1. Warfare in the Napoleonic Era

2. The Gunpowder Revolution
Early gunpowder weapons were:
Simple in design
Unreliable
Inaccurate
Why they stuck:
Potential
Shock factor
Used w/ other
weapons

3. Timeline: Build up to Napoleonic Era
: The Thirty Years’ War
Gustavus Adolphus develops
the concept of “combined arms”
Attaching field artillery to cavalry & infantry units
Idea of spreading out infantrymen over a wider area
Countered older deeper formations (50 ranks)
Reduced cannon’s potential for devastation
: The Great Northern War
Peter the Great modernizes Russian military
Start of Russia as a Eurasian power

5. 1775-83: The American Revolution
: The Seven Years’ War
Includes French & Indian War fought in N. America
Volleys of flintlock muskets in two ranks led to carnage
Prussia becomes a power in Europe
Britain’s victory, and war’s costs, led to A. Rev.
France’s loss led to Fr. Rev.
: The American Revolution
Ideals influenced French Revolution
Britain loses dominance in N. America
Holds on to Canada

7. 1792-1802: The French Revolutionary Wars
Overthrew French monarchy
Allowed for the rise of Napoleon
: The Napoleonic Wars
Allowed for Napoleon’s conquest of most of Europe

8. The Napoleonic Wars: 1803-1815 France vs. Where? Casualties Austria
Prussia
Russia
Sweden
Britain
And others…
Where?
Europe
Russia
Spain
Atlantic
West Indies
Casualties
Estimated 2.5 million total war dead

10. Effect of Napoleonic Wars
Reshaped Europe
Saw warfare on a massive scale
Word “guerilla” coined for
irregularSpaniards who
rebelled against French
Napoleonic Code
Basis for
Most modern western law codes
“innocent until proven guilty”
Led to nationalist movements

11. Austerlitz (Sept. 1805) Napoleon’s most brilliant tactical victory
French vs. Russians & Austrians
Destroyed Third Coalition
Let right wing get pushed back
Drew Russians & Austrians from their center
“Feigned retreat” on a larger scale
French launched massive counterattack at right moment

12. Any day is fine!

13. Borodino (Sept. 1812) Kutuzov withdrew into Russian interior
Kutuzov adopted a fabian strategy (Punic Wars)
Initially refused to engage Napoleon in decisive battle
Napoleon wanted decisive victory
Both sides evenly matched
Russians slowly retreated
Napoleon denied decisive victory
Borodino was largest and bloodiest single-day battle in Napoleonic Wars

14. Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia 1812
Grand Army of 600,000* troops (est. vary)
Russians employed a scorched-earth policy
Retreat, use geography to advantage
destroy everything to deny French supplies
French capture Moscow
Russians set it on fire
French retreat after spending winter in Moscow
Napoleon leaves troops in Lithuania
Hurries to France

15. War & Peace

17. End of Napoleon Napoleon defeated and imprisoned
Escapes and returns to France on 3/1/1815
Napoleon fights a coalition of Prussia, GB & the Netherlands
Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, end of Napoleon
Dies in prison in 1821

18. Technology Flintlock Musket Congreve Rocket Shrapnel Man of War
“Brown Bess” musket
Congreve Rocket
Shrapnel
Developed by British
Lt. Henry Shrapnel
Hollow shell filled w/musket balls and explosives
Maximized damage
Man of War

19. Logistics French army lived off land as much as possible
Could move quickly
Did not depend on supply lines as much
Alienated civilians
Start of canned food