Napoleon Bonapart
By: Joey Walters
Thesis Statement:
What made Napoleon such a good general was it because of his childhood, the experience he gained while playing the part of a soldier during the French Revolution, or from first hand accounts of his campaigns he had successfully achieved.
The begining's of Napoleon.
Born to a poor family off the coast of France on an island called Corsica. Napoleon was the fourth to be born and the second to live past the age of 10. His influences started at an early age from his father who was a nationalist at first then later a pro-french supporter. Eventually Napoleon went to Paris to enter into the military academy where he first made a name for himself when he graduated early. Once he Graduated he returned home to Corsica as a lieutenant of the French army.
Napoleon as a soldier
The Siege of Toulon was where Napoleon gained his fame as a military leader. Toulon was a major fort/port for the french naval forces, it was a major game changer for both the French and the Revolutionary forces. Napoleon took charge of the artillery at the siege of Toulon when the previous commander was wounded in battle. When he took command, Napoleon used his resources to take important points on the battlefield. This eventually led to the French victory. After their victory Napoleon took credit for the battle and was promoted.
Napoleon as a general
Because of his efforts at Toulon Napoleon eventually found himself in command of the Italian army, which he reformed and won many battles with. Bonaparte suffered an embarrassing defeat at the Battle of the Nile, and also along with loses in Italy that forced him to give up the peninsula. After 3 years of peace Napoleon lost his navy at Trafalgar which changed his plans and turned to Russia and Austria. One of the best victories experienced by Napoleon was the Battle of Austerlitz where he beat both the russians and Austrians, this lead to even more victories. Eventually the invasion of Russia ended up a failure and his country collapsed after word reached home of the lost campaign.