How Far Was Allied Unity The Main Factor In The Eventual Defeat Of Napoleon Essay, Research Paper

During the years of 1812-1815 there was a lot of change and a lot of conflict in Europe. Napoleon was at the centre of all the change and conflict and in the end he was sorely beaten.

The question asks to what extent was allied unity responsible for the defeat of Napoleon, this essay will answer by looking at developments in Europe between 1812 and 1815 and how large a part allied unity played in Napoleon’s defeat. It will also look at how Napoleon himself was a main factor in his own defeat.During the year 1812 France had control of a major part of Europe, this was due to about 25 years of conflict which resulted in a great victory for Napoleon and vast territory for France. Things were fairly easy for France at that time as there was minimal resistance from mainland Europe. Britain was the only nation to be providing any major resistance to them, and Napoleon had set up a structure to cripple the British economy and bring a halt to their armies. The structure was, that British cargo ships were not allowed to dock in any European port. It was working, the British economy was struggling and if things kept up they might have been in real trouble. France had control of both Austria and Prussia, who were both impotet. Russia at that time was at war with Turkey, and was also an ally of France. However neither nation trusted the other and it was only a matter of time before their agreement would be breached. Sweden was at war with Britain, which was costly to both nations, and they were an ally to Russia as well. Switzerland, Italy and the low countries were very quiet and offered no resistance. The situation in Europe at that time suggested that Europe was prepared to accept and live with Napoleon’s conditions as they were, the only problem being that Napoleon was not prepared to let things stay as they were.Russia at this time was at war with Turkey, was an ally of France, but was the only country in Europe to be allowing British cargo ships into their ports. Napoleon became very angry at this and decided that he was going to do something about it. He gave secret encouragement to the Turks that things would change shortly and raised a massive army. The army was made up of troops from France, Austria, Prussia, West Germany, Italy and others and it was the largest army ever seen or ever would be seen again until 1914. The army crossed the Niemen river and invaded Russia. The Russians were wise to this move however and did two things to help themselves. Firstly they made an agreement with their ally of Sweden that they would help them in the pending conflict. Sweden would pull out of the conflict with Britain and in return would receive Norway as their own. By pulling out of the war with Britain, Britain could then concentrate on the war with France in Spain, which had been going on for some time. This was of great help towards Russia’s chances. This was probably the first example of how allied unity contributed to Napoleon’s defeat. Secondly Russia evacuated Moscow, and by the time Napoleon reached it there were only a few civilians and a number of undercover soldiers. These soldiers then set fire to Moscow, which left Napoleon and his huge army standing on the outside of a ruined Moscow waiting for Russia to concede. They didn’t concede and Napoleon stayed there in the open until the infamous Russian winter hit them and forced them to retreat. This was a great example of how Napoleon contributed to his own defeat. His poor planning and his false assumption that Russia would concede cost him 400,000 soldiers, half of whom died during the massive retreat due to the harsh winter which for some reason he forgot came around at that time every year. This was simply bad planning. Napoleon got back to Paris as quickly as he could and raised another 350,000 men, but by than time Russia with the aid of Sweden were invading. The Austrians at this time decided to become neutral for fear of not knowing which side to join. Prussia took more positive steps and decided to join the Russians and Swedes by declaring was on France in march 1813. This was another example of how allied unity contributed to Napoleon’s defeat. With the three nations joining forces they became a much stronger opponent to Napoleon. In August 1813 Austria finally had the courage to make a decision and decided to join Russia and Prussia. They formed a formal alliance in August and in September 1813 Bavaria joined the bandwagon as well. Allied unity was now very strong. In October 1813 the allies went to battle with France in Leipzig, this battle was named the Battle of Nations. The French suffered heavy defeats and were once again forced to retreat. The allied unity was now producing results. The Battle of Nations saw the beginning of the tumbling of the French structure throughout Europe. In November 1813 Napoleon had to retreat from the Rhine and the other side of France. Britain under the command of Wellington had forced their way through the French border at the Pyrenees and successfully attacked Bayonne. In Holland there was a revolt which saw expulsions of French imperial troops and officers. Napoleon was in real danger of losing everything, he had suffered defeats and was in rapid retreat. It was at this time that Austria offered Napoleon a peace deal that would retain it’s borders of 1796. These borders would include Belgium and part of Germany. Napoleon refused and this is another example of how he contributed to his own defeat. He was in no position to bargain, and yet he still decided to continue fighting. This was brave, but at the end of the day it was the wrong decision. After the rejection of the peace deal the allied forces began invading France in December 1813. This went on till February 1814 when after more defeats for Napoleon, he was offered another peace deal, this time allowing France the borders of 1792. Once again Napoleon refused and that was his last chance. Britain now took the opportunity to join the allies and they all signed an agreement that the war should be fought out to an end. Allied unity was even stronger now, and with Britain on the scene with the allies, the French were defeated again and again. They were forced to fall back until 1814 when Paris was eventually taken. Wellington at the same time completed his long struggle from Portugal all the way to Bordeaux.Napoleon finally accepted defeat in April 1814 when he signed a treaty which granted him sovereignty over a tiny island in the Mediterranean named Elta Many people felt that this was too mild a decision and their fears became reality when he returned to French soil in March 1815. His name and reputation were still held high and it didn’t take him long to rally through France and raise a formidable army. Although slow off the mark the allies quickly assembled an army of considerable size which would easily crush Napoleon’s attempt. Napoleon tried to split the allied army using his support in Italy. However the army in Italy was crushed by the Austrians in the first days of May 1815. Napoleon with forces that were well outnumbered decided to head for Belgium for a head to head battle with the allies. he was finally defeated for good this time at Waterloo in June 1815. Allied unity was not the main factor in the defeat of Napoleon. Certainly it was a major factor, probably the most important factor. They grew stronger as time went on and in the end they were far too powerful for him. However Napoleon himself was also a main factor in his own defeat, he was a brave and good leader, and had more than his fair share of successes. Bad planning in the invasion of Russia, and his obsession for victory however caused him to fail in the end. With odds of no more than 150,000 to750,000 it takes an obsession for victory beyond sanity to go into battle, but he did and he lost. In conclusion allied unity was a major reason for Napoleon’s defeat, but also at times he was his own worst enemy.

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