Written by | Zhao Libo
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and politician in the nineteenth century and the founder of the First French Empire. Successively the First Consul of the First French Republic (1799-1804), the Emperor of the First French Empire, his lifelong military career can be described as a longitudinal and long-winded, leaving a strong personal brilliance and tragedy in the history of human warfare. He exerts his personal energy, determination, and will to the extreme, repeatedly creating miracles of war, building great achievements, and at the same time experiencing major setbacks and failures, but all of them are never turned back, and this spirit of fighting to the end makes powerful and numerous opponents feel in awe.
Napoleon I
The basic outline of the development of Napoleon's life's activities is this: on July 14, 1789, the French people attacked the Bastille, a symbol of feudal rule. The French bourgeois revolution broke out. At the time, Napoleon was a twenty-year-old lieutenant in the French army. In 1793, the Jacobin dictatorship and the French bourgeois revolution reached its peak. In the same year, the first anti-French alliance was formed, and the twenty-four-year-old Napoleon made his debut in the French reconquest of Toulon, and was promoted to major general of artillery for merit. A year later, a Thermidorian coup d'état took place and the Governor's Government was formed. The following year, Napoleon shelled the rebellious Royal Party and was appointed commander of the rear armed forces. In 1796, Napoleon invaded Italy with his division and won the victory.
Napoleon's strategy
In 1798, the second anti-French alliance was formed, and the following year, the "Wuyue Coup", Napoleon served as the first ruler. By 1804, the thirty-five-year-old Napoleon was proclaimed emperor, and since then he has waged successive wars against numerous European countries, defeating two anti-French alliances. In 1806, a "continental blockade" was imposed on Britain. The Fifth Coalition was formed in 1809. In 1810, the Napoleonic Empire reached its peak. A severe economic crisis ensued in France, coupled with the failure of the invasion of Russia in 1812, and the defeat of Napoleon by the Sixth Coalition, which led to the first abdication of the forty-five-year-old French Emperor Napoleon.
Napoleon's ambitious personality made him an aggressive lion, a lifelong worship of force, and a twofold nature of his life.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, there were two foreign historical figures who enjoyed special reputations in China and intellectual circles, one was Washington in the United States, and the other was Napoleon of France, the protagonist of this article. Figures such as Washington and Napoleon were clearly seen as hopes for the collapse of the country.
Napoleon
Especially for Napoleon, a test question in the Qing Dynasty at that time also made a joke. Although the intellectuals of the Qing Dynasty admired Napoleon quite a bit, this also belonged to the "local fanaticism", and relatively speaking, the Qing dynasty people were basically very unfamiliar with foreign figures. There's a ridiculous piece. In order to cater to the content of Chinese and foreign history during the Qing Dynasty, when the examiner came up with a question, napoleon of France was used, and roughly knew that he and Xiang Yu were brave warriors who ended in failure, so they came up with a test question comparing Chinese and foreign characters: "Xiang Yu's Broken Wheel Theory" The answer from candidates from all over the country was very interesting, and one candidate wrote as soon as he opened his pen: "Fu Xiangyu, the hero of the mountain, can't you break the wheel and can't take it?" So that the broken wheel can repair its own government, and can it be taken by Xiang Yu? Take the full wheel and win, and take the broken wheel? It truly reproduces the version of the imperial examination of "Guan Gong Zhan Qin Qiong". Although it is a joke test, the consideration of success or failure is quite accurate.
Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination
Napoleon entered the military academy before he was 10 years old, and in his book "Sketches - My Experiences", he wrote: "I became an officer at the age of sixteen and fifteen days. "Validated the ideal he struggled for" A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier. "He has fought all his life in Europe, fought invincible hands all over the world several times, and is a true genius of war." Even as he was dying, a sudden strong wind blew from the sea, pulling wood and shaking the house, and he said, "It's like when I was about to kill the enemy!" [1] His last words at the time of his death were: "France... army...... pioneer. ”
Although this man has completed his mission throughout his life in constant controversy and struggle, there is no doubt that he is one of the rare historical figures of world-class controversy. He not only inherited and stabilized the achievements of the French Revolution, but also openly trampled on the banner of the Revolution; he not only brought the gospel of revolution to Europe and even the world, but also ravaged other peoples with the iron hooves of hegemonism, at least from the appearance, there are two aspects of Napoleon, he played two kinds of horns, he is Jesus Christ, but also Satan the Devil.
