Reminder of the French Revolution

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What were the Napoleonic Wars all about?

By the end of the lesson you will:1.Have demonstrated your understanding of the different sides in the Napoleonic wars2.Explained how the series of wars came about3.Started to analyse the implications of the Napoleonic Wars

Now watch this clip about Napoleon and make notes of key events if you can

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The often-used term Napoleonic Wars implies that Napoleon was the instigator in every military campaign of the period. That's not the whole story. The wars of this period were really about other nations of Europe

trying to overthrow first the French Revolution and then Napoleon.

• Seven coalitions were formed for these purposes:

• •First Coalition (1792–1797): Austria, Great Britain, Spain, and Prussia variously were in or out of this coalition against Revolutionary France. The coalition collapsed with General Napoleon Bonaparte's success in Italy that led to the Treaty of Campo Formio. The most important battle was probably the Battle of Lodi (May 10, 1796).

• •Second Coalition (1799–1802): Britain, Austria, and Russia, which were unhappy with French expansion, were the main culprits here. Napoleon was in Egypt for part of this time, winning the Battle of the Pyramids and establishing modern Egyptology, but he hastened back in 1799 and took control of France as First Consul. His campaign in Italy, mostly against the Austrians, was highlighted by the Battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800).

• •Third Coalition (1805): Fearful of an expanding France, Britain, Austria, and Russia formed the Third Coalition, but Austria and Russia were soundly beaten at the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805). The ensuing treaty ended hostilities for only a short time.

• •Fourth Coalition (1806–1807): Russia and Britain were still at war with France, and Prussia jumped into a new coalition. But the Prussians and Russians were soundly drubbed at the Battle of Friedland (June 14, 1807), effectively ending hostilities.

• •Fifth Coalition (1809): Once again, the Austrians and British (these guys just don't give up, do they?) joined forces to try to throw Napoleon out of France. And once again, Napoleon thumped the Austrians, this time at the Battle of Wagram (July 5–6, 1809). But the Brits were getting active in Spain, and the handwriting was on the wall.

• •Sixth Coalition (1812–1814): Russia betrayed Napoleon, and the resulting hostilities led to Napoleon's invasion of Russia and victory at Borodino (September 7, 1812). But Napoleon's withdrawal from Russia opened the floodgates, and one by one his allies became former allies and members of the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig (October 16–19, 1813) sealed his fate, and in 1814 he was exiled from France (as Emperor of Elba).

• •Seventh Coalition (1815): Napoleon's return to France in March 1815 for a second reign as emperor (dubbed the Hundred Days to indicate its duration) caused all his old enemies to unite against him, with final defeat coming at Waterloo (June 18, 1815). That was it for Napoleon, who was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died on May 5, 1821.

Austrian flag during Napoleonic wars

Russian flag

Prussian Flag

British flag

French flag

• Using your own copy of these flags from the time of the Napoleonic Wars, create a timeline showing the different events and coalitions.

• Put enemy flags on differing sides of the timeline.

• Your timeline should run from 1790 to 1820 (Scale = 1cm per year)

Flags for use with timeline

1

2

3

4 5 6

7Now use the details of the coalitions to complete these boxes with a summary of the chronology of events.

Battle of Waterloo

The legacy of the Napoleonic Wars• At the end of the Napoleonic wars, the Great Powers assembled in Vienna to restore the

European state system – a delicate balance between the various major and minor powers that restrained aggression by the mighty, and upheld the rights of the weak.

• They hoped to build a permanent peace by suppressing revolutionary republics and upholding stable, orderly monarchies. Despite the divergent aims and ambitions of Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain and France, a compromise was created, following the brief interruption of Napoleon’s ‘Hundred Days’ and the Battle of Waterloo.

• After the Treaty of Vienna the great powers enjoyed three decades of peace, years in which industrial, political, economic, social and nationalist pressures were suppressed or deflected. But eventually the Vienna system broke down. The initial problem was the weakness of the Ottoman-Turkish empire, and the opportunities this provided for European interference in support of the Christian populations

• In 1854 Europe was again at war in the Crimea.• In 1871 Prussia instigated the uniting of Germanic states in to a United Germany. Alsace-

Lorraine was taken from France.• In 1914 Europe went to war about continued geographic and empirical differences dating

back to the Napoleonic Wars.

George III (UK)

Napoleon (Fr)

Alexander I (Rus) Frederick William III (Prus)

Franz I (Aus)

1. Which of these men was most responsible for the Napoleonic Wars?

2. What was the legacy of these wars on Europe and the wider world?

What were the Napoleonic Wars all about?

Now check whether you :1.Have demonstrated your understanding of the different sides in the Napoleonic wars2.Explained how the series of wars came about3.Started to analyse the implications of the Napoleonic Wars

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