NAPOLEON'S MILITARY POLICY

Question 1

briefly describe the battle at Marengo

Answer 1

• napoleon decides to launch a surprise attack against the austrians in north italy due to the weakness of the second coalition after russia withdraws from the coalition in sept 1799
• he leads 50,000 troops through the alps and meet the austrians at marengo
• the austrians are defeated at marengo, despite thinking they are winning, which boosts morale among the army and nap’s confidence

Question 2

date of the battle of Marengo

Answer 2

14th June 1800

Question 3

bullet point / list the factors that made napoleon’s military conquests successful (4)
(this can also be an essay plan)

Answer 3

1. the role of napoleon himself
2. the level of expertise and skill of his generals
3. the weakness of french enemies
4. the strength of napoleon’s inherited military

Question 4

list examples of napoleon’s key generals who were influential in battles (7)

Answer 4

• lannes
• desaix (dies at marengo**)
• davout
• massena
• soult
• rapp
• bernadotte

Question 5

describe how the following factors led to a french success at marengo in june 1800:
1. enemy weaknesses (2)
2. napoleon himself (5)
3. his generals (2)
4. the quality of the military he inherited (5)

Answer 5

1. enemy weaknesses
   - the austrian general (melas) left to announce victory early
   - lack of intelligence
2. napoleon himself
   - napoleon had to spontaneously reorganise his troops (military expertise) and launches a controlled retreat and almost double their cavalry
   - only when napoleon arrived did french victories start occuring (he symbolised military success and had an image of invincibility)
   - napoleon managed to defend Tortona road and had access to only 6 guns
   - napoleon managed to increase the number of infantry from 6000 to 11000
   - even when desaix is killed, napoleon focuses on the wider good of forwarding french success (displays his focus and dedication to the nation)
3. his generals
   - desaix would ride ahead of his men in Villa Gholina to create a level of inspiration and loyalty
   - the level of expertise of his army allowed him to challenge the integrity of the army in Rivoli and Boudet
4. the quality of the military he inherited
   - the attacks by kellerman disorganised the austrians, forcing them back into allessandria
   - the french conquer territory in 1 hour, which took the austrians 8
   - the french army did not break their ranks for over 5 miles and held their position (discipline and unity)
   - the military manage to defeat a force which is numerically superior (ie forcing Victor back into San Guiliano)
   - the military only had 6000 infantry on a 5 mile span, yet won
   - presence of backup troops to counter the exhaustion of the french army when confronted by the austrians

Question 6

give the key economic stat of the battle at marengo

Answer 6

the government bond increased from 11 francs in jan 1800 to 35 francs after marengo

Question 7

what political event was marengo crucial in influencing

Answer 7

1800 - directly after the coup of brumaire (needs to consolidate his support base)
- military victories would legitimise brumaire and display a capability to lead france
- displayed himself as being one of the people and not complex

Question 8

outcome / impact of the battle at marengo

Answer 8

• economic boost (look at flashcard)
• territorial gains inc Piedmont, Genoa, Lombardy
• artillery gains of 1500 guns and increase infantry from 6000 to 11,000
• french advances into northern italy
• other military advances - recover his image after egypt
• develop napoleon’s image to be that of invincibility, skill and heroism
• increase political legitimacy

Question 9

briefly describe the austrian defeat at hohenlinden and the outcomes of this battle

Answer 9

• napoleon sends a second army to go against the austrians in vienna, meeting them at hohenlinden

outcome: austria is forced to sign the treaty of Luneville

Question 10

when is the battle at hohenlinden

Answer 10

december 1800

Question 11

describe the treaty of luneville and its terms

Answer 11

• consolidated french military gains from marengo and hohenlinden and strengthen napoleon’s political position
• also displays quick successes and a shift in french success and path

terms:
- austria is forced to recognise french control in belgium, left bank of the rhine and northern italy
- austria would therefore lose control in northern italy aside from Venetia
- austrian influence in germany is challenged
- french gain tuscany

Question 12

date of the treaty of luneville

Answer 12

feb 1801

Question 13

when was the peace of amiens and what did it declare

Answer 13

25th march 1802
declaration:
- napoleon must withdraw from naples, United provinces and other papal states
- these end the french revolutionary wars from 1792 (war of the second coalition)
- napoleon would ensure the independence of portugal and ionian islands
- overseas territories taken by the british in the last 9 years was to be returned to the french, aside from sri-lanka and trinidad
- egypt returned to turkey
- the british monarchy drop the ‘king of france title’

Question 14

why was the peace of amiens necessary for napoleon

Answer 14

• because it would halt all foreign explorations and actions, giving him the opportunity to focus on france and its domestic problems
• justification that he was making foreign progress and advancing the french cause

Question 15

when do britain declare war on france again and explain the motives behind doing this

