THE EARTHQUAKE OF NAPOLEONISM
Its Effect on National conditions Finally Led to the War of 1914
Its Effect on National Conditions Finally Led to the War of 1914
Conditions in France and Germany—The Campaign in Italy—The Victory at
Marengo—Moreau at Hohenlinden—The Consul Made Emperor—The Code
Napoleon—Campaign of 1805—Battle of Austerlitz—The Conquest of
Prussia—The Invasion of Poland—Eylau and Friedland—Campaign of
1809—Victory at Wagram—The Campaign in Spain—The Invasion of Russia—A
Fatal Retreat—Dresden and Leipzig—The Hundred Days—The Congress of
Vienna—The Holy Alliance
When, after a weary climb, we find ourselves on the summit of a lofty
mountain, and look back from that commanding altitude over the ground
we have traversed, what is it that we behold? The minor details of the
scenery, many of which seemed large and important to us as we passed,
are now lost to view, and we see only the great and imposing features
of the landscape, the high elevations, the town-studded valleys, the
deep and winding streams, the broad forests. It is the same when, from
the summit of an age, we gaze backward over the plain of time. The
myriad of petty happenings are lost to sight, and we see only the
striking events, the critical epochs, the mighty crises through which
the world has passed. These are the things that make true history, not
the daily doings in the king’s palace or the peasant’s hut. What we
should seek to observe and store up in our memories are the turning
points in human events, the great thoughts which have ripened into
noble deeds, the hands of might which have pushed the world forward in
its career; not the trifling occurrences which signify nothing, the
passing actions which have borne no fruit in human affairs. It is with
such turning points, such critical periods in modern history, that we
are here dealing; not to picture the passing bubbles on the stream of
time, but to point out the great ships which have sailed up that stream
laden with a noble freight. This is history in its deepest and best
aspect, and we have set our camera to photograph only the men who have
made and the events which constitute history in the phase here
outlined.
The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century in Europe yield us
the history of a man rather than of a continent. France was the center
of Europe; Napoleon, the Corsican, was the center of France. All the
affairs of all the nations seemed to gather around this genius of war.
He was respected, feared, hated; he had risen with the suddenness of a
thunder-cloud on a clear horizon, and flashed the lightnings of victory
in the dazzled eyes of the nations. All the events of the period were
concentrated into one great event, and the name of that event was
Napoleon. He seemed incarnate war, organized destruction; sword in
hand, he dominated the nations, and victory sat on his banners with
folded wings. He was, in a full sense, the man of destiny, and Europe
was his prey.
Never has there been a more wonderful career. The earlier great
conquerors began life at the top; Napoleon began his at the bottom.
Alexander was a king; Caesar was an aristocrat of the Roman republic;
Napoleon rose from the people, and was not even a native of the land
which became the scene of his exploits. Pure force of military genius
lifted him from the lowest to the highest place among mankind, and for
long and terrible years Europe shuddered at his name and trembled
beneath the tread of his marching legions. As for France, he brought it
glory and left it ruin and dismay.
The career of Napoleon Bonaparte began in a very modest way. Born in
Corsica and trained in a military school in France, his native ability
as a man of action was first made evident in 1794, when, under the
orders of the National Convention, he quelled the mob of Paris with
loaded cannon and put a final end to the Reign of Terror that had long
prevailed.
Placed at the head of the French army in Italy, Napoleon quickly
astonished the world by a series of the most brilliant victories,
defeating the Austrians and the Sardinians wherever he met them,
seizing Venice, the city of the lagoon, and forcing almost all Italy to
submit to his arms. A republic was established here and a new one in
Switzerland, while Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine were held by
France.
His wars here at an end, Napoleon’s ambition led him to Egypt, inspired
by great designs which he failed to realize. In his absence anarchy
arose in France. The five Directors, then at the head of the
government, had lost all authority, and Napoleon, who had unexpectedly
returned, did not hesitate to overthrow them and the Assembly which
supported them. A new government, with three Consuls at its head, was
formed, Napoleon, as First Consul, holding almost royal power. Thus
France stood in 1800, at the end of the eighteenth century.
CONDITIONS IN FRANCE AND GERMANY
In the remainder of Europe there was nothing to compare with the
momentous convulsion which had taken place in France. England had gone
through its two revolutions more than a century before, and its people
were the freest of any in Europe. Recently it had lost its colonies in
America, but it still held in that continent the broad domain of
Canada, and was building for itself a new empire in India, while
founding colonies in twenty other lands. In commerce and manufactures
it entered the nineteenth century as the greatest nation on the earth.
