Today, I am going to discuss my reasons that I think Napoleon failed in his bid for world power.
As dawn broke across the horizon, the incessant rain finally stopped. The men stirred from their sleep and began their morning rituals. They had spent the previous night camped on the rain-soaked fields, and it had been miserable. In addition to the rain, the men had not eaten very much food over the course of the previous day because of their army’s rapid march. They foraged for their food and waited, occasionally glancing nervously across the field. As they watched and waited, the men wondered why they had not yet been attacked by the enemy army on the other side of the field. They had cause to wonder as they did because the general in charge of the opposing army was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. This great man had marched his armies through almost every nation on the continent of Europe. France had dominated Europe because Napoleon had masterminded the defeats of Austria, Prussia, Spain, and the Russians. It had seemed that this man was truly a god of war. His men revered him; they did not think that it was possible for him to fail them. This godhood had been granted to him by his men because he had given them everything. He had made them a proud people, and one that had become intoxicated on the glory days of an invincible army. Napoleon was greatly feared by his adversaries; they had seen their armies crushed at Jena, Austerlitz, and Borodino, to name just a few. It was not until the majority of the nations of Europe rose up against him that he was finally defeated. Even then, the allied nations, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain, chose to avoid direct conflict with the army led personally by Napoleon. This man was a military genius. Thus, the men preparing for battle on the opposite ridge were puzzled about the lethargic behavior that this great man seemed to be showing.
On that day, June 18th 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte would fight once again for the chance to dominate Europe. However, it was not to be. On the fields of Waterloo, the battle was fought that would end Napoleon’s military career forever. This master tactician was not able to overcome the insurmountable odds that day. France’s empire came crashing down with her emperor; Europe was allowed to breathe again after living in a state of war for more than twenty years. The loss at Waterloo came as a shock to the French. Napoleon, the great warrior, had somehow failed to lead his men to victory. Sir Arthur Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington, and Field Marshal Blücher were able to bring Napoleon’s grasping ambition to an end, once and for all. The victors, the British, Prussians, Belgians, Germans, and Dutch, made their fair share of mistakes in the days leading up to the final battle, and came very close to losing the battle. The Anglo-Dutch army under the command of Wellesley was composed of mostly second-rate soldiers from Holland, Belgium, and Germany; even the majority of the British soldiers were lacking in proper training. The Prussian army was not much better off; the large bulk of its soldiers were militiamen who had never seen combat. During the course of the day-long battle, it is said that nearly 10,000 men in Wellesley’s army deserted him. In spite of these problems, Wellesley and Blücher were still able to come away with a victory. The principle reasons behind this were Wellesley’s prior experiences in battle, Napoleon’s illness, and Napoleon’s poor choice of commanders for his army.
Stay tuned next week for the exciting conclusion of this three part series on Napoleon!
~The Piebald Penguin
