Military career of Napoleon explained

Honorific Prefix:	Emperor of the French
Napoleon
Birth Date:	1769 8, mf=yes
Nickname:	"General Vendémiaire", "The Little Corporal", "Napoleon the Great"
Birth Place:	Ajaccio, Corsica
Death Place:	Longwood, Saint Helena
Allegiance:	France
Branch:	Trained as an artillerist
Serviceyears:	1779–1815
Rank:	Commander in Chief (Head of State)
Commands:	Army of Italy Army of the Orient French Army Grande Armée
Battles:	French Revolutionary Wars War of the First Coalition French invasion of Egypt and Syria War of the Second Coalition Napoleonic Wars War of the Third Coalition War of the Fourth Coalition Peninsular War War of the Fifth Coalition French invasion of Russia War of the Sixth Coalition War of the Seventh Coalition
Awards:	Grand Master of the Legion of Honour Grand Master of the Order of the Reunion Grand Master of the Order of the Iron Crown
Relations:	House of Bonaparte
Laterwork:	Sovereign of Elba, writer

The military career of Napoleon spanned over 20 years. He led French armies in the French Revolutionary Wars and later, as emperor, in the Napoleonic Wars. Despite his rich war-winning record, Napoleon's military career ended in defeat. Napoleon has since been regarded as a military genius and one of the finest commanders in history. His wars and campaigns have been studied at military schools worldwide. He fought more than 80 battles, losing only ten, mostly towards the end when the French army was not as dominant.^[1] The French dominion collapsed rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and exiled to the island of Elba, before returning to France. He was finally defeated in 1815 at Waterloo. He spent his remaining days in British custody on the remote volcanic tropical island of Saint Helena. In his long military career, Bonaparte celebrated 70 victories and suffered 10 defeats.^[2]

Battle record summary

Date	Battle	Conflict	Opponent	Location	Outcome
29 Aug – 19 Dec 1793		War of the First Coalition		French Republic	Victory
24–28 Apr 1794		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
21 Sep 1794		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
5 Oct 1795		French Revolution		French Republic	Victory
11–12 Apr 1796		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
12–13 Apr 1796		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
14–15 Apr 1796	Second Dego	War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
16 Apr 1796		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
21 Apr 1796		War of the First Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
7–9 May 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
10 May 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
30 May 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
4 Jul 1796 – 2 Feb 1797		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
3–4 Aug 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
5 Aug 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
4 Sep 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
8 Sep 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
14–15 Sep 1796	San Giorgio^[3]	War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
6 Nov 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Defeat
12 Nov 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Defeat
15–17 Nov 1796		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
14–15 Jan 1797		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
16 Jan 1797		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
16 Mar 1797		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
21–23 Mar 1797		War of the First Coalition		Habsburg Italy	Victory
10–12 Jun 1798		Mediterranean Campaign		Malta	Victory
2 Jul 1798	Prise d'Alexandrie	French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
13 Jul 1798		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
21 Jul 1798		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
21–22 Oct 1798		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		French-occupied Egypt	Victory
11–19 Feb 1799		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
3–7 Mar 1799		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Ottoman Empire	Victory
20 Mar – 21 May 1799		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Ottoman Empire	Defeat
16 Apr 1799		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		Ottoman Empire	Victory
25 Jul 1799		French invasion of Egypt and Syria		French-occupied Egypt	Victory
26 May 1800	Chiusella River	War of the Second Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
31 May 1800	Turbigo	War of the Second Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
14 May – 1 Jun 1800		War of the Second Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
14 Jun 1800		War of the Second Coalition		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
15–20 Oct 1805		War of the Third Coalition		Electorate of Bavaria	Victory
2 Dec 1805		War of the Third Coalition		Archduchy of Austria	Victory
14 Oct 1806		War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
24 Oct 1806		War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
23 Dec 1806		War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
3 Feb 1807	Allenstein	War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
7–8 Feb 1807		War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
14 Jun 1807		War of the Fourth Coalition		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
30 Nov 1808		Peninsular War		Spain	Victory
1–4 Dec 1808	Siege of Madrid^[4]	Peninsular War		Spain	Victory
20 Apr 1809	Teugen-Hausen	War of the Fifth Coalition		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
20 Apr 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
21 Apr 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
21–22 Apr 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
23 Apr 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Principality of Regensburg	Victory
21–22 May 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Austrian Empire	Defeat
5–6 Jul 1809		War of the Fifth Coalition		Austrian Empire	Victory
10–11 Jul 1809	Znaim	War of the Fifth Coalition		Austrian Empire	Victory
26–27 Jul 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Victory
16–18 Aug 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Victory
5 Sep 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Victory
7 Sep 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Victory
15–18 Nov 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Defeat
26–29 Nov 1812		French invasion of Russia		Russian Empire	Withdrawal
2 May 1813		War of the Sixth Coalition		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
20–21 May 1813		War of the Sixth Coalition		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
22 May 1813	Reichenbach	War of the Sixth Coalition		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
26–27 Aug 1813		War of the Sixth Coalition		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
16–19 Oct 1813		War of the Sixth Coalition		Kingdom of Saxony	Defeat
30–31 Oct 1813		War of the Sixth Coalition		Duchy of Frankfurt	Victory
29 Jan 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
1 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Defeat
10 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
11 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
12 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
14 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
17 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
18 Feb 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
5 Mar 1814	(1814)^[5]	War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
7 Mar 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
9–10 Mar 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Defeat
12–13 Mar 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
20–21 Mar 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Defeat
26 Mar 1814		War of the Sixth Coalition		French Empire	Victory
16 Jun 1815		Hundred Days		United Kingdom of the Netherlands	Victory
18 Jun 1815		Hundred Days		United Kingdom of the Netherlands	Defeat