Answer 15

16th may 1803
- neither side stuck to the terms of the peace of amiens (ie the British stayed in Malta and the French stayed in the United Provinces)
- napoleon had just entered germany - distort peace agreements and dynamic in europe
- worried that france was rivaling the power of Britain
- napoleon was recently in 1803 declared president of the italian republic, which britain disliked
- idea that they both have foreign conquests which they would rather prioritise over peace

Question 16

what was napoleon’s reaction to britain declaring war on france

Answer 16

• napoleon assembles troops at Boulogne to invade Britain in 1803 (193,000 men and 2000 boats)
  (note: napoleon holds off on invading Britain on the basis that Austria was threatening his territory in 1805)

Question 17

describe the battle at trafalgar, the date and its importance

Answer 17

date: 21st October 1805
- french generals had lured Nelson away from the channel (for Britain to invade)
- Admiral Nelson trapped British troops off the coast of Trafalgar and on the 21st of October, 27 British ships defeated 33 french and spanish ships
(humilating for the french bc they were numerically strong)
- french and spanish troops lost 20 ships, and the british lose none

importance:
- napoleon abandons his plans to invade Britain – cannot achieve a KEY longterm goal
- displays that the french would never be able to defeat the British
- french reputation was compromised and displays a lack of organisation and effective skill

Question 18

when was the third coalition formed and how was it formed?

Answer 18

1805 (at this point consists of britain, france and russia)
- russia refuses to co-operate with austria - blame each other for defeat at zurich in sept 1799 and the breakdown of the second coalition
- russia refuses to co-operate with britain (because they re-entered malta)

Question 19

when did austria declare war on france in the Danube and join the third coalition

Answer 19

• august 1805
  (this is also when britain join the 3rd coalition)

Question 20

when does prussia join the 3rd coalition against france

Answer 20

1806

Question 21

key words in terms of the importance of marengo

Answer 21

• gives napoleon legitimacy
• shifts france for foreign policy successes
• displays nap’s heroism and capability
• displays military skill of army
• shift in moving france away from humiliation, but toward conquering territory against austrians - counter the wars and humiliations at the war of the second coalition

Question 22

when was the battle of ulm, and the battle at trafalgar

Answer 22

ulm = 16th-19th october 1805
trafalgar = 21st october 1805

Question 23

describe (in detail) the battle at ulm and the actions of napoleon and opposition generals

Answer 23

• napoleon holds off invading the British (because he would be fighting the austrians at the same time on 2 fronts, and the austrians had begun mobilising - nap felt it was his duty to fight against those oppressing france)
• napoleon and his armies march to the Danube and surprise the austrians (this is when the austrians declare war)
• Mack (austrian general) crosses the Bavarian border and captures the city of ulm and hopes to be supported by 20,000 men of Russians under Kutuzov
• instead, the russians are delayed due to inefficient communication (ie mobilisation of troops) and a difference in calendar (between europe and russia)
• napoleon then encircles Mack, with 7 corps of the army crossing the Rhine, and creating a 200 mile front from Ulm to Ingolstadt to expose Mack
• Napoleon gains reinforcements from Bavaria to block the retreat of Mack
• in order to prevent Mack from retreating, Napoleon sends ‘deserters’ to Mack (who were intended to be captured), telling him that the French were weak and morale was low, (giving Mack a sense of confidence when surrounded that Naps power was undermined and that the Austrian’s were strong)
• Ney (French general) crosses the Danube and provides reinforcements in military arms, troops and food
• Ney then takes Elchingen (to further complete the encircling of Mack at Ulm)
• Mack then surrenders to napoleon on the 20th october at Michelsburg

Question 24

describe how the following factors led to a french success at ulm in october 1805
1. enemy weaknesses
2. napoleon himself
3. his generals

Answer 24

1. enemy weaknesses
   - the enemy was outnumbered - 40,000 troops of austrians to 80,000 french (especially due to a lack of Russian reinforcements)
   - Mack is isolated and alone, because he believes that the Russians will come under Kutuzov, but they don’t - due to differences in calendar
   - Mack is misinformed about french weaknesses
   - the 2nd and 3rd coalition are having difficulties with co-operation due to their previous fall out
   - mack advances too far into bavaria, so kutuzov cannot keep up
2. napoleon himself
   - installed a level of high morale in the army, sleeping alongside his troops to display he was connected with the general public, but also displays him to be a resilient and heroic figure
   - napoleon promises that troops will obtain titles and a decent pension (which provides them with motivation)
   - napoleon creates the corps system, which promotes centralised leadership
3. his generals
   - well co-ordinated with a level of expertise and knowledge (ie Nay taking Elchingen)
   - would take a staggered approach to overwhealm the enemy / opposition
   - 4000 austrians died, but only 500 french died

Question 25

describe the corps system

Answer 25

• individual units of the army divided into 20,000-30,000 men, which each individually had access to intelligence, infantry etc
• each unit was instructed to only march within one day of each other to allow for spontaneity
• each unit was individual, but would also be collective when a much larger force was required to converge and attack
• was a form of operational system so the army was divided and united at the same time, so not all the army was always in one place / concentrated efforts