The hammer and the loom resounded from end to end of the island, mighty
centers of industry arose where cattle had grazed a century before,
coal and iron were being torn in great quantities from the depths of
the earth, and there seemed everywhere an endless bustle and whirr. The
ships of England haunted all seas and visited the most remote ports,
laden with the products of her workshops and bringing back raw material
for her factories and looms. Wealth accumulated, London became the
money market of the world, the riches and prosperity of the island
kingdom were growing to be a parable among the nations of the earth.
On the continent of Europe, Prussia, destined in time to become great,
had recently emerged from its medieval feebleness, mainly under the
powerful hand of Frederick the Great, whose reign extended until 1786,
and whose ambition, daring, and military genius made him a fitting
predecessor of Napoleon the Great, who so soon succeeded him in the
annals of war. Unscrupulous in his aims, this warrior king had torn
Silesia from Austria, added to his kingdom a portion of unfortunate
Poland, annexed the principality of East Friesland, and lifted Prussia
into a leading position among the European states.
Germany, now—with the exception of Austria—a compact empire, was then a
series of disconnected states, variously known as kingdoms,
principalities, margravates, electorates, and by other titles, the
whole forming the so-called Holy Empire, though it was “neither holy
nor an empire.” It had drifted down in this fashion from the Middle
Ages, and the work of consolidation had but just begun, in the
conquests of Frederick the Great. A host of petty potentates ruled the
land, whose states, aside from Prussia and Austria, were too weak to
have a voice in the councils of Europe. Joseph II, the titular emperor
of Germany, made an earnest and vigorous effort to combine its elements
into a powerful unit; but he signally failed, and died in 1790, a
disappointed and embittered man.
Austria, then far the most powerful of the German states, was from 1740
to 1780 under the reign of a woman, Maria Theresa, who struggled in
vain against her ambitious neighbor, Frederick the Great, his kingdom
being extended ruthlessly at the expense of her imperial dominions.
Austria remained a great country, however, including Bohemia and
Hungary among its domains. It was lord of Lombardy and Venice in Italy,
but was destined to play an unfortunate part in the coming Napoleonic
wars.
We have briefly epitomized Napoleon’s early career, his doings in the
Revolution, in Italy, and in Egypt, unto the time that France’s worship
of his military genius raised him to the rank of First Consul, and gave
him in effect the power of a king. No one dared question his word, the
army was at his beck and call, the nation lay prostrate at his feet—not
in fear but in admiration. Such was the state of affairs in France in
the closing year of the eighteenth century. The Revolution was at an
end, the Republic existed only as a name; Napoleon was the autocrat of
France and the terror of Europe. From this point we resume the story of
his career.
The First Consul began his reign with two enemies in the field, England
and Austria. Prussia was neutral, and he had won the friendship of
Paul, the emperor of Russia, by a shrewd move. While the other nations
refused to exchange the Russian prisoners they held, Napoleon sent home
6,000 of these captives, newly clad and armed, under their own leaders,
and without demanding ransom. This was enough to win to his side the
weak-minded Paul, whose delight in soldiers he well knew.
Napoleon now had but two enemies in arms to deal with. He wrote letters
to the king of England and the emperor of Austria, offering peace. The
answers were cold and insulting, asking France to take back her Bourbon
kings and return to her old boundaries. Nothing remained but war.
Napoleon prepared it with his usual rapidity, secrecy, and keenness of
judgment.
THE CAMPAIGN IN ITALY
There were two French armies in the field in the spring of 1800, Moreau
commanding in Germany, Massena in Italy. Switzerland, which was
occupied by the French, divided the armies of the enemy, and Napoleon
determined to take advantage of the separation of their forces, and
strike an overwhelming blow. He sent word to Moreau and Massena to keep
the enemy in check at any cost, and secretly gathered a third army,
whose corps were dispersed here and there, while the Powers of Europe
were aware only of the army of reserve at Dijon, made up of conscripts
and invalids. All was ready for the great movement which Napoleon had
in view.
Twenty centuries before, Hannibal had led his army across the great
mountain barrier of the Alps, and poured down like an avalanche upon
the fertile plains of Italy. The Corsican determined to repeat this
brilliant achievement and emulate Hannibal’s career. Several passes
across the mountains seemed favorable to his purpose, especially those
of the St. Bernard, the Simplon and Mount Cenis. Of these the first was
the most difficult; but it was much the shorter, and Napoleon
determined to lead the main body of his army over this ice-covered
mountain pass, despite its dangers and difficulties. The enterprise was
one to deter any man less bold than Hannibal or Napoleon, but it was
welcome to the hardihood and daring of these men, who rejoiced in the
seemingly impossible and spurned faltering at hardships and perils.