Further reading

• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon (1973) 1172 pp; a detailed guide to all major battles excerpt and text search
• Crowdy, Terry. Napoleon's Infantry Handbook (2015)
• Dupuy, Trevor N. and Dupuy, R. Ernest. The Encyclopedia of Military History (2nd edition 1970) pp 730–770
• Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grand Armee (1988)
• Esdaile, Charles. Napoleon's Wars: An International History 1803–1815 (2008), 621pp
• Gates, David. The Napoleonic Wars 1803–1815 (NY: Random House, 2011)
• Hazen, Charles Downer. The French Revolution and Napoleon (1917) online free
• Nafziger, George F. The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign (2014)
• Parker, Harold T. "Why Did Napoleon Invade Russia? A Study in Motivation and the Interrelations of Personality and Social Structure," Journal of Military History (1990) 54#2 pp 131–46 in JSTOR.
• Book: Pope, Stephen . The Cassel Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars . Cassel . 1999 . 0-304-35229-2.
• Riley, Jonathon P. Napoleon as a General (Hambledon Press, 2007)
• Gunther E. Rothenberg . Rothenberg . Gunther E. . The Origins, Causes, and Extension of the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon . . 1988 . 18 . 4 . 771–793 . 10.2307/204824 . 204824.
• Rothenberg, E. Gunther. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon (1977)
• Book: Schneid, Frederick C. . The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . 2011 . Mainz . Institute of European History.
• Shoffner, Thomas A. Napoleon's Cavalry: A Key Element to Decisive Victory (2014)
• Smith, Digby George. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery (1998)

Notes and References

1. Roberts says his losses came at Siege of Acre (1799), Battle of Aspern-Essling (1809), Battle of Leipzig (1813), Battle of La Rothière (1814), Battle of Laon (1814), Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (1814), and Battle of Waterloo (1815). Andrew Roberts, "Why Napoleon merits the title 'the Great,'" BBC History Magazine (1 November 2014)
2. Andrew Roberts, Napoleon: A Life (2014)
3. Michael V. Leggiere; Phillip R. Cuccia. Napoleon and the Operational Art of War. BRILL, Leiden (2020). p. 166
4. United States Military Academy. Summaries of Selected Military Campaigns. West Point, New York (1953). p. 22
5. Jean Tranié et Juan-Carlos Carmigniani, Napoléon : 1814 – La campagne de France, Pygmalion/Gérard Watelet, 1989, 315 p.