First French Empire

The First French Empire, also known as the Napoleonic Empire, French Empire, or simply France, was an empire that existed from 1802 to 1815, established under the Constitution of the Year XII. It was founded when General Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of France with Pope Pius VII's blessing, and it fought a series of expansionist wars against the nations of Austria, Russia, Prussia, Britain, and their allies. In 1814 the Empire ended when the Allied forces captured Paris but, in June 1815, the empire was briefly restored when Napoleon returned from exile and began his last "Hundred Days". A coalition again crushed the empire after it defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, and the French Empire was replaced by the Bourbon Restoration.

History[]

Background[]

Emperor Napoleon — Napoleon being crowned

In 1792 the Kingdom of France was overthrown by the First French Republic, led by Maximilien de Robespierre, but it made several enemies with King Louis XVI of France's allies. His wife Marie Antoinette was a member of the Austrian and Spanish House of Habsburg, so the French preemptively declared war on Austria and her allies Britain, Spain, the United Provinces, and the Russian Empire. From 1792 to 1800 they fought against two coalitions and invaded Egypt in 1798, and their greatest general in these wars was Napoleon Bonaparte, a rustic Corsican artillery officer who rose to command the Army of Italy and later the Egyptian expedition. When he returned home in 1799 he overthrew the Directorate in a Christmas coup d'etat and proclaimed himself "First Consul", a dictator. He defeated the Second Coalition by 1802, when he finally forced Britain to make peace, and that year he was proclaimed emperor of France by Pope Pius VII, who sat on a bench as he was crowned.

Empire of Napoleon[]

In 1805 Emperor Napoleon was faced with the Third Coalition: Austria, Britain, Sweden, Russia, Naples, and Sicily, who were opposed to his claim to being Emperor. He showed his genius for warfare again by driving Austria out of the war in the First Battle of Wagram, and with forked tongues, the Austrians made an armistice and alliance. However, he backed his protectorate of Westphalia against his other allies, the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Italy, and made peace with Italy and recaptured lost lands from the Dutch. By the end of 1805 he had defeated the Austrians again at the Battle of Austerlitz, where he also destroyed a Russian army. Afterwards he forced both countries to make peace and he won his first war as Emperor.

By this time, the Empire had become different from the Kingdom of France. It accepted Jews as well as Catholics and Huguenot Protestants, and was a diverse land. There were many poor people, but many of these eagerly enlisted in the army or were drafted. A massive army bolstered by fresh conscripts and brilliant generals seemed unstoppable. The French Navy was also strong, but the Royal Navy of Great Britain was by far more aggressive and modern and frequently defeated the French attempts at a cross-channel invasion.

In 1806, only a few months after Austerlitz, the Fourth Coalition was declared as Austria, Britain, Russia, Sweden, the Two Sicilies, and their new Prussian allies invaded France. The French defeated the Prussians and Austrians at the Battle of Jena and the Battle of Auerstadt and forced the two enemies to make peace once more after a victory at the Battle of Friedland in 1807.

A year later, Napoleon embarked on an ambitious invasion of Spain, occupying the whole country after capturing Madrid and Pamplona from the Spanish. The French faced not only Spain as an enemy, but also Great Britain. In the longest war of the Napoleonic Wars (1808-1814), the Spanish, Portuguese, and British slowly pushed the French out of France and ended the war by capturing Toulouse in 1814.

Meanwhile in Europe, the Austrians alone mobilized and fought France in the "Fifth Coalition"; although not much of a coalition (Prussia failed to send aid and Russia was hostile), the Austrians won at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809 but were defeated in the Second Battle of Wagram. Austria again surrendered, and along with Prussia formed an alliance with France and blocked trade with Britain.

In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, hoping to capture Moscow and complete his conquest of Europe. But Russian troops burnt the lands and homes as they retreated, as they had Cossack raiders and attrition on their side. The French had nowhere to rest and nothing to eat, and they were nearly defeated at the Battle of Borodino. He was forced to leave occupied Moscow because of the chilling winter and the lack of food or supplies, and as he retreated most of his army died. Of millions of men, only 150,000 troops returned to France in a drastic waste of life. Austria and Prussia betrayed him and formed the Sixth Coalition in 1813, defeating Napoleon at Dresden. Napoleon bloodily recaptured Dresden after another battle at Lutzen, but at the decisive Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon's army was annihilated and he was forced to rewind time to the 1792 map; he only owned France, as the rest of Europe was liberated. In 1814 he fought a series of battles in the Defense of France, and won all of them. But the Allies captured Paris instead of falling into his plot; he was a tactical genius, but he made a fool of himself. The French Empire was at its end.

In June 1815, however, Napoleon returned from Exile. King Louis XVIII of France sent Michel Ney and an army of French troops to arrest Napoleon, but Ney delivered his troops under Napoleon's command. The French Army occupied Paris and Louis fled to Paris, but on 18 June 1815 the French were defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon's defeat led to his capture and he was exiled to Saint Helena in the Atlantic. For him, there was no escape, and he died in 1824 on the miserable rock.