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The campaigns of Bonaparte and Napoleon

1796 — 1815

Army corps, speed and coalitions: decision seeks the breaking point

Military history

The strategic problem

This dossier covers Bonaparte’s campaigns from the Italian campaign of 1796, followed by those of Napoleon I. Marengo belongs to the War of the Second Coalition, before the Napoleonic Wars in the strict sense of 1803–1815. The Napoleonic Wars combine new political mobilization, autonomous army corps and artillery able to support concentration. Napoleon often wins by assembling his forces faster than his opponents, but coalitions learn to avoid isolation, multiply theatres and turn European depth into a logistical problem.

From the Italian campaigns to continental dominance

The Italian campaigns and Marengo strengthened the French position before the transition to the Empire. Austerlitz, then Jena and Auerstedt, disrupted opposing coalitions; marches and the concentration of army corps made local superiority possible.

Spain and depth

Guerrilla warfare, garrisons and Allied armies immobilize part of French power. In Russia, distance and a policy of retreat prevent the expected decisive battle.

The coalition learns to converge

France retains local victories, but the Allies coordinate their armies, replace losses and refuse to let a single battle settle the conflict.

Explore

9 published battles, in chronological order

Battle · 14 June 1800MarengoHow was an almost-lost battle reversed by the arrival of reserves and a concentrated counterattack?Battle · 21 October 1805TrafalgarHow did two British columns accept fire on the approach to break the opposing line and impose local engagements?Battle · 2 December 1805AusterlitzNapoleon lets the right wing appear vulnerable, then strikes the Pratzen Heights once the Allies have committed there.Battle · 14 October 1806Jena–AuerstedtNapoleon defeats a Prussian force at Jena while Davout, badly outnumbered, repels the main army at Auerstedt.Battle · 7 — 8 February 1807EylauHow did snow, visibility and staggered arrivals turn a search for decision into an inconclusive and exceptionally costly battle?Battle · 5 — 6 July 1809WagramThe crossing from Lobau deploys the army along an immense arc; on the 6th, the unsynchronised Austrian offensive threatens Aspern, but the battery covers Masséna, Davout turns Markgrafneusiedl and the general assault compels an orderly withdrawal.Battle · 7 September 1812BorodinoWhy did the successive capture of Russian positions destroy neither the opposing army nor its ability to retreat?Battle · 16 — 19 October 1813LeipzigHow did a coalition coordinate several armies around Leipzig while avoiding defeat in detail?Battle · 18 June 1815WaterlooA battle of coordination, attrition and time before the Prussians arrive.

Military history

Sources

Contemporary sourcesCorrespondance et bulletins de la Grande Armée

Stated objectives, French decisions and the official language of campaigns, to be checked against opposing archives.

Military historyDavid G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon

Operational chronology, army corps, marches and command decisions.

Specialist studyMichael V. Leggiere, Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany

Coalitions, strategic depth and the limits of French concentration.

Primary manuscript held by a maritime institutionSketch of the Battle of Trafalgar's plan

Notice du manuscrit BRP/6/1, rubrique « Object details » et description du croquis daté de 1805 : trois divisions britanniques, deux coupes de la ligne et division de soutien ; l'interprétation du diagramme supérieur y est dite incertaine.

Primary support for the attack plan and distinction between cutting the line and containing the unengaged portion; interpretation of the upper diagram remains explicitly uncertain. Limited to the case of Battle of Trafalgar; this reference does not cover the whole conflict.

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Edited by BattlesInMotion.com