The task of the Corsican was greater than that of the Carthaginian. He
had cannon to transport, while Hannibal’s men carried only swords and
spears. But the genius of Napoleon was equal to the task. The cannon
were taken from their carriages and placed in the hollowed-out trunks
of trees, which could be dragged with ropes over the ice and snow.
Mules were used to draw the gun-carriages and the wagon-loads of food
and munitions of war. Stores of provisions had been placed at suitable
points along the road.
The sudden appearance of the French in Italy was an utter surprise to
the Austrians. They descended like a torrent into the valley, seized
Ivry, and five days after reaching Italy met and repulsed an Austrian
force. The divisions which had crossed by other passes one by one
joined Napoleon. On June 9th Marshal Lannes met and defeated the
Austrians at Montebello, after a hot engagement. “I heard the bones
crackle like a hailstorm on the roofs,” he said. On the 14th, the two
armies met on the plain of Marengo, and one of the most famous of
Napoleon’s battles began.
THE VICTORY AR MARENGO
Napoleon was not ready for the coming battle, and was taken by
surprise. He had been obliged to break up his army in order to guard
all the passages open to the enemy. Suddenly attacked and taken by
surprise, his army was defeated and driven back in retreat in the first
stage of the battle. But Napoleon was not the man to accept defeat.
Hurrying up Desaix, one of his most trusted generals, with his corps,
he flung these fresh troops upon the enemy, following up the assault
with the dragoons of Kellermann. The result was a disastrous rout of
the Austrians, who were driven from the field, leaving thousands of
dead, and other thousands of prisoners in the hands of the enemy.
A few days afterwards on the 19th, Moreau in Germany won a brilliant
victory at Hockstadt, near Blemheim, took 5,000 prisoners and twenty
pieces of cannon, and forced from the Austrians an armed truce which
left him master of South Germany. A still more momentous armistice was
signed by Melas in Italy, by which the Austrians surrendered Piedmont,
Lombardy, and all their territory as far as the Mincio, leaving France
master of Italy.
MOREAU AT HOHENLINDEN
What followed must be briefly detailed. Only a truce, not a peace, had
followed the victories of Napoleon and Moreau, and five months later,
Austria refusing to make peace without the concurrence of England, the
war began again. Moreau winning another famous victory on the plains of
Hohenlinden, the Austrians losing 8,000 in killed and wounded and
12,000 in prisoners.
Moreau advanced to Vienna, where the emperor was forced to sign an
armistice, giving up to France the valley of the Danube, the country of
the Tyrol, a number of fortresses and large magazines of war material.
This truce was followed by a peace in February, 1801. It was one that
left Napoleon the idol of France, the terror of Europe, and the
admiration of the world. He had proved himself the mate of Caesar and
Alexander as a conqueror.
THE CONSUL MADE EMPEROR
The events that followed must be briefly epitomized. For nearly the
only time in his career Napoleon had a period of peace. In this he
showed himself an autocratic but able ruler, making himself king in
everything but name, restoring the old court customs and etiquette, but
not interfering with the liberties and privileges which the people had
won by the Revolution. Feudalism had been definitely overthrown and
Napoleon’s supremacy in the state was one that recognized the popular
freedom.
The culmination of Napoleon’s ambition came in 1804, when he followed
the example of Caesar, the Roman conqueror, seeking the crown as a
reward for his victories. Like Caesar, he had his enemies, but, more
fortunate than Caesar, he escaped their plots and was elected Emperor
of the French by an almost unanimous vote of the people. The Pope was
obliged to come to Paris at the fiat of the new autocrat and to anoint
him as emperor, the sanction of the Church being thus given to his new
dignity. His empire was one founded upon modern ideas, one called into
existence by the votes of a free people, not resting upon the necks of
a nation of serfs.
THE CODE NAPOLEON
During his brief respite from war Napoleon’s activity was great, his
statesmanship notable. Great public works, monuments to his glory, were
constructed, wide schemes of public improvement were entered upon, and
important changes were made in the financial system that provided the
great sums needed for these enterprises. The most important of these
evidences of intellectual activity was the Code Napoleon, the first
organized code of French law and still the basis of jurisprudence in
France. This, first promulgated in 1801 as the civil code of France,
had its title changed to Code Napoleon in 1804, and as such stands as
one of the greatest monuments to the mental capacity of this
extraordinary man.
The period of peace during which these events took place was one of
brief endurance. It practically ended in 1803, when Great Britain,
Napoleon’s most persistent foe, again declared war. But actual war did
not begin until two years later.
