Napoleon Bonaparte

Few figures have shaped the modern world as forcefully as Napoleon Bonaparte. In little more than fifteen years he rose from an obscure artillery officer to Emperor of the French, redrew the map of Europe, and left behind a code of laws still felt today. He is remembered above all as one of the greatest military commanders in history, a general who won on audacity, speed and an unmatched eye for the decisive moment.

From Corsica to command

Napoleon was born on 15 August 1769 in Ajaccio¹, on the island of Corsica, a year after France acquired it from Genoa. Trained as an artillery officer, he made his name in the chaos of the French Revolution, first at the siege of Toulon in 1793¹ and then by scattering a royalist rising in Paris in 1795¹. Given command of the army in Italy in 1796, he stunned Europe with a lightning campaign against the Austrians, and returned a national hero.

After an ambitious but stranded expedition to Egypt, he seized power in the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799¹, becoming First Consul of France. In 1804 he crowned himself Emperor², taking the crown from the altar and placing it on his own head, a pre-arranged gesture that still told the world he owed his throne to no one.

The years of victory

The heart of the Napoleonic legend is the run of victories from 1805 to 1807. His masterpiece came at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805: outnumbered, he tempted the Russians and Austrians into attacking a deliberately thinned flank, then punched through their centre and rolled them up, shattering two empires' armies in a day. The next year he destroyed the vaunted Prussian army almost as quickly at Jena.

At his height Napoleon controlled or dominated most of continental Europe, placing relatives on thrones and binding states into his system. He also reformed France itself: the Napoleonic Code, a clear civil law guaranteeing equality before the law³ and property rights, spread across Europe and remains the basis of many legal systems today.

Russia and the fall

The turning point was the invasion of Russia in 1812.⁴ Napoleon led the largest army Europe had ever seen across the border, won a savage day at Borodino, and entered a burning, abandoned Moscow, but no peace came. The retreat through the Russian winter destroyed his Grande Armee. In 1813 a coalition of nearly all Europe crushed him at Leipzig, the Battle of the Nations, and in 1814 he abdicated and was exiled to the small island of Elba.

He was not finished. In 1815 he escaped, marched on Paris, and ruled again for the Hundred Days, until a British-led and Prussian army broke him for good at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. This time there was no comeback.³ He was sent to Saint Helena, a remote rock in the South Atlantic, where he died on 5 May 1821, aged 51.¹

Legacy

Napoleon left a divided memory: a tyrant and endless war-maker to some, a moderniser and military genius to others. What is not in doubt is his mark. His campaigns are still studied in war colleges, his code still shapes law, and his battles, above all Austerlitz, remain the standard against which decisive generalship is measured.

Meet the others who share that standard in the greatest military commanders in history, or read his battles in full among the greatest Napoleonic battles.

Why Napoleon won

Napoleon combined a reformed French army with a genius for speed, concentration and timing.

• Speed and manoeuvre. He marched his corps fast and separately, then concentrated them at the decisive point before the enemy could react.
• Concentrate at the key point. He aimed overwhelming force where it mattered most, rather than spreading his army evenly along a line.
• Massed artillery. A trained gunner himself, he used large batteries to blow holes in enemy lines for his infantry and cavalry to exploit.
• The central position. Facing several enemies at once, he threw his army between them and beat each in turn before they could unite.
• Inspire the men. He understood morale and reward, and inspired a loyalty that carried his armies across a continent.
• Corps that could fight alone. He organised his army into self-contained corps, each able to hold off a larger force until the rest arrived.

From Corsica to Saint Helena

1. 1769Born in Ajaccio on Corsica, the year after France acquired the island.
2. 1799Seizes power in the coup of 18 Brumaire and becomes First Consul of France.
3. 1804Crowns himself Emperor of the French and issues the Napoleonic Code.
4. 1805Wins his masterpiece at Austerlitz, crushing the Austrians and Russians.
5. 1812Invades Russia with a huge army and loses most of it in the disastrous retreat from Moscow.
6. 1813Is defeated by a coalition at Leipzig, the Battle of the Nations.
7. 1814Abdicates and is exiled to the island of Elba.
8. 1815Returns for the Hundred Days but is finally beaten at Waterloo by Wellington and Blucher, and exiled to Saint Helena.
9. 1821Dies in exile on Saint Helena.

The empire at its height

By 1807 Napoleon dominated continental Europe, redrawing borders, placing relatives on thrones and spreading the reforms of the French Revolution by force of arms. His Grande Armee was the most effective fighting force of its age, and Austerlitz in 1805 remains a model of how to destroy a larger enemy.

See how he ranks among history's captains in our guide to the greatest military commanders in history, or relive his campaigns in the greatest Napoleonic battles.

The fall

Two things broke him: the vast, unforgiving space of Russia in 1812, and the refusal of his enemies to give up. After the retreat from Moscow the coalitions came for him, beat him at Leipzig, and forced his abdication. His brief return in 1815 ended at Waterloo, where Wellington and Blucher finally broke his army for good.

Which commander do you most resemble? Find out in our Which Commander Are You quiz.