Question 26

outcome and impact at the victory at ulm

Answer 26

outcome:
- mack surrenders on october 20th 1805 at michelsberg
- napoleon captures over 50,000 troops to become french prisoners of war
- napoleon captures 17 generals
- napoleon gains Ulm - french dominance in europe
- kutuzov is forced to retreat

impact:
- gives napoleon the confidence to invade Britain, now that the austrians are weakened and unwilling to fight
- this encouraged napoleon to move toward vienna when fighting
- increases pride and popular support in france, given that their key enemies since 1792 have been defeated
- justifies his becoming of emperor in may 1804 (centralised power)

Question 27

what was the rumour about napoleon during the ulm battle in oct 1805

Answer 27

• napoleon was seizing gold and silver to pay for his campaigns, which was coming at the expense of the general public

Question 28

give the 2 french gains on october 9th

Answer 28

• french victory at gunzburg
• french victory at haslach

Question 29

describe how the following factors led to a french success at austerlitz in december 1805
1. enemy weaknesses
2. napoleon himself
3. his generals
4. the french army itself

Answer 29

1. enemy weakness
   - lack of co-ordination and communication between troops as they were split over the pratzen heights and the river (alexander and francis)
   - poor leadership of kutuzov, allowing for a lack of co-ordination
   - coalition forces were too easily lured off the pratzen heights
   - disorderly retreat of the troops, and attempted regain of the heights
   - in terms of fighting on the pratzen heights, french troops doubled that of coalition troops (numerically overwhelmed)
2. napoleon himself
   - there was a myth he drowned thousands of russians - powerful and clever
   - intentionally allowing one side of the army to be weak to lure russians into french troops, giving them a false sense of security over their actions, and allowing him to seize the pratzen heights
   - due to the corp system, napoleon could install a firm military line in the north and south, so the austrians could not push the french more to the west, to the border and out of austria
   - napoleon was responsible for the
   ‘sun of austerlitz’ image, which displayed this idea of military genius and heroism
   - praised soliders to install high levels of morale
   - good timing of napoleon - would instruct bernadotte to advance
3. his generals
   - napoleon relied
   - rapp and soult manage to capture the majority of russians (including Volkonsky) and the heights
   - because of the good timing by Bernadotte and Soult, Napoleon knew the right time to take the heights, once coalition forces were lured off
   - Soult would give troops triple rations to inspire loyalty and motivation
   - military generals were trustworthy, as napoleon trusted them to surround Bux Howden etc
   - Bernadotte managed to be sucessful with fewer cavalry
   - high quality of military training
   - Davout helped to save the right wing of Napoleon’s army, which were intially targeted to lure Austrians off and weaker
   - napoleon obtained a painting of Rapp (contribute to this myth of invincibility)
4. the french army
   - the french army is able to defeat an army which is numerically superior (ie 90,000 austro-russians v 68,000 french)

Question 30

date of the battle of austerlitz

Answer 30

2nd december 1805

Question 31

describe (in detail) the battle of austeritz

Answer 31

• napoleon marches forward from ulm, pushing Kutuzov back and advancing into Austerlitz
• russian forces are accompanied by austrian forces (alexander 1st (russian emperior) and francis 2nd (austrian emperior) to unite to fight against napoleon
• the coalition forces are situated on the Pratzen heights
• napoleon purposefully makes the right wing of his army weaker (in terms of troop number) to lure the coalition forces to attack them (and lure them off the Pratzen heights)
• Napoleon’s troops (under Soult) then take the Pratzen heights after splitting the coalition forces in half
• the 3rd coalition then send in more reinforcements to knock french troops off the pratzen heights, but fail
• 3rd coalition troops then retreat
• excess french troops move from the Pratzen heights to support the right wing of the army (who were initially attacked by coalition forces) and surround coaliton forces

Question 32

outcome and impact of the battle of austerlitz

Answer 32

outcome:
- massive victory for Napoleon
- the Russians retreat and Austria breaks out of the 3rd coalition
- again, reinforces Napoleon’s dominance in Europe
- breaks the massive coalition in europe (reinstalls confidence, due to the complete tragedy at trafalgar)
- austerlitz permanently scared the russians and austrians, and created this sphere of dominance for france in europe

Question 33

statistics about the battle of austerlitz

Answer 33

• 16,000 austrian and russians were killed
• 8000 french were killed
• napoleon captures 20,000 prisoners of war

Question 34

when did napoleon capture vienna

Answer 34

november 1805 (directly after ulm) and unopposed

Question 35

give the name of the peace treaty (and its date) after austerlitz and its main terms

Answer 35

1. treaty of pressburg - 26th december 1805
2. • venetia (initially still austrian in the treaty of luneville) becomes french
   • Napoleon gains Venice