The Emperor’s role in this period was one of threat. England had been
invaded and conquered from France once before. It might be again. Like
William of Normandy, Napoleon prepared a large fleet and strong army
and threatened an invasion of the island kingdom. This might possibly
have been successful but for the shrewd policy of William Pitt, the
British Prime Minister, who organized a coalition of Napoleon’s enemies
in Europe which gave him a new use for his army.
CAMPAIGN OF 1805
The coalition embraced Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Norway,
with Great Britain at their back. The bold Corsican had roused nearly
all Europe against him. He dealt with it in his usual alert and
successful manner.
Quick as were his enemies to come into the field, they were not quick
enough for their vigilant foe. The army prepared for the invasion of
England was at once set in motion towards the Rhine, and was handled
with such skill as to surround at Ulm the Austrian army under General
Mack and force its surrender.
This took place in October. On the 1st of December the two armies
(92,000 of the allies to 70,000 French) came face to face on the field
of Austerlitz, where on the following day was to be fought one of the
world’s most memorable battles.
BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ
The Emperor Alexander had joined Francis of Austria, and the two
monarchs with their staff officers, occupied the castle and village of
Austerlitz. Their troops hastened to occupy the plateau of Pratzen,
which Napoleon had designedly left free. His plans of battle were
already fully made. He had, with the intuition of genius, foreseen the
probable maneuvers of the enemy, and had left open for them the
position which he wished them to occupy. He even announced their
movement in a proclamation to his troops.
“The positions that we occupy are formidable,” he said, “and while the
enemy march to turn my right they will present to me their flank.”
This movement to the right was indeed the one that had been decided
upon by the allies, with the purpose of cutting off the road to Vienna
by isolating numerous corps dispersed in Austria and Styria. It had
been shrewdly divined by Napoleon in choosing his ground.
He held his own men in readiness while the line of the enemy deployed.
The sun was rising, its rays gleaming through a mist, which dispersed
as it rose higher. It now poured its brilliant beams across the field,
the afterward famous “sun of Austerlitz.” The movement of the allies
had the effect of partly withdrawing their troops from the plateau of
Pratzen. At a signal from the emperor the strongly concentrated center
of the French army moved forward in a dense mass, directing their march
towards the plateau, which they made all haste to occupy. They had
reached the foot of the hill before the rising mist revealed them to
the enemy.
The two emperors watched the movement without divining its intent. “See
how the French climb the height without staying to reply to our fire,”
said Prince Czartoryski, who stood near them.
They were soon to learn why their fire was disdained. The allied force,
pierced in its center by the French, was flung back in disorder and on
all sides broke into a disorderly retreat. The slaughter was frightful.
One division, cut off from the army, threw down its arms and
surrendered. Two columns rushed upon the ice of a frozen lake. Upon
this the fire of the French cannon was turned, the ice splintered and
gave way beneath their feet and thousands of the despairing troops
perished in the freezing waters. Of the whole army only one corps left
the field in order of battle. More than 30,000 prisoners, including
twenty generals, remained in Napoleon’s hands, and with them a hundred
and twenty pieces of cannon and forty flags. Thus ended the most famous
of Napoleon’s battles.
The victory of Austerlitz left Germany in Napoleon’s hands, and the
remodeling of the map of Europe was one of the greatest that has ever
taken place at any one time. Kingdoms were formed and placed under
Napoleon’s brothers or favorite generals. His changes in the states of
Germany were numerous and radical. Those of south and west Germany were
organized into the Confederation of the Rhine, under his protection.
Many of the small principalities were suppressed and their territories
added to the larger states. As to the “Holy Roman Empire,” a once
powerful organization which had long since sunk into a mere shadow, it
finally ceased to exist. The empire of France was extended by these and
other changes until is spread over Italy, the Netherlands and the south
and west of Germany.
Changes so great as these could scarcely be made without exciting
bitter opposition. Prussia had been seriously affected by Napoleon’s
map-making, and in the end its king, Frederick William, became so
exasperated that he broke off all communication with France and began
to prepare for war.
THE CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA
It is by no means impossible that Napoleon had been working for this.
It is certain that he was quick to take advantage of it. While the
Prussian king was slowly collecting his troops and war material, the
veterans of France were already on the march and approaching the
borders of Prussia. The hasty levies of “Frederick William were no
match for the war-hardened French, the Russians failed to come to their
aid, and on the 4th of October, 1806, the two armies met at Jena.
