Napoleon's rise to Power and            Conquests 

In 1792, Napoleon was prompted to the rank of captain. In 1793, he was chosen to direct the artillery againstthe siege in Toulon. He seized ground where he could get his guns in range of the British ships. Soon after thatToulon fell and Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing a group of rioting citizens by using his famous "Whiff of grapeshot" - He loaded abunch of pellets into a cannon and fired it at the crowd.

Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, and each army he fought got bigger and bigger. This forced Austria and its allies to make peace with France. But after this, Napoleon was relieved of his command. He was poor, he was suspected of treason, he had no friends. No one would have suspected what Napoleon would do next.

In 1796, Napoleon was appointed to put down a revolt in Paris. He calmly took complete control of thesituation. He just had his men shoot all the rebels in the streets. The French government was saved, but theydecided to form a new government called the Directory.

Under the new government, Napoleon was made commander of the French army in Italy. During this campaign, the French realized how smart Napoleon was. Hedeveloped a tactic that worked very efficiently. He would cut the enemy's army in to two parts, then throw all his force on one side before the other side could rejointhem. This method was extremely effective against the Sardinian troops, because he defeated them five times in 11 days! This made the King of Sardinia to try tomake peace with France. Napoleon could not be stopped. He was a fast thinker who moved his troops extremely fast. Soon, instead of taking the defensiveposition, Napoleon started taking the offensive position and thus, he started his conquest of Europe.

He started his attack on Austria. It was his first big campaign. During one attack, he showed his bravery by forcing his way across a burning bridge. After that histroops gave him the name "Petit Caporal" or in English "Little Corporal". He then attacked the Austrians in Mantua. Austria sent troops there four times, and everytime Napoleon crushed them. In 1797, he came within 80 miles of Vienna when Austria surrendered. Napoleon had won 14 pitched battles and 70 combats. Hehad made the rich lands he conquered feed and pay the French soldiers. Plus millions of francs were send tacks to France. This helped France's poor economytremendously. Napoleon negotiated a treaty called Campo Formio with Austria. Austria gave up Netherlands and Lombardy to France. Austria also recognized the
Rhine as the eastern boundary of France. In return, France gave Austria most of the old Venetian Republic.

When Napoleon returned to Paris, he received a huge welcome. He then began thinking of pursuing political power and military power. He wanted to become thenext Alexander the Great, so he asked the Directory if he could take a large army to Egypt. That way he could conquer an empire that included Egypt, India, andother middle and Far East places. Napoleon came up with a neat idea to accomplish this. If he conquered Egypt, he could attack the English's route to India. Hewon the battle of the Pyramids in July 1798. But his fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile in Aboukir Bay. So, Napoleon decided to invade Syria. The Englishand Turkish troops in Syria had held up against Napoleon. Napoleon then retreated to Egypt. Then later in July 1799, he defeated 10,000 Turks at Aboukir. He
returned to France shortly after.

Napoleon returned to find the Directory a mess. He, in his selfish way, saw this as the perfect time for self-advancement. Napoleon worked with Emmanuel Sieyesto overthrow the Directory, succeeding on 9 November 1799 -- 18 Brumaire, by the Revolutionary calendar. Napoleon set up a government called the Consulate.He was the first of three consuls. About three years later the grateful French nation voted in a plebiscite to make him Consul for life. Everyone in France lovedNapoleon at that time. Then he started increasing his power… 
 

Napoleon The Emperor
Napoleon and Education
The Resumption of war in Europe
The Final Chapters of Napoleon's life
Napoleon
Napoleon's life
Napoleon's rule
Napoleon's Theorem
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