• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 3053 0

Fichte (yoh-HAHN got-LEEP FIKH-tuh) (1762–1814), who had at first welcomed the French Revolution for freeing the human spirit, soon became a proponent of a German national spirit radically different from that of France. Although philosophical voices like Fichte’s did little to overthrow the French, they did awaken a dream of German nationalism that would bear fruit later in the nineteenth century.

Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808. After Napoleon imposed his brother Joseph on Spain as its king, the Spanish people revolted against his authority, and a series of riots broke out in Madrid. This painting by Francisco Goya shows the French response—a deliberate execution of Spanish citizens to frighten people into submission. Goya portrays the French troops as a firing squad, killing people (including a monk) reacting in terror. The peasant in the middle throws out his arms in a gesture reminiscent of crucifixion. Goya painted many scenes depicting the horrors of war in Napoleonic Spain.

Museo del Prado, Madrid//© Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

In Prussia, feeling against Napoleon led to a serious reform of the old order that had been so easily crushed by the French emperor. As one Prussian officer put it, the Prussians must learn from the French example and “place their entire national energies in opposition to the enemy.” Under the direction of Baron Heinrich von Stein (HYN-rikh fun SHYTN) and later Prince Karl von Hardenberg (KARL fun HAR-den-berk), Prussia embarked on a series of political and military reforms, including the abolition of serfdom, election of city councils, and creation of a larger standing army. Prussia’s reforms, instituted as a response to Napoleon, enabled it to again play an important role in European affairs.

The Fall of Napoleon

Napoleon once said, “If I had experienced pleasure, I might have rested; but the peril was always in front of me, and the day’s victory was always forgotten in the pre-occupation with the necessity of winning a new victory on the morrow.”23 Never at rest, Napoleon decided in 1812 to invade Russia. It was the beginning of his downfall, but Russia’s defection from the Continental System had left him with little choice. Although aware of the risks in invading such a large country, Napoleon also knew that if the Russians were allowed to challenge the Continental System unopposed, others would soon follow suit. In June 1812, Napoleon’s Grand Army of more than 600,000 men entered Russia. Napoleon’s hopes for victory depended on quickly meeting and defeating the Russian armies, but the Russian forces refused to give battle and retreated hundreds of miles while torching their own villages and countryside to prevent Napoleon’s army from finding food and forage. Heat and disease also took their toll of the army, and the vast space of Russian territory led many troops to desert. When the Russians did stop to fight at Borodino, Napoleon’s forces won an indecisive and costly victory. Forty-five thousand Russian troops were killed; the French lost 30,000 men, but they had no replacements nearby. When the remaining troops of the Grand Army arrived in Moscow, they found the city ablaze. Lacking food and supplies, Napoleon abandoned Moscow late in October and made the “Great Retreat” across Russia in terrible winter conditions. Only 40,000 troops managed to straggle back to Poland in January 1813. This military disaster then led to a war of liberation all over Europe, culminating in Napoleon’s defeat in April 1814.

* * *

CHRONOLOGY The Napoleonic Era, 1799–1815

* * *

Napoleon as first consul

1799–1804

Concordat with Catholic Church

1801

Peace of Amiens

1802

Emperor Napoleon

1804–1815

Battle of Ulm (defeat of Austria)

1805

Battle of Austerlitz (defeat of Russia)

1805

Battle of Trafalgar (naval defeat of Napoleon’s forces)

1805

Battles of Jena and Auerstadt(defeat of Prussia)

1806

Continental System established

1806

Battles of Eylau and Friedland (defeat of Russia)

1807

Invasion of Russia

1812

War of liberation

1813–1814

Exile to Elba