[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon Bonaparte was
Emperor of France and one of the greatest leaders in European history. A
brilliant military general, he won a series of dramatic victories. He was also
a dynamic and ambitious politician who helped to create modern France.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]A HERO OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, on the
Mediterranean island of Corsica. His family was Italian, but the island
belonged to France. At the age of nine, Napoleon began his career as a soldier
by enrolling at a military school in France. From here he gained entry to the
top French military college in Paris in 1784, and became an artillery officer.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]In 1789 the French Revolution plunged the
country into chaos. This gave Napoleon his first great opportunity to make a
name for himself. The people of Toulon, a port in south-eastern France, were
opposed to the Revolution, and invited the British in to fight against it.
Napoleon drove off a fleet of attacking British ships and captured the port for
the Revolution. For this, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]NAPOLEON’S RISE TO POWER[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon’s next chance to advance his career came in
1795. An angry mob stormed the royal palace in Paris, trying to get rid of the
revolutionary government. Napoleon led the defence, ordering cannons to be
fired at the protestors as they advanced. His reward was the command of the
French army on the Italian border. Against all expectations, he won a string of
battles against the powerful Austrians.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon returned to Paris in 1797 as a national
hero. A year later he led an invading force into Egypt. His aim was to threaten
British power in India. At first the campaign went well, and Napoleon gained
control of Egypt at the Battle of the Pyramids near Cairo. Britain and other
European nations were alarmed at this, and declared war on France. The French
fleet was defeated at the Battle of the Nile, and in 1799 Napoleon returned to
Paris.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]The French people desperately wanted a strong
leader. The ruling party collapsed and Napoleon and his supporters seized
power. Napoleon became First Consul of France, and launched a programme of
reform. The State increased its power over education and the legal system, and
Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church, which had been an enemy of the
French Revolution.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]FRANCE’S NEW EMPEROR[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]By 1802 Europe was at peace, but Napoleon was
still eager to make France—and himself—even stronger. He became president of
the Italian Republic, made plans to invade Britain, and in December 1804
crowned himself as Emperor of France. Not surprisingly, this led to a renewal
of war. Britain, Austria, Russia and Sweden formed an alliance against the
French.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon marched into Austrian territory and won two
astounding victories in 1805. The second of these was at Austerlitz, where he
destroyed the armies of Austria and Russia.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]His only military setback was the naval defeat at
the Battle of Trafalgar (off the coast of Spain), which ended Napoleon’s plans
to invade Great Britain.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]On land, however, Napoleon was supreme. In the
following years, he won more victories over his enemies, pushing the French
Empire into Germany, Holland and Poland. He also began a long war with the aim
of conquering Spain.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]THE RUSSIAN DISASTER[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]The long period of warfare had weakened France,
yet in 1812 Napoleon was able to assemble an army of 600,000 men for his next
great enterprise. This was the invasion of Russia. That summer he crossed the
Russian border and advanced the mighty distance to Moscow.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]The city was nearly empty of people, and of
food. Gradually, the French triumph turned into a nightmare. With winter
coming, Napoleon decided to retreat. His army began the long slog home,
attacked by bitter cold and starvation as well as Russian troops. Only about
20,000 men made it back to France.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]THE HUNDRED DAYS[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]This was the beginning of the end for Napoleon. He
put together another army, but in 1813 the allies defeated it decisively at the
Battle of Leipzig. Paris fell, and Napoleon was forced to give up his throne.
He went into exile on the Italian island of Elba, but he did not stay there for
long.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Early in 1815 he escaped and headed back to
France with about 1,000 faithful followers. Landing in the south, he marched
towards Paris. Thousands flocked to join him, and excited crowds welcomed him
back to the capital. The climax of this “Hundred Days” of freedom was the
Battle of Waterloo, which ended in Napoleon’s final defeat by the British and
Prussian armies.[/font]


[color:dbb9=#FFC000][font:dbb9=&quot]NAPOLEON’S EXILE AND DEATH[/font][/color]


[font:dbb9=&quot]This time the victors made sure that Napoleon would
never return. They sent him to the remote and lonely island of St Helena in the
South Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon spent the rest of his life here, closely watched
and guarded. He died, ill and worn out, in May 1821.[/font]


[font:dbb9=&quot]Napoleon has become a legendary figure, inspiring
many books, paintings and films. Heroically ambitious, energetic and
clearheaded, he proved himself first as an outstanding military leader. Then,
as a political leader, he restored stability, justice and pride to France and
changed the history of the world.[/font]


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