Napoleonic Wars

Time Period:1803-1815

combatants: Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Russia

Exposition:

During the early 1800's France was looking really suspicious. they had created puppet states out of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and sold Louisiana to the US for extra moneys. France tried to make deals with the British, but they wouldn't accept and, in 1803, declared war on France.

War of the 3rd coalition:

The British then started a blockade of mainland France. the next year in 1804, Napoleon was coronated "Emperor of France". The next year in 1805, Sweden, Austria and Russia joined in against France. Spain then allied with France, and their navies amassed at the port of Gibraltar, but then the British fought them off at the Battle of Trafalgar. Then, the French army marched across the Holy Roman Empire, to Attack Austria. the French then captured Vienna, as more Austrian and Russian forces came in to push them out in the battle of Austerlitz. The next year in 1806, Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire into many, many, many small duchies, principalities, and kingdoms. Humiliated, the Austrians ceded some land to France, and left the war.

War of the 4th coalition:

Later in 1806, Prussia and the Duchy of Saxony declared war on France, but France steamrolled right through Prussia, taking Prussia, and pushing right up to the Russia, defeating the Russian armies at the border, and set up multiple puppet states within Prussia and the former HRE. Next, France introduced the "Continental System", blocking all trade with Britain. in 1807, the British invaded Denmark in hopes of preventing the Danish from siding with the French, but because of the British invasion, they joined the French. This also annoyed Russia, who then started a war against Britain and Sweden. By the end of 1807, France controlled most of central and western France. But then because Portugal started to open up trade with Britain in 1808, Spain and France invaded Portugal, but then France turned on Spain, so Spain joined forces with Britain to fight off France. With no real ruler, Spanish colonies in Latin America revolted.

( https://www.jetpunk.com/users/historyman0/blog/weekly-history-post-latin-american-revolutions)

War of the 5th Coalition:

in 1809, Austria re-entered the wars against France. Napoleon personally tried to take Back Madrid, but had to leave to defend against Austria. Napoleon's troops were defeated by Austria at the battle of Aspern-Essling, but the French got revenge at Wagram. With this victory, Austria had to cede huge amounts of land

to other countries.

Inter War period:

by 1810, Napoleon had conquered mainland Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, and the Papal States. in 1812, Britain went to war with the US, that would last 3 years(the war of 1812).

War of the 6th coalition:

in 1812, French forces marched through Poland, to Russia, and continued into Russia. the bloodiest battle of the war would happen in this campaign, the Battle of Borodino. but Napoleon ultimately had to fall back. in 1813, Prussia declared war on France, and joined the 6th coalition. Napoleon tried attacking the Prussian city of Dresden, but failed. afterward, the coalition invaded France, captured Paris, and sent him to Exile on the Italian island of Elba.

Napoleon's return:

But in 1815, Napoleon escaped Elba and returned to France, and invaded Belgium. But he was famously defeated at the battle of Waterloo by British and Dutch forces, and so then Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena, a remote island in the south Atlantic. there he died, and the wars were over.