Napoleon Bonaparte
Station 1 – Napoleon’s Rise to Power
1) Please observe the images of Napoleon as a young man. What
characteristics did Napoleon possess as a young man that made him
famous?
•Confident; Brave; Inspiring; Ambitious
2
) How might the above-mentioned characteristics have helped
Station 1 – Napoleon’s Rise to Power
3) Please read the quotes below and answer the questions that accompany them.
“A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.” -
Napoleon Bonaparte
“A leader is a dealer in hope.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
“Ability is nothing without opportunity.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
“Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.” -
Napoleon Bonaparte
“If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
3aa) What do these quotes say about Napoleon’s attitudes and beliefs?
•Your goals/dreams in life are worth fighting for; If you want something done, you should depend on yourself to accomplish
it.
Critical Thinking:
Station 2 – Napoleon as Emperor
“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has
arrived, stop thinking and go in.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
1) Please read the above quote and answer the following questions:
1a) What is the “action” that Napoleon is referring to? Do you agree with his
methods?
•Warfare
;
Yes: Created huge French Empire
;
No: Led to instability in the Region
1b) How does this quote define Napoleon’s Europe?
Station 2 – Napoleon as Emperor
2a) Who crowned Napoleon emperor?
•Napoleon himself
2b) What does this say about Napoleon?
•Bold; Arrogant; Supremely confident in his abilities
2c) What point is Napoleon trying to make?
•Napoleon is telling the world that no one gave him his authority – He took it for himself
At the moment of the crowning when the Pope said, "Receive the imperial crown..." Napoleon unexpectedly turned and, forestalling the Pope, removed his laurel wreath and crowned himself and then crowned the kneeling Joséphine with a small crown surmounted by a cross, which he had first placed on his own head. At Napoleon's enthronement the Pope said, "May God confirm you on this throne and may Christ give you to rule with him in his eternal kingdom". Limited in his actions, Pius VII proclaimed further the Latin formula "Vivat imperator in aeternum!" (May the Emperor live forever!), which was echoed by the full choirs in a Vivat, followed by "Te Deum". With his hands on the Bible, Napoleon took the oath:
Station 3 – Napoleon’s Policies
What was the Code Napoleon?
•Civil code that made laws uniform across the nation and eliminated many
injustices. However, it also promoted order and authority over individual rights.
Why do you think Napoleon sought to create this code?
•Wanted to rid France of the system of privileges under King Louis XVI that was
one cause of the Revolution.
How do you think the French people felt about the Code Napoleon when
considering life under the Monarchy?
What do you think are the most important parts of the Code Napoleon?
Is Napoleon’s code still in effect?
Station 4 – Napoleon’s Fall
On June 24, 1812, ignoring the advice of his closest advisors, Napoleon invaded Russia. Never in living memory had so large an army been assembled — Italians, Poles, German, French — more than 600,000 men from every corner of his empire. Napoleon prophesied the war would be over in twenty days.
WOLOCH: An army of 600,000, it would seem to be absolutely irresistible no matter what happened. He’ll simply pour in enough men to overwhelm the Russians, force them to engage in battle and defeat them.
Napoleon's army trudged slowly across Russia's vast, open spaces. He hoped to annihilate his enemy quickly, but the Russians would not give battle.
SOKHOLOV: Napoleon had an army twice the size of the Russians. There were so many that the Russians didn’t dare fight. They started to retreat because they didn't have a choice. They had to retreat. But while they were retreating, they were, in fact, weakening Napoleon's army.
As the Tsar's armies retreated, they burned the countryside behind them, leaving the Cossacks to hack at Napoleon's rear and flanks, then gallop away.
ELTING: And I think that early on, Napoleon began to realize that this time he had bitten off just a little more than he could chew.
As the days passed, the blazing heat of the Russian summer began to take its toll. Soldiers fell out from exhaustion, sickness, and desertion — more than five thousand a day. After two months, before
Napoleon had fought a single battle, 150,000 soldiers were out of action.
Station 4 – Napoleon’s Fall
The battle began at 6:30 in the morning and lasted until 3 in the afternoon. At that point, both armies were
exhausted. The Russians fought the Emperor's armies to a standstill. The next day they withdrew, leaving Napoleon proclaiming victory.
Moscow was at his mercy, but the Russians refused to make peace. As Napoleon’s army entered the city on September 14, he found it almost deserted. That night, Moscow began to burn.