Napoleon's record on horseback was invincible for a while, although the troops were often at a disadvantage, the vast majority of them could win more with less, and defeat was won, but it gradually expanded, resulting in gradual defeat.
"I originally wanted to establish the United States of Europe", which was Napoleon's majestic ambition, and even he arranged his own business: "My son must inherit my successful cause everywhere, that is, to unite Europe with unbreakable federal relations". Because of this failure, Napoleon himself broke the dream.
Napoleon was crowned
Napoleon's life was spent almost on "horseback". He commanded more than 50 campaigns, many times greater than any previous military commander in Western history. For 20 years, Napoleon commanded the French army to fight almost the entire European army. Although inferior in terms of troop strength, the vast majority of battles can be defeated and won. In terms of his command art, the most prominent reason is that he can concentrate superior forces. By 1803, Belgium, Nice, Savoy, and Piedmont (present-day Italy) were also part of France, and in 1808 Napoleon acquired Rome; the following year, Napoleon seized Westphalia, which belonged to The German lands, and the once prosperous cities of the Hansa League. At this time, France had expanded from 108 provinces with a population of 33 million to 130 provinces, with a total population of 44 million, becoming a new empire. The reason why Napoleon was able to achieve such brilliant results had a great relationship with his correct military command, of which the concentration of superior forces to break through was his biggest highlight.
Correlation situation map
Concentrating superior forces seems to be a common sense for military commanders, but how to concentrate superior forces when the troops are at a disadvantage and be able to defeat a strong enemy is not something that ordinary commanders can do. The Battle of Austerlitz, commanded by Napoleon, was a classic, when the French army was 73,000 men and the Russian and Austrian combined forces had 90,000 men. Napoleon attracted 40,000 Russian troops with 10,000 French troops, concentrated 60,000 people to attack 50,000 allied troops, and the result was a great victory, and the third anti-French alliance collapsed. "Most of Napoleon's battles ... They all win by hitting the crowd with less and winning by inferiority against superiority. They all first use their own local advantages and initiatives, toward the enemy's partial inferiority and passivity, win a battle, and then the rest, each of them breaks down, so that the overall situation becomes an advantage and turns into an initiative. ”【2】
At the time of the invasion of Russia, the first stage, from June to September 1812, was the French offensive, the Russian army was defeated, knowing that Russia had fallen; the second stage was the French army withdrawing from Russia from October to December 1812, and the Russian army began to counterattack until the French army was completely defeated and withdrew from Russia. "It ends in two stages, such as the Franco-Russian War, where Napoleon went from attack to retreat, and Russia from retreat to counter-offensive, and both sides had two stages." [3] The reason why the party that was originally in possession shifted from offense to defense was that "the more territory is occupied, the greater the danger, such as Napoleon, such as Alexander, king of Macedonia." [4] Napoleon's great success gradually led him to failure, because of his continuous pioneering and loss of his previous caution and rationality. This inflation is caused by its constant victories.
