VII anti-French coalition. Napoleon's new policy
The intransigence of the European powers that met at the Vienna Congress, the unconditional rejection of all of Napoleon's peace proposals, led to a new war. This war was unjust and led to the intervention in France.
Napoleon was no longer a big threat. Russia's intervention looks especially wrong. For Russia, the weakened regime of Napoleon was beneficial as a counterbalance to England, Austria and Prussia. Actually, Alexander Pavlovich made a strategic mistake back in the campaign of 1813-1814, when Russian soldiers shed blood for the interests of Vienna and London.
It is not worth comparing the regimes of Napoleon and Hitler. The ideology of Napoleon was not distinguished by misanthropy, he was not going to destroy the Russian people, the Slavs. Napoleon learned his lesson in 1812 and lost his potential to fight for world domination. It would be beneficial for Russia if England and Austria fought with him further, Russia had enough of its own problems. Wasting time, resources and energy to fight Napoleon's weakened empire was a strategic mistake. In general, the long-term confrontation between France and Russia, caused by the liquidation of the Russian Tsar Paul with the help of English gold and the hands of Russian Masons, was most beneficial to England (at that time the "command post" of the Western project was located there). Later, using the same technology, they will pit Germany and Russia against each other (two world wars). And now they are trying to confront the Russian civilization with the Islamic world.
The Holy Alliance had not yet been signed, and in France the practice of strangling phenomena dangerous to other countries by force of bayonets was shown. The governments of the European monarchies intervened in the internal affairs of France and by force of arms, contrary to the obviously manifested will of the people, restored the Bourbon regime, which was hated by people and was essentially parasitic. The anti-French coalition includes: Russia, Sweden, England, Austria, Prussia, Spain and Portugal.
In the years 1812-1814. and in the spring of 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte changed his mind and rethought a lot, learned a lot. He became aware of his past mistakes. Already in the first manifestos in Grenoble and Lyon, he announced that the empire he was rebuilding would be different than before, that he made it his main task to ensure peace and freedom. By Lyons decrees, Napoleon canceled all the laws of the Bourbons that attempted to conquer the revolution, all laws in favor of the returned royalists and the old nobility. He confirmed the inviolability of the redistribution of property during the years of the revolution and the empire, announced a general amnesty, in which exceptions were made only for Talleyrand, Marmont and several more traitors, their property was confiscated. Napoleon made sweeping promises of political and social reform.
Napoleon restored the empire, but it was already a liberal empire. An addendum was written to the constitution - on April 23, an Additional Act was issued. From the constitution of the Bourbons, the upper house was borrowed - the chambers of peers. The upper house was appointed by the emperor and was hereditary. The second chamber was elected and had 300 deputies. The property qualification was lowered in comparison with the constitution of Louis XVIII. Napoleon quickly became disillusioned with parliament. The endless chatter irritated him: "Let's not imitate the example of Byzantium, which, being pressed from all sides by barbarians, became the laughing stock of posterity, engaging in abstract discussions at the moment when the ram was breaking the gates of the city." Parliament will soon become a nest of treason.
Napoleon resolutely defended the right of France to determine its own destiny and rejected the interference of foreign powers in its affairs. Repeatedly and solemnly, he confirmed that France renounces all claims to European domination, he at the same time defended the country's sovereignty. Now everything has changed. If earlier France imposed its will on European countries, now Napoleon was forced to defend the independence of France.
He turned to all European powers with proposals for peace - peace on the terms of the status quo. The French emperor dropped all claims. France does not need anything, only peace is needed. Napoleon sent to Tsar Alexander Pavlovich a secret treaty dated January 3, 1815 to England, Austria and France directed against Russia and Prussia. I must say that, in fact, Napoleon's lightning-fast seizure of power in France prevented a new war. The war of the new European coalition (England, France, Austria and other European countries) against Russia. However, this did not change the attitude of St. Petersburg. War was declared on Napoleon Bonaparte. The hopes for Austria did not come true either. Napoleon waited some time for the return of Maria Louise with her son and hoped that the father-in-law Emperor Franz would take into account the interests of his daughter and grandson. However, it was reported from Vienna that the son would never be given to his father, and his wife was unfaithful to him.
The declaration of March 13, adopted by the heads of the European powers, declared Napoleon an outlaw, "the enemy of the human race." On March 25, the VII anti-French coalition was legally formed. Almost all of the major European powers opposed France. France had to fight again. Only the former commander of Napoleon, King of Naples Murat, opposed Austria. However, he was defeated in May 1815, even before Napoleon began his campaign.
Belgian campaign. Waterloo
Napoleon, together with the Minister of War Davout and the "organizer of the victory" of 1793 Carnot, hastily formed a new army. Lazar Carnot proposed to take extraordinary measures: to arm artisans, townspeople, all the lower strata of the population, to create units of the National Guard from them. However, Napoleon did not dare to take this revolutionary step, just as he did not dare in 1814. He limited himself to half measures.