"Mountains of red, rolling flames," Napoleon recalled later, "like immense waves of the sea. Oh, it was the most grand, the most sublime, and the most terrifying sight the world ever beheld."
SOKHOLOV: The Russians burned Moscow themselves. And when Moscow went up in flame, this was the worst blow to Napoleon’s army. Napoleon couldn't stay in Moscow.
Fearing the approach of winter but reluctant to abandon his conquest, Napoleon wrote the Tsar proposing
negotiations. The Tsar responded with icy silence. After five weeks of waiting, Napoleon bitterly ordered his soldiers home.
On October 19, laden with spoils, they marched out of the Kremlin through the Gate of the Savior. It was a warm Fall day. Three weeks later it began to snow. The Russian winter had arrived early.
Temperatures fell to twenty-two degrees below zero. Napoleon's soldiers froze in the open countryside. "Our lips stuck together," one soldier wrote. "Our nostrils froze. We seemed to be marching in a world of ice."
CASTELOT: You can’t imagine the suffering of the Russian retreat. When they spoke, their breath froze with a little dry sound; their words were freezing in the air.
Food ran out. Horses died by the thousands. Hungry soldiers quarreled over the horseflesh. They were fighting starvation, cold, fatigue, disease — and the Cossacks.
Station 4 – Napoleon’s Fall
The French army barely existed as a fighting force. Napoleon watched as his army slowly died. Fearing capture, he carried in a little black leather bag tied around his neck a vial of poison. His fighting spirit revived briefly as he fought off hesitant Russian troops to cross the ice-packed Berezina River. The French were forced to retreat, but in
Napoleon's eyes it was victory. What remained of his defeated army straggled toward relative safety.
Six months before, he had crossed into Russia with more than a half million soldiers, confident of victory. Now, on December 5, rumors of a coup in Paris forced him to abandon his troops and head back to the French capital.
1a) When did Napoleon realize he had bitten off more than he could chew?
•When the Russians would retreat, burning the countryside behind
them.
1b) Why did the Russians burn Moscow?
•So that Napoleon and his troops couldn’t stay there
1c) What dealt Napoleon and his troops their biggest blow? defeated
Napoleon’s army?
•General Winter (Won’t be the last big name she will defeat)
2) Result of the campaign/description?
3) Napoleon will be exiled from France after this campaign – Would you
agree with this decision?
Station 5 – Napoleon’s Legacy
The Congress of Vienna was held from September of 1814 to June of 1815. After the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, this international conference was called to create a balance among the European powers in such a way so as to prevent future wars and maintain peace and stability on the European continent. The means of achieving this goal would be through a major reshaping of European interior borders.
Important People:
Though the conference opened with a series of glittery balls and conferences, the delegates soon got down to work. Mainly, the four major powers of Europe (Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain) were left to make most of the big decisions. Austria sent Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian minister of State who was also acting as a president of the Congress. The Russian Empire was represented by Alexander I, the emperor of Russia. The main delegate from Prussia was Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, and Great Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh, and later Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington. This group of major powers decided that France, Spain, and the smaller powers would have no voice in
important decisions. However, the
French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, was successful in allowing France to have an equal voice in the negotiations. Talleyrand became the deciding vote in many of the decisions.
Important Decisions:
France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon. The French monarchy was restored under the rule of Louis XVIII. Austria was given back most of the territory it had lost and was also given land in
Germany and Italy (Lombardy and Venice). Russia got Finland and control over the new kingdom of Poland. Prussia was given much of Saxony and important parts of Westphalia and the Rhine Province. Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas. The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler. Switzerland was declared neutral and Spain was restored under Ferdinand VII
Results of the meeting:
Station 5 – Napoleon’s Legacy
1) What was the purpose of the Congress of Vienna?
•Create a plan to restore order and stability to Europe after the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars.
2) Was France allowed to have a say in the negotiations of the Congress?
•They were allowed to participate in the negotiations but not allowed to have a say in any important decisions.
3) What decisions were ultimately agreed upon at the end of the Congress of Vienna?
•France deprived of all conquered territory under Napoleon and borders were restored to Pre-1792 borders.
•The French Monarchy was restored (King Louis XVIII)
•Many national borders changed in order to strengthen nations near France, which was to supposed to lesson the chance the France would invade its neighbors again.
•Countries that aided France lost territory and those that fought against it gained territory.