The Prussians proved incapable of withstanding the impetuous attack of
the French and were soon broken and in panic and flight. Nothing could
stop them. Reinforcements coming up, 20,000 in number, were thrown
across their path, but in vain, being swept away by the fugitives and
pushed back by the triumphant pursuers.
At the same time another battle was in progress near Auerstadt between
Marshal Davoust and the forces of the Duke of Brunswick. This, too,
ended in victory for the French. The king had been with the duke and
was borne back by the flying host, the two bodies of fugitives finally
coalescing. In that one fatal day Frederick William had lost his army
and placed his kingdom in jeopardy. “They can do nothing but gather up
the debris,” said Napoleon.
The occupation of Berlin, the Prussian capital, quickly followed, and
the war ended with new map-making which greatly reduced the influence
of Prussia as a European Power.
THE INVASION OF POLAND
Russia was still in arms, and occupied Poland. Thither the victorious
French now advanced, making Warsaw, the Polish capital, the goal of
their march. The Russians were beaten and forced back in every battle,
and the Poles, hoping to regain their lost liberties, gladly rose in
aid of the invader. But the French army found itself exposed to serious
privations. The country was a frozen desert, incapable of supplying
food for an army. The wintry chill and the desolate character of the
country seriously interfered with Napoleon’s plans, the troops being
obliged to make their way through thick and rain-soaked forests, and
march over desolate and marshy plains. The winter of the north fought
against them like a strong army and many of them fell dead without a
battle. Warlike movements became almost impossible to the troops of the
south, though the hardy northerners, accustomed to the climate,
continued their military operations.
EYLAU AND FRIEDLAND
By the end of January the Russian army was evidently approaching in
force, and immediate action became necessary. The cold increased. The
mud was converted into ice. On January 30, 1807, Napoleon left Warsaw
and marched in search of the enemy. General Benningsen retreated,
avoiding battle, and on the 7th of February entered the small town of
Eylau, from which his troops were pushed by the approaching French. He
encamped outside the town, the French in and about it; it was evident
that a great battle was at hand.
The weather was cold. Snow lay thick upon the ground and still fell in
great flakes. A sheet of ice covering some small lakes formed part of
the country upon which the armies were encamped, but was thick enough
to bear their weight. It was a chill, inhospitable country to which the
demon of war had come.
Before daybreak on the 8th Napoleon was in the streets of Eylau,
forming his line of battle for the coming engagement. Soon the
artillery of both armies opened, and a rain of cannon balls began to
decimate the opposing ranks. The Russian fire was concentrated on the
town, which was soon in flames. That of the French was directed against
a hill which the emperor deemed it important to occupy. The two armies,
nearly equal in numbers,—the French having 75,000 to the Russian
70,000—were but a short distance apart, and the slaughter from the
fierce cannonade was terrible.
Nature, which had so far acted to check the advance of the French in
Poland, now threatened their defeat and destruction. A snow-fall began,
so thick and dense that the armies lost sight of each other, the French
columns losing their way in the gloom. When the snow ceased, after a
half-hour’s fall, the French army was in a critical position. It was in
a wandering and disorganized state, while the Russians were on the
point of executing a vigorous turning movement.
Yet the genius of Napoleon turned the scale. He ordered a grand charge
of all the cavalry of his army, driving the Russians back, occupying a
hilly ground in their rear, and in the end handling them so vigorously
that a final retreat began.
Thus ended the most indecisive of Napoleon’s victories, one which had
almost been a defeat and which left both armies so exhausted that
months passed before either was in condition to resume the war. It was
the month of June before the armies were again put in motion. Now the
wintry desolation was replaced by a scene of green woodland, shining
lakes and attractive villages, the conditions being far more favorable
for warlike operations.
On June 13th the armies again met, this time at the town of Friedland,
on the River Alle, in the vicinity of Konigsberg, toward which the
Russians were marching. Here Benningsen, the Russian general, had
incautiously concentrated his troops within a bend of the river, a
tactical mistake of which Napoleon hastened to take advantage.
General Ney fought his way into the town and took the bridges, while
the main force of the French marched upon the entrapped enemy, who met
with complete defeat, many being killed on the field, many more drowned
in the river. Konigsberg, the prize of victory, was quickly occupied by
the French, Prussia the ally of Russia, thus losing all its area except
the single town of Memel. The result was disastrous to the Prussian
king, who was forced to yield more than half his kingdom.
Louisa, the beautiful queen of Frederick William of Prussia, had an
interview with Napoleon and earnestly sought to induce him to mitigate
his harsh terms. In vain she brought to bear upon him all her powers of
persuasion and attractive charm of manner. He continued cold and
obdurate and she left Tilsit deeply mortified and humiliated.
