Napoleon's Empire: Rise and Fall

Defeating Prussia, and the invasion of Spain.

The Battle of Jena, by Horace Vernet (1836)

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It was 1806, and Napoleon Bonaparte was the master of Europe. After his glorious victory at Austerlitz, the great Frenchman singlehandedly dismantled the thousand-year-old Austrian Empire. 

But when Napoleon reorganized the German lands into the Rhine Confederation, France now had to deal with a new previously neutral enemy: Prussia. 

Defeating Prussia

Prussia was led by King Frederick William III. Although previously neutral toward France, the Prussians grew increasingly frustrated by Napoleon’s incursions into their lands. Under the influence of his domineering wife, Queen Louise, the Prussian monarch declared war against France.

Napoleon prepared to inflict another decisive blow against the Austrians, and to invade into the British colonies of northern Germany. Tens of thousands of French troops were still stationed in Central Europe. General Bonaparte summoned his Grand Army to march on Berlin itself! 

With 65,000 troops at his command, the great Napoleon marched toward Saxony. The mighty Frenchman clashed against the German foe, southwest of the city of Leipzig. This became Napoleon’s dual victories at the Battles of Jena and Auerstadt. 

Napoleon went on the offensive. From 1806 to 1807, he invaded into Prussian eastern territories, in what is now Poland and the Baltic states. Known as the Great Poland Uprising, the Poles sided with Napoleon’s French forces to liberate their country from Prussian occupation. Thus, Poland’s national birth owes much to the grand Napoleon.

Treaty of Tilsit

Bonaparte advanced all the way up to the border of Poland and Russia. Finally, the Prussians surrendered. The French Emperor met with Tsar Alexander, resulting in the Treaty of Tilsit. Under its terms, France and Russia became secret allies. Russia was allowed to invade into the Ottoman territories of the Balkans. In exchange, the Russians would wage war against France’s implacable enemy, Sweden. Russia also pledged not to interference in the German states.

Why did Russia turn toward France? As Russia expanded its southern borders into Central Asia, its relationship with Britain became increasingly strained. Britain sought Afghanistan and Persia as buffer states for their colony of India. 

Under the Treaty of Tilsit, the Prussians were stripped of half their territory in western and central Germany. These lands were reorganized into the pro-French Kingdom of Westphalia. To the east, Prussian lands in Poland were reorganized into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Prussia was forced to pay massive war debts. Their army was restricted to 43,000 men. 

Continental System

London was horrified by the treaty. Britain and its sole ally, Sweden, were left on their own. The Swedes feared that Napoleon would invade into Denmark-Norway, which could be used as a launchpad for an invasion of England. 

Just weeks after Tilsit, the British responded by declaring the Gunboat War in August of 1807. They preemptively invaded Copenhagen, and seized Danish and Norwegian ships. Now an ally of France, Russia declared war on its former British friends. 

Much of Western and Central Europe lay in Napoleon’s hands. Emperor Bonaparte issued the Berlin Decree, which forbade any country from buying British goods. This Europe-wide boycott became known as the Continental System. 

But Portugal continued to do business with Britain. So France and her ally Spain jointly invaded their Iberian neighbor. The Portuguese king and queen fled to their colony of Brazil, in South America. In their place, Napoleon established a new pro-French regime, called the Kingdom of North Lusitania. Having defeated the Iberian monarchy, France and Spain divided up Portugal’s overseas colonies amongst themselves. 

“Spanish Ulcer”

Much to Spain’s shock, however, French troops soon poured across the Pyrenees. Garrisons were set in the Spanish towns of the Basques and Catalonia. Cities such as Barcelona fell into French hands. 

But the Spaniards opposed France’s military occupation of their country. Insurrections broke out across Spain, which were crushed with deadly force. One of these was the Second of May Uprising, the subject of famous paintings by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. 

Having subdued Spain, Napoleon installed his brother Joseph to the throne. There, Bonaparte’s brother signed the Bayonne Constitution, which enacted liberal reforms in a notoriously backward country. 

But unfortunately for our French hero, the “Spanish Ulcer”—as Napoleon would later call it—would turn out disastrously. Spanish guerrillas harassed French authorities. It became clear that swelling Spain with French troops would not do the trick. Thousands of French soldiers lost their lives. Worse still, the British opened up a new front in Portugal, under the command of Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. 

The Peninsular War bleed France dry of vital resources. To try and salvage the situation, Napoleon himself commanded a newly organized army, the Army d’Espagne (“Army of Spain”). But tensions grew in Central Europe, calling Napoleon away from Spain. In Napoleon’s absence, his kingly brother was unable to suppress the revolts. Unable to reassert their control, the French were kicked out of Iberia by the Duke of Wellington. 

Fifth Coalition

Emboldened by Napoleon’s losses in Spain, the Austrians organized the Fifth Coalition against France in 1809. But in a matter of mere months, Napoleon marched triumphantly into Vienna for the second time in a decade. 

Bonaparte advanced north to confront the Austrian forces of Archduke Charle, almost 100,000 strong. The Frenchman made a daring cross over the Danube. Fighting for over twenty-four hours near the village of Aspern, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Napoleonic era. 

The Battle of Aspern-Essling was one of Napoleon’s worst. It was the first time he was personally defeated in a major battle. It was also Bonaparte’s first loss since the Siege of Acre ten years before. 

Defeated, Napoleon retreated back to Vienna, where he recollected his forces. 300,000 men clashed at the Battle of Wagram, not far from Austria’s capital. After two days of fighting, over 35,000 men lay dead. 

The War of the Fifth Coalition had a major impact on the birth of German nationalism. Angered by France’s victories in Central Europe, a young German named Friedrich Staps made an assassination attempt on Napoleon’s life. The magnanimous Napoleon offered a pardon, if Staps abandon his ideological views. But the stubborn German refused. Like a mad dog, he was executed by firing squad a week later. But Napoleon was shocked by how unpopular his rule had become by this point. 

“Let us move forward”

Over time, France’s weak alliance with Russia broke down completely. Tsar Alexander withdrew his country from the Continental System, and opened up partial trade with the British. For Napoleon, Russia had violated the terms of the Tilsit treaty. Now, it was time to pay. 

In 1812, the great Napoleon made his ill-fated decision to invade Russia. On June 22 of that year, he delivered a famous speech to rally the French troops:

“Let us move forward. Let us pass the Neman. Let us carry the war into her territory. The second war of Poland will be as glorious to the French arms as was the first; but the peace which we shall conclude will be its own guarantee, and will put an end to the fateful influence which Russia has for fifty years exercised over the affairs of Europe.” 

Two days later, on June 24, 1812, the Grand Army crossed into the Russian Empire. The die was now cast. Europe’s fate lay in the balance. 

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