The situation was difficult. The armies of the all-European coalition were marching along different roads to the French border. The balance of power was clearly not in favor of Napoleon. By June 10, he had about 200 thousand soldiers, of which some had to be left in other places. In the Vendée alone, where there was a threat of a royalist revolt, several tens of thousands of soldiers remained. Another 200 thousand people were drafted into the National Guard, but they still had to be outfitted and armed. Total mobilization could give more than 200 thousand people. Opponents immediately fielded 700 thousand people and planned to bring their number to a million by the end of the summer. By the fall, the anti-French coalition could have put in new forces. However, France already had to fight all over Europe in 1793, and she emerged victorious in this battle.
Napoleon hesitated for a while in his choice of strategy for the 1815 campaign, which was surprising to him. It was possible to wait for external intervention, revealing the aggressive nature of the coalition, or to take the strategic initiative into their own hands and attack, which was customary for Napoleon. As a result, Napoleon Bonaparte in May - June 1815 made the decision to meet the enemy halfway. He planned to defeat the allied forces in parts in Belgium, on the outskirts of Brussels.
On June 11, Napoleon left for the army. In the capital, he left Davout, although he asked to go to the front line. On June 15, the French army crossed the Sambre at Charleroi and appeared where it was not expected. Napoleon's plan was to crush Blücher's Prussian army and Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army separately. The campaign started successfully. On June 16, Ney's troops, on the orders of Napoleon, attacked the British and Dutch at Quatre Bras, and pushed the enemy back. At the same time, Napoleon defeated the Prussians of Blucher at Linyi. However, the Prussian army did not lose its combat capability and was able to play a decisive role in the Battle of Waterloo. To avoid joining the armies of Blucher with Wellington and completely withdraw the Prussians from the struggle, the French emperor ordered Marshal Pears with 35 thousand soldiers to pursue Blucher.
Although both battles did not lead to decisive success, Napoleon was pleased with the start of the campaign. The French were advancing, the initiative was in their hands. Considering the Prussians defeated, the French emperor moved his main forces against Wellington, which was at the village of Waterloo. On June 17, the French army stopped to rest. On this day, a powerful thunderstorm broke out with a heavy downpour. All roads were washed away. People and horses got stuck in the mud. It was impossible to attack in such conditions. The French emperor stopped the troops to rest.
On the morning of June 18, the rain stopped. Napoleon ordered an attack on the enemy. He had about 70 thousand soldiers and 250 guns. Wellington also had about 70,000 men and 159 guns under his command. His army included the British, the Dutch, and all sorts of Germans (Hanoverians, Brunswicks, Nassauts). At 11 o'clock in the morning, the French attacked. Initially, the majority was on the side of the French, who fought with extreme ferocity. Ney shouted to Druya d'Erlon: “Hold on, buddy! If we don't die here, the emigrants will hang me and you tomorrow. Ney's cavalry attacks were devastating.
Wellington was not a military genius. But he had the tenacity needed in battle. He decided to use a good position and hold out, whatever the cost, as long as Blucher approached. The English commander conveyed his attitude in the words with which he responded to the report on the impossibility of holding positions any longer: “Let them all die on the spot in that case! I have no more reinforcements. Let them die to the last person, but we must hold out until Blucher comes. His troops rested and it was difficult to dislodge them from their positions. The positions changed hands, both sides suffered heavy losses. In addition, mud and water impeded the advance. In places the soldiers walked knee-deep in the mud. However, the French attacked fiercely, with enthusiasm and gradually won.
However, everything changed when a rapidly moving mass of troops appeared on the right wing. Napoleon had long been looking to the east, where he expected the appearance of the Pears corps, which was to complete the outcome of the battle in favor of the French army. But it wasn't Pears. These were the Prussian troops. At 11 a.m. Blucher set off from Wavre along rugged roads towards Waterloo. At 16 o'clock, the avant-garde of Bülow ran into the French. Blucher had not yet collected all of his parts, but it was necessary to act immediately, and he ordered an attack.
The right flank of the French army was attacked by the Prussians. Initially, Lobau pushed aside Bülow's vanguard, exhausted by the march. But soon new Prussian troops approached, and Bülow already had 30 thousand bayonets and sabers. Lobau retreated. Meanwhile Davout attacked Tillmann's Prussian corps and defeated it. But this defeat of a part of the Prussian army was not in vain. Having lost the Battle of Wavre, they diverted the French forces from the main theater of military operations at that time - Waterloo.
Confused, discouraged by the unexpected flank attack, from where they expected help, the French troops wavered. At 19 o'clock, Napoleon threw a part of the guard into battle. The guardsmen had to break through the center of Wellington's army, preventing him from connecting with Blucher. However, the attack failed, under heavy enemy fire, the guards wavered and began to retreat. The departure of the guards caused a wave of general panic. It intensified when the troops saw the advancing Prussians. There were shouts: "The guard is running!" "Save yourself, who can!" Meanwhile Wellington signaled a general attack.