If Napoleon had come near defeat in the campaign of 1807, he came much
nearer in that of 1809, in which his long career of victory was for a
time diversified by an example of defeat, from the consequences of
which only his indomitable energy saved him. And this was at the hands
of the Austrians, who had so often met with defeat and humiliation at
his hands.
In 1808 the defeat of his armies in Spain by the people organized into
guerilla bands forced him to take command there in person. He defeated
the insurgents wherever met, took the city of Saragossa and replaced
his brother Joseph on the throne. Then the outbreak of war in Austria
called him away and he was forced to leave Spain for later attention
CAMPAIGN OF 1809
The declaration of war by Austria arose from indignation at the
arbitrary acts of the conqueror, this growing so intense that in April
1809, a new declaration was made and new armies called into the field.
The French campaign was characterized by the usual rapidity. But on
this occasion the Archduke Charles, who led the Austrians, proved
equally rapid, and was in the field so quickly that the widely-spread
French army was for a time in imminent danger of being cut in two by
the alert enemy.
Only a brief hesitation on the part of the Archduke saved the French
from this peril. They concentrated with the utmost haste, forced the
Austrians back, and captured a large number of prisoners and cannon. In
Italy, on the contrary, the Austrians, were victorious, but the rapid
advance of Napoleon towards Vienna caused their recall and the campaign
became a race for the capital of Austria. In this Napoleon succeeded,
the garrison yielding the city to his troops.
Meanwhile the Archdukes Charles and John, the latter in command of the
army from Italy, were marching hastily towards the opposite side of the
Danube. Napoleon, seeking to strike a blow before a junction between
the armies could be made, crossed the river by the aid of bridges
thrown from the island of Lobau and occupied the villages of Aspern and
Essling.
This was done on May 20th, but during that night the strong current of
the river carried away the bridge, leaving the French in a perilous
situation. On the afternoon of the 21st the entire Austrian army,
70,000 to 80,000 strong, attacked the French in the two villages, who
held their posts only with the greatest difficulty.
By dawn of the 21st more than 70,000 French had crossed, but at this
critical interval the bridge again gave way, broken by the fireships
and the stone-laden boats sent by the Austrians down the swift current.
The struggle went on all day, the bridge being again built and again
broken, and at night the French, cut off from their supply of
ammunition, were forced to retreat. Napoleon, for the first time in his
career, had met with defeat. More than 40,000 dead and wounded lay on
that fatal field, among them the brilliant Marshal Lannes, one of
Napoleon’s ablest aids.
VICTORY AT WAGRAM
Napoleon, however, had no thought of yielding his hold upon Vienna. He
brought forward new troops with all haste, until by July 1st he had an
army of 150,000 men. The Austrian army had also been augmented and now
numbered 135,000 or 140,000 men. They had fortified the positions of
the recent battle, expecting a new attack in that quarter.
But of this Napoleon had no intention. He had selected the heights from
Neusiedl to Wagram, occupied by the Austrians, but not fortified by
them, as a more favorable point, and during the night of July 4th he
threw fresh bridges from Lobau to the main land and set in motion the
strong force occupying the island. This moved against the heights of
Wagram, occupying Aspern and Essling in its advance.
The battle of the next day was one of desperate fury. Finally the
height was gained, giving the French the key of the battlefield. The
Archduke Charles looked in vain for the army under his brother John,
which failed to appear, and, assailed at every point, was obliged to
order a retreat. But this was no rout. The retreat was conducted slowly
and in battle array. Both the Russians and the Austrians were proving
worthy antagonists of the great Corsican. Further hostilities were
checked by a truce, preliminary to a treaty of peace, signed October
14, 1809.
Ambition, unrestrained by caution, uncontrolled by moderation, has its
inevitable end. An empire built upon victory, trusting solely to
military genius, prepared for itself the elements of its overthrow.
This fact Napoleon was to learn. In the outset of his career he opposed
a new art of war to the obsolete one of his enemies, and his path to
empire was over the corpses of slaughtered armies and the ruins of
fallen kingdoms. But year by year his foes learned his art, in war
after war their resistance grew more stringent, each successive victory
was won with more difficulty and at greater cost, and finally, at the
crossing of the Danube, the energy and genius of Napoleon met their
equal, and the standards of France, for the first time under Napoleon’s
leadership, went back in defeat. It was the tocsin of fate. His career
of victory had culminated. From that day its decline began.
