The Peninsular War and Napoleons Downfall

Something to Ponder…Why is it so hard to hold an

Empire together?

Why do all Empires end? Are there any Empires today?

The Peninsular War (1808-1813)

The Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was becoming trouble for Napoleon

Gov’t of Spain led by King Charles IVNapoleon and the incompetent Charles

reached an agreement that permitted French troops to pass through his kingdom to conquer Portugal, Britain’s ally.

A French army marched on Lisbon, and the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil

Napoleon kept sending more and more troops into Spain

A popular insurrection against Charles IV led to him abdicating his throne, and his son Ferdinand VII inherited the throne

Napoleon then forced Ferdinand to also abdicate and he made his older brother Joseph Bonaparte the King of Spain

Guerrilla WarfareNapoleon did not count on the

resistance of the Spanish and Portuguese people

Ecclesiastical reforms imposed by Joseph and Napoleon were not well received, for the church was still a powerful force in Spanish life◦Reduction of monastic convents◦Abolition of the Inquisition

Napoleon found some allies among the urban middle class, but the Spanish nobility joined their old allies, the clergy, in opposition to the invaders

Local councils organized quick attacks on the French forces, which were easy targets for the small mobile groups of Spanish guerrillas, who attacked then quickly disappeared in the Spanish landscape, made it unsafe for French troops to move around

Napoleon is not invincible “Spanish Ulcer”

Napoleon was forced to send fresh troops from Central Europe, victory for Napoleon in Spain seemed ever more distant

British troops arrived to help the Spanish and Portuguese fight the French

By 1810, about 350,000 French troops were tied up in the Iberian Peninsula

Fighting for “Church and King” Spaniards sustained what arguably was the first successful guerrilla war in Modern Europe.

Napoleon’s “Spanish Ulcer” bled France

The Russian Invasion and the Empire’s Decline

Austria was preparing for war by the end of 1808

Also Russia (now an ally of France) and Germany were becoming unhappy with Napoleon

War with Austria resembled earlier wars◦Napoleon was quick and precise, gained

territory and money◦The Austrians were slow, fumbling and

begging for peace◦April 2, 1810, Napoleon married Marie Louise,

daughter of Austrian Emperor

Napoleon worked to preserve the continental system and plug and loopholes, but the system was making French rule unbearable over much of Europe

Napoleon misunderstood British wealth◦Britain needed food, because

industrial cities covered much land◦Napoleon allowed food to be shipped

to Britain◦If he had not allowed this, surrender

would have been almost certain

RussiaThe Czar, Nicholas I refused to close his

ports to British and neutral ships carrying English goods

Napoleon believed he could enforce the continental blockade by defeating Russia

June 28, 1812, Napoleons “Grand Army” over 600,000 strong, crossed into Russia

Napoleon hoped to lure the Russian armies into battle. The Russians, however, simply retreated, drawing Napoleon ever farther into Western Russia

Not so “Grand”While 600,000 troops was a lot, they

weren’t all the highest qualitySome of Napoleons finest troops were

dodging guerrilla attacks in SpainHalf of the Grand Army consisted of

Russian, Italia, Austrian, Swiss, or Dutch conscripts (who did not know how to handle a horse, or a weapon)

Napoleon was almost constantly at war, there was never a chance to rebuild it to Napoleon’s satisfaction

Russia is a pretty big place

In Russia, disease, heat, and hunger took a far greater toll on Napoleon’s army during those first few months then the Russian army did

The Grand army reached the city of Smolensk, 200 miles west of Moscow, in the middle of August, where the Emperor planned on forcing the Czar to sign a humiliating treaty

Just keep backing upThe Russians retreated again, and

Napoleons marshals begged him to wait in Smolensk, but he was too tempted by the possibility of capturing Moscow

The French advanced to reach Borodino, sixty miles from Moscow where the Russians were waiting and the two sides fought in the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic era, 68,000 were killed or wounded, before the Russian continued to retreat

Moscow: Capturing the Capital means winning right?

September 14, 1812, Napoleon enters Moscow and he found it virtually deserted and burning to the ground

There was no enemy left to fight there, now anywhere else in the region. The Czar and his armies had fled to the east

Over 1500 miles from Paris, without sufficient provisions, and with the early signs of the approaching Russian winter already apparent, Napoleon decided to march his once Grand Army back to France

The retreat, which began October 19, was a disaster

Russian troops picked off hundreds of the retreating forces, forcing them to take a longer route home

The freezing winter finished off most of what was left of Napoleon’s Grand Army

Of the more than 600,000 men who had set out in June, only about 40,000 returned

Undaunted Napoleon demanded a new levy of 350,000 troops, which was greeted with massive resentment and resistance. Napoleon planned new campaigns and further expansion

Napoleon reached Moscow

The Defeat of NapoleonNapoleon throughout 1813, had to deal

with a crumbling empireMost new conscripts were under 20 and

ill prepared for battleHad very little moneyNapoleon’s enemies found new strengthOctober 1813, Napoleon suffers defeat

at LeipzigBavaria, Holland and Naples reverse

their allegiances

After encountering tough resistance (Napoleon wins 10 battles in 20 days) the Allied forces (Russia, Prussia, Britain, Germany) march into Paris triumphantly

April 1, 1814, After a failed suicide attempt, Napoleon abdicated his seat as Emperor

April 11, 1814, a treaty is signed with the Allies

April 28, 1814, Napoleon is exiled to the island of Elba