Napoleon on the battlefield
As early as the brilliant victory of the first expedition to Italy, Napoleon, who had not yet ascended to the highest dominance of France at that time, put forward this strategic idea. France, he argued, should be "the arbiter of Europe" and "pivotal to the situation in Europe, that is, to influence the situation by "our will". [5] He believed that France should dominate not only Europe, but also the whole world. He said: "This little Europe is not enough honor for me. I must go to the East to seek, and all immortal fame comes from the East. On the eve of the collapse of the Great Empire, Napoleon, looking back on the path he had taken, bluntly and even regretfully admitted: "I want France to rule the whole world." [6] And Napoleon did advance these plans considerably, first on an expedition to Egypt, with the aim of cutting off the passage to India and stifling British trade with the East. The second plan was to invade the British mainland, and in 1803 Napoleon intended to cross the English Channel in July. Napoleon said: "I will be the master of London, the British Club and the Bank of England in just three foggy days." ”【7】
Napoleon's expedition to Russia
However, this plan was soon frustrated, because the French navy was blocked by the British, and the Austrian army also launched an attack from the east Napoleon had to concentrate on fighting against Austria. Napoleon also had a plan to impose a continental blockade on Britain, trying to suffocate the British economy by strictly prohibiting the entry of British goods from time to time, but the effect was not obvious. Although Napoleon failed to realize his ambition to destroy Britain and dominate the world, he defeated four anti-French alliances organized by Britain and established hegemony on the European continent, which gradually led to the failure of the invasion of Russia.
At the Battle of Leipzig, the myth of Napoleon's invincibility was completely broken, and after abdication, he was exiled to the island of Elba, and since then he has completely weakened.
The Battle of Leipzig took place in October 1813 near Leipzig, Germany. Napoleon fought with 180,000 men against 300,000 allies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and other countries, and finally lost. Napoleon was defeated and returned to the west bank of the Rhine and finally to Paris. The following year the Senate declared the abrogation of Napoleon's throne. Throughout the battle, the anti-French coalition suffered about 54,000 casualties, and the French army suffered about 37,000 casualties. The Battle of Leipzig was the fiercest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon's defeat represented that Napoleon's last hopes of dominating Germany had been disillusioned, the anti-French coalition army entered Paris on March 31, 1814, and on April 11 of the same year, Napoleon announced his unconditional surrender, napoleon himself was exiled to a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, Elba, still retaining the title of "Emperor", and the territory was limited to Elba.
Napoleon was exiled
Napoleon's defeat was not accidental, but a chain reaction of a series of battles led to the final defeat. From a fundamental point of view, Napoleon's frenzied plunder has seriously violated human morality, is a countercurrent, and is unpopular. Strategically, Napoleon's defeat in conquest of Tsarist Russia strengthened confidence in the anti-French alliance. Although in 1810 he shouted triumphantly: "In three years I will become the master of the whole world, and now there is only one Russia left, but I must defeat it." [8] However, when he sent an army of 500,000 men to invade Russia and march on Moscow, he suffered a crushing defeat and became the "decisive point" of Napoleon's political life, and his empire fell from victory to decline, and from then on it collapsed, which led to the fiasco in Leipzig.
Battle of Leipzig
Napoleon's imperial foreign wars, fundamentally speaking, were aimed solely at the seizure of world hegemony, and his military offensive, political oppression and economic plunder on the enslaved and invaded peoples could only lead to sharp class and national contradictions, thus giving rise to the "war of national liberation against napoleon's empire.". (Lenin) However, it must be pointed out that the art of military, which is better than believing in force, has had a profound impact on the world. Engels said: "The new method of warfare which was developed by Napoleon to the most perfect extent is much superior to the old method", "so that the modern generals in general not only cannot overcome him, but can only try to copy him in their most glorious and successful battles." To his soldiers, Napoleon was a fatherly leader who even said, "I am always ready to do for my soldiers what my own biological son can do." "These more or less explain why Napoleon's army has always been strong in combat. Although he was exiled after his defeat, it laid the groundwork for the "Hundred Days Dynasty" that he would not be reconciled to in the future, unfortunately, he was no longer from victory to victory, but the opposite.
exegesis:
[1] "On Napoleon's Military Genius"
[2] On Napoleon, People's Publishing House, published in 1991.
[3] Selected Documents, vol. 11, Party School Press, 1991, p. 557.
[4] Liberation Daily, October 31, 1941.
[5] Ross, Biography of Napoleon I, vol. 1, pp. 185, 183, 313.
[6] Lefebvre, The Age of Napoleon, vol. II, pp. 169, 288.
[7] Modern History, Institute of History, USSR Academy of Sciences, Volume II.
[8] Tarle, Biography of Napoleon, p. 338.