THE CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN
The second check to Napoleon’s triumphant career came from one of the
weaker nations of Europe, aided by the British under a commander of
renown. Napoleon, as already stated, after overturning Spain had been
called away by the Austrian war. This ended by the treaty of peace, he
filled Spain once more with his veterans, increasing the strength of
the army there to 300,000 men, under his ablest generals, Soult,
Massena, Ney, Marmont, Macdonald and others. They marched through Spain
from end to end, yet, though they held all the salient points, the
people refused to submit, but from their mountain fastnesses kept up a
petty and annoying war.
Massena invaded Portugal in 1811, but here he was faced by General
Wellington, leading a British army, and was forced to retreat. Soult,
who followed him, was equally unsuccessful, and when Napoleon in 1812
depleted his army in Spain for the Russian campaign, Wellington marched
his army into Spain and, aided by the Spanish patriots, took possession
of Madrid, driving King Joseph from his throne.
THE INVASION OF RUSSIA
Meanwhile Napoleon had entered upon the greatest and most disastrous
campaign in his history. Defied by Alexander I, Czar of Russia, he had
declared war upon that empire and sought its conquest with the greatest
army that ever marched under his banners. On the banks of the Niemen, a
river that flows between Prussia and Poland, there gathered near the
end of June 1812, an immense army of more than 600,000 men, attended by
an enormous multitude of non-combatants, their purpose being the
invasion of the empire of Russia. Of this great army, made up of troops
from half the nations of Europe, there reappeared six months later on
that broad stream about 16,000 armed men, almost all that were left of
that stupendous host. The remainder had perished on the desert soil or
in the frozen rivers of Russia, few of them surviving as prisoners in
Russian hands. Such was the character of the dread catastrophe that
broke the power of the mighty conqueror and delivered Europe from his
autocratic grasp.
We cannot give the details of this fatal campaign, and shall only
summarize its chief incidents. Barclay de Tolly, Alexander’s commander
in chief, adopted a Fabian policy, that of persistently avoiding
battle, and keeping the French in pursuit of a fleeting
will-of-the-wisp while their army wasted away from hardship and disease
in the inhospitable Russian clime.
His method was a wise one, desertion, illness, death of the untrained
recruits in rapid march under the hot midsummer sun, did the work of
many battles, and when Smolensk was reached after two months of
bootless marching, the “Grand Army” was bound to have been reduced to
half its numbers.
Moscow, the old capital of the Empire, was Napoleon’s goal. He felt
sure that the occupation of that city would bring the Russians to bay
and force them to accept terms of peace. He was sadly mistaken. The
Russians, weary of retreating, faced him in one battle, that of
Borodino. Here they fought stubbornly, but with the usual result. They
could not stand against the impetuous dash of Napoleon’s veterans and
were forced to retreat, leaving 40,000 dead and wounded upon the field.
But the French army had lost more than 30,000, including an unusual
number of generals, two being killed and thirty-nine wounded.
A FATAL RETREAT
On the 15th of September, Moscow, the “Holy City” of Russia was
occupied, Napoleon taking up his quarters in the famous palace of the
Kremlin, from which he hoped to dictate terms of peace to the obstinate
Czar. What were his feelings on the next morning when word was brought
him that Moscow was on fire, and flames were seen leaping into the air
in all directions.
The fire had been premeditated. From every quarter rose the devouring
flames. Even the Kremlin did not escape and Napoleon was obliged to
seek shelter outside the city, which continued to burn for three days,
when the wind sank and rain poured upon the smoldering embers.
The dismayed conqueror waited in vain. He wrote letters to the Czar,
suggesting peace. His letters were left unanswered. He hung on
despairingly until the 18th of October, when he reluctantly gave the
order to retreat. Too long he had waited, for the terrible Russian
winter was about to descend.
That retreat was a frightful one. The army had been reduced to 103,000
men; the army followers had also greatly decreased in numbers. But it
was still a large host that set out upon its long march over the frozen
Russian plains.
The Russian policy now changed. The retreating army was attacked at
every suitable point. The food supply rapidly failed. On again reaching
Smolensk the army was only 42,000 strong, though the camp followers are
said to have still numbered 60,000.
On the 26th of November the ice-cold River Beresina was reached,
destined to be the most terrible point on the whole dreadful march. Two
bridges were thrown in all haste across the stream, and most of the men
under arms crossed, but 18,000 stragglers fell into the hands of the
enemy. How many were trodden to death in the press or were crowded from
the bridge into the icy river cannot be told. It is said that when
spring thawed the ice, 30,000 bodies were found and burned on the banks
of the stream. A mere fragment of the great army remained alive. Ney,
who had been the hero of the retreat, was the last man to cross that
frightful stream.
