regiment
to meet him at Grenoble where “Le petit caporal” went
but, when the soldiers who had fought in Russia with him saw
Napoleon, they raised a shout of “Vive L’Empereur!”

They marched with him to Paris where, quite quickly, he could raise
an army of three-forty thousand. For one hundred days
he governed France alone as formerly he’d used to do
until the Duke of Wellington met him at Waterloo.

On HMS Bellerophon, he finally surrendered
and, banished to the British isle of  Saint Helena, ended
with a small cadre of followers, in 1821,
his life of power and conquest from which little had he won.

                              The End.

Hugh Wyles, June 18th. 2007.