The control of the French amia was lost. The army fled. In vain Ney threw himself at the enemy. He exclaimed: "Look how the marshals of France die!" However, death spared him. Five horses were killed under him, but the marshal survived. Apparently in vain. He will be shot in the same year as a state traitor.
The British, who went over to the counteroffensive, the Prussians pursued and finished off the fleeing French. The rout was complete. Only a part of the guard under the command of General Cambronne, lined up in squares, in perfect order paved the way among the enemy. The British offered the guards an honorable surrender. Then Cambronne replied: “Shit! The guard is dying, but not surrendering! True, there is a version that he uttered only the first word, the rest was thought up later. According to another version, these words were pronounced by General Claude-Etienne Michel, who died that day. Be that as it may, the guardsmen were swept away with buckshot. Cambronne was seriously wounded and was taken prisoner unconscious.
The French army lost 32 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, all the artillery. Allied losses - 23 thousand people. The allies pursued the French for three days. As a result, the French army was completely upset. Napoleon was able to collect, in addition to the corps of Pear, only a few thousand people and could not continue the campaign.
Military researchers identify several main reasons for the defeat of Napoleon's army. Mistakes were made by Marshal Ney, who was unable to succeed in the repeated attacks on the heights of Saint-Jean, where Wellington's troops were held. Grushi made a fatal mistake (according to another version, the mistake was deliberate). Pursuing the Prussians, he did not notice how the main forces of Blucher broke away from him and went to join Wellington. He lost his way and attacked Tillman's small detachment. As early as 11 o'clock, artillery volleys were heard in the Grusha corps. Generals Grusha offered to "go to the guns" (to the sound of firing), but the commander was not sure of the correctness of this move and did not know Napoleon's intentions at his own expense. As a result, he continued the offensive on Wavre, which led to the disaster of the main forces of the army. Mistakes were made by Soult, who turned out to be a poor chief of staff of the army. In the midst of the battle with Wellington's army, Napoleon, vainly awaiting the appearance of Pear's troops, asked Soult: "Have you sent messengers to Pear?" “I sent one,” Soult said. "Dear sir," the emperor exclaimed indignantly, "Berthier would have sent a hundred messengers!" Several fatal accidents, which the war is full of, ultimately determined the outcome of a decisive battle for France.
It must be remembered that even if Napoleon had even won this battle, nothing would have changed. The European coalition was just beginning to deploy its armies. So the Russian army moved to France, the Austrians were preparing for the invasion. Victory would only prolong the agony. Only a popular, revolutionary war could save Napoleon. And then, if the opponents did not dare to respond with an all-out war, a war of destruction. After Waterloo, huge armies invaded France: the Austrian army (230 thousand people), Russian (250 thousand people), Prussian (more than 300 thousand people), Anglo-Dutch (100 thousand people).
The collapse of Napoleon's empire
On June 21, Napoleon returned to Paris. The situation was extremely dangerous. But there were still chances. In 1792-1793. the situation on the fronts was even worse. Napoleon was ready to continue the fight. But he was already betrayed in 1814. The rear worried him. The Chambers of Deputies and Peers vowed to defend freedom, but demanded Napoleon's abdication. The deputies wanted to save themselves. Fouche betrayed Napoleon again.
It should be noted that the people turned out to be higher than the parliamentarians. Delegations from the workers, from the outskirts, from all the outskirts of the capital, the common people walked all day to the Elysee Palace, where Napoleon stayed. The working people went to the French emperor to show their support. Napoleon was seen as the protector of the common people from parasites and oppressors. They were ready to support and protect him. The streets of the French capital were filled with shouts: “Long live the emperor! Down with the Bourbons! Down with aristocracy and priests!"
The "organizer of victory" Lazar Carnot proposed extraordinary measures in the House of Peers: to proclaim that the fatherland is in danger, to establish a temporary dictatorship. Only the full mobilization of all the forces of France, relying on the common people, could the intervention be repelled. However, neither the demands of the people, nor the proposals of Carnot were supported either by parliament or by Napoleon himself. Napoleon did not dare to go to war with the people. Although it was enough for him to wish and the Parisian "bottom" would cut out all the deputies. Napoleon did not dare to become a revolutionary again.
Having rejected the people's war, Napoleon could no longer continue the struggle. Without arguing or arguing, he signed an act of abdication in favor of his son. For several days Napoleon still stayed at the Elysee Palace. Then the interim government asked him to leave the palace. Napoleon went to Rochefort, to the sea.
What's next? It was impossible to stay in France, the Bourbons would not spare. He was advised to leave for America, he refused. He did not dare to leave for Prussia, Austria, Italy and Russia. Although, perhaps, in Russia it would be best for him. Napoleon made an unexpected decision. Relying on the nobility of the British government, Napoleon voluntarily boarded the English battleship Bellerophon, hoping to get political asylum from his old enemies, the British. The game was over.
The British did not live up to his hopes. Apparently, to hide the traces of his game, Napoleon was turned into a prisoner and exiled to the distant island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life there. This time, the British did everything to make it impossible for Bonaparte to escape from the island. There is a version that Napoleon was eventually poisoned by the British.