On the 13th of December some 16,000 haggard and staggering men, almost
too weak to hold the arms to which they still despairingly clung,
recrossed the Niemen, which the “Grand Army” had passed in such
magnificent strength and with such abounding resources less than six
months before. It was the greatest and most astounding disaster in the
military history of the world.
DRESDEN AND LEIPZIG
The lion was at bay, but there was fight left in him still. He hurried
back to France, gathered another army, refused all offers of peace on
the terms suggested by his enemies, and concentrated an army at
Dresden. Here on August 26, 1813, his last great victory was won.
The final stand came at Leipzig, where, October 16–18, he waged a three
days’ battle against all the powers of central and eastern Europe.
Then, his ammunition nearly exhausted, he was forced to give the order
to retreat.
The struggle was soon at an end. France was quickly invaded, Paris was
obliged to surrender, and on April 7, 1814, the emperor signed an act
of abdication and was exiled to the small island of Elba, in the
Mediterranean, with an army of 400 men, chosen from his famous Old
Guard. But the Powers of Europe, despite their long experience of
Napoleon, did not yet recognize the ability and audacity of the man
with whom they had to deal. While the Congress of Vienna, convened to
restore the old constitution of Europe, was deliberating and disputing,
word came that their dethroned enemy was again on the soil of France
and Louis XVIII, his successor, was in full flight. He had landed on
March 1, 1815, and was marching back to Paris, the people and the army
rallying to his support.
THE HUNDRED DAYS
Then came the famous Hundred Days, in which Napoleon showed much of his
old ability, rapidly organizing a new army, with which in June he
marched into Belgium, where the British under Wellington and the
Prussians under Blucher had gathered to meet him.
On the 16rh he defeated Blucher at Ligny. On the 18th he met Wellington
at Waterloo, and after a desperate struggle went down in utter defeat.
All day long the French and British had fought without victory for
either, but the arrival of Blucher with his Prussians turned the scale.
The French army broke and fled in disastrous rout, three-fourths of its
force being left on the field, dead, wounded, or prisoners. It was the
great soldier’s last fight. He was forced to surrender the throne, and
was again exiled, this time to the island of St. Helena, in the south
Atlantic. No such mistake as that of Elba was safe to make again. Here
ended the days of Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest soldier the world
had ever known. His final hour of glory came in 1842, when his remains
were brought in pomp to Paris, there to find a final resting place in
the Hotel des Invalides.
THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
This Congress of the rulers and statesmen of Europe, which opened in
September, 1814, and continued its work after the fall of Napoleon at
Waterloo, occupied itself with map-making on a liberal scale. The
empire which the conqueror had built up at the expense of the
neighboring countries, was quickly dismembered and France reduced to
its former limits, while all the surrounding Powers took their shares
of the spoils, Belgium and Holland being combined into a single
kingdom.
As for the rights of the people, what had become of them? Had they been
swept away and the old wrongs of the people brought back? Not quite.
The frenzied enthusiasm for liberty and human rights of the past
twenty-five years could not go altogether for nothing. The lingering
relics of feudalism had vanished, not only from France but from all
Europe, and no monarch or congress could bring them back again. In its
place the principles of democracy had been carried by the armies of
France throughout Europe and deeply planted in a hundred places, and
their establishment as actual conditions was the most important part of
the political development of the nineteenth century.
THE HOLY ALLIANCE
Map-making was not the whole work of the Congress of Vienna. An
association was made of the rulers of Russia, Austria and Prussia,
under the promising title of the “Holy Alliance.” These devout
autocrats proposed to rule in accordance with the precepts of the
Bible, to govern their subjects like loving parents, and to see that
peace, justice and religion should flourish in their dominions.
Such was the theory, the real purpose was one of absolute dominion,
that of uniting their forces against democracy and revolution wherever
these should show themselves. It was not long before there was work for
them to do. The people began to move. The attempt to re-establish
absolute governments shook them out of sluggish acceptance. Revolution
lifted its head in spite of the Holy Alliance, its first field being
Spain. Revolt broke out there in 1820 and was quickly followed by a
similar revolt in Naples.
These revolutionary movements roused the members of the Alliance. An
Austrian army invaded Italy, a French one, under the influence of the
Alliance, was sent to Spain, and both the revolutions were vigorously
quelled. The only revolt that succeeded was one in Greece against the
Turkish power. There was no desire to sustain the Turks, and a Russian
army was finally sent to aid the Greeks, whose freedom was attained in
April, 1830.
Such were the chief events that followed the fall of Napoleon. Reaction
was the order of the day. But it was a reaction that was to be
violently shaken in the period now reached, the revolutionary year of
1830.