Napoleon Bonaparte

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I think that everyone of us heard something about Napoleon. He was one of the greates generals in the whole world. France under his command had the territory that covered almost whole Europe. Naopleon also was emperor of France.

He was born on the Corsica island. He was born in a poor family but his father sent him to study in Paris, so Napoleon became a soldier in French army and after few battles he became a general of the French army.

Map of Corsica
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He led his army in battles against Austria and Italy. After these great successes Napoleon became extremly popular in France and citizens of France wanted him to become a leader of the country.

Soon afterwards, Napoleon conquered Egypt very quickly and he decided to become emperor of France. For that, in 1799 he made „a coup d'etat“ (revolution) and became a leader in France. In 1804 he proclaimed himself the emperor of France.

Napoleon as emperor
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His greatest enemies were British. Napoelon had control on the land but Britain navy was too strong for Napoelon so he couldn't do anything to them. Perhaps the biggest Napoleon defeat ever was against the British navy in 1805, it was maritime battle of Trafalgar.

Map of Trafalgar
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In that battle, the British army commander Horatio Nelson was the main reason why Britain won that battle, he had great tactic and because of him France navy did not have any chance for win. With this defeat, Napoleon abandoned the British conquest.

Horatio Nelson
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After this, Napoelon decided to attack his enemies on the land. In 1805 he conquered Austria in battle of Austerlitz. In this war, Napoleon destroyed armies of Russia and Holy Roman Empire. Year after, Napoleon destroyed Prussian army in the battle near river Jena which is in todays Germany.

Battle of Austerlitz
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After these battles Napoleon ruled almost all over the Europe. Only countries that weren't under his control were Russian Empire and Britain. Napoleon made a deal with Russia, they agreed not to trade with British and with that deal they managed to weaken the british economy.

Map of Napoleon's France
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At that moment, Napoleon had the most powerful military force that hasn't been saw before. Obviously, Napoleon wanted to conquer the whole world, so in 1812 he decided to go on Russia. However, his attack on Russia was his biggest defeat and after this Napoleon and his empire started to fall down. Napoelon had made the same mistake as Hitler a few centuries after him. He went to Russia too late and winter caught him. Besides, russian army had great tactic. They burned everything behind them when they were in retreting so Napoleon's army had nothing. The army remained hungry and mourned and only 22 thousand soldiers came back to France from the whole number of French army which was around 400.000 soldiers.

Napoleon's army in Russia
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Afterwards, Napoleon army was defeated in 1813 in battle of Leipzig also known as battle of the Nations. In that battle, Napoleon fought against almost all European nations and they were too strong for him and his army. After this battle Napoleon had to abdicate and he was exiled on the Elba island.

After a year, Napoleon had returned to France and became a ruler again. His second rule lasted about 100 days. He was finally defeated in 1815 in battle of Waterloo. After the battle Napoleon was captured by the British and they imprisoned him on Saint Helen island. Napoleon died six years after on the same island. Some historians pointed out that he did not died by natural death. They think that he was poisoned with arsenic, mercury and lead.

Location of Saint Helen
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Interesting facts about Napoleon

1. Napoleon ordered to every soldier that they need to sew the button on their uniform to detach from nose wiping with their uniform.

2. Sometimes Napoleon knew to dress as the poor guy and he walked on the streets of Paris asking people what they think about Napoleon.

3. Napoleon suffered from Ailurophobia, it is a fear of cats. So, in battle od Waterloo allies brough a lot of cats and Napoleon was scared and he told the army to retreat.

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1. Chicken a la Marengo – After a battle of Marengo Napoleon was so hungry and he asked for dinner. His cooking chef didn't had any food with him so he accidently found some chicken, several crabs and two eggs. All of it was peeled on olive oil and at the end, he put everything into a cognac. Napoleon worshiped that food, he asked for that food after every battle and today is a specialty in a lot of countries.

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1. Many people think that Napoleon was extremely short, but that is not true. He was 169 centimeters high and at that time it was above the average height and it is often said that he was short because he wanted to be surrounded by high soldiers.

2. Although he was married only two times, he had a lot of lovers. Some people say that he had over 20 lovers.

Famous Napoleon's sentences

1. "In politics stupidy is not handicap."

2. "Women are nothing but machines for producing children."

3. "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."

4. "Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them."

5. "Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent."

6. "Soldier, you are head to head higher than me but if you do not execute my commands, the difference will disappear. "

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Thank you for reading this, if you know something more about one of the greatest commanders ever lived please comment.