Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte

Emperor of the French Napoleon
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Nickname(s)	"General Vendémiaire", "The Little Corporal", "Napoleon the Great"
Born	(1769-08-15)August 15, 1769 Ajaccio, Corsica
Died	May 5, 1821(1821-05-05) (aged 51) Longwood, St. Helena
Allegiance	France
Service/branch	Trained as an artillerist
Years of service	1779–1815
Rank	Commander in Chief (Head of State)
Commands held	Army of Italy Army of the Orient French Army Grande Armée
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars War of the First Coalition French campaign in Egypt and Syria War of the Second Coalition Napoleonic Wars War of the Third Coalition War of the Fourth Coalition Peninsular War War of the Fifth Coalition French invasion of Russia War of the Sixth Coalition War of the Seventh Coalition
Awards	Grand Master of the Legion of Honour Grand Master of the Order of the Reunion Grand Master of the Order of the Iron Crown Grand Master of the Order of the Three Golden Fleeces
Relations	House of Bonaparte
Other work	Sovereign of Elba, writer

Battles of Napoleon Bonaparte

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  Napoleon not listed first as commander

  Napoleon listed first as commander

The military career of Napoleon Bonaparte spanned over 20 years. As military leader, he led the French armies to defeat in the Napoleonic Wars. Despite his losing war record and ending in defeat, Napoleon is regarded in Europe as a military genius and one of the finest commanders, his wars and campaigns have been studied at military schools worldwide. He fought more than 80 battles, losing only seven, mostly at the end when the French army was not as dominant. The French dominion collapsed rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and exiled to the island of Elba, before returning and was finally defeated in 1815 at Waterloo. He spent his remaining days in British custody on the remote island of St. Helena.

Battle record summary

No	Date	Battle	Opponent	Location	Outcome
1.	29 Aug-19 Dec 1793	Siege of Toulon		French Republic	Victory
2.	24-28 Apr 1794	Saorgio		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
3.	21 September 1794	First Dego		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
4.	5 Oct 1795	13 Vendémiaire		French Republic	Victory
5.	11-12 Apr 1796	Montenotte		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
6.	12-13 Apr 1796	Millesimo		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
7.	14-15 Apr 1796	Second Battle of Dego		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
8.	16 Apr 1796	Ceva		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
9.	21 Apr 1796	Mondovi		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
10.	7-9 May 1796	Fombio		Habsburg Italy	Victory
11.	10 May 1796	Lodi		Habsburg Italy	Victory
12.	30 May 1796	Borghetto		Habsburg Italy	Victory
13.	4 Jul 1796-2 Feb 1797	Siege of Mantua		Habsburg Italy	Victory
14.	3-4 Aug 1796	Lonato		Habsburg Italy	Victory
15.	5 Aug 1796	Castiglione		Habsburg Italy	Victory
16.	4 Sep 1796	Rovereto		Habsburg Italy	Victory
17.	8 Sep 1796	Bassano		Habsburg Italy	Victory
18.	6 Nov 1796	Second Bassano		Habsburg Italy	Defeat
19.	12 Nov 1796	Caldiero		Habsburg Italy	Defeat
20.	15-17 Nov 1796	Arcole		Habsburg Italy	Victory
21.	14-15 Jan 1797	Rivoli		Habsburg Italy	Victory
22.	16 Jan 1797	La Favorite		Habsburg Italy	Victory
23.	16 Mar 1797	Valvasone		Habsburg Italy	Victory
24.	16 Mar 1797	Tagliamento		Habsburg Italy	Victory
25.	21-23 Mar 1797	Tarvis		Habsburg Italy	Victory
26.	10-12 Jun 1798	Malta		Malta	Victory
27.	2 Jul 1798	Alexandria		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
28.	13 Jul 1798	Shubra Khit		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
29.	21 Jul 1798	Pyramids		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
30.	21-22 Oct 1798	Revolt of Cairo		French Egypt	Victory
31.	11-19 Feb 1799	Siege of El Arish		Mameluk Egypt	Victory
32.	3-7 Mar 1799	Siege of Jaffa		Ottoman Empire	Victory
33.	20 Mar-21 May 1799	Acre		Ottoman Empire	Defeat
34.	16 Apr 1799	Mount Tabor		Ottoman Empire	Victory
35.	25 Jul 1799	Abukir		French Egypt	Victory
36.	31 May 1800	Combat of Turbigo		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
37.	14 May-1 Jun 1800	Siege of Fort Bard		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
38.	14 Jun 1800	Marengo		Kingdom of Sardinia	Victory
39.	15-20 Oct 1805	Ulm		Electorate of Bavaria	Victory
40.	2 Dec 1805	Austerlitz		Archduchy of Austria	Victory
41.	14 Oct 1806	Jena		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
42.	9 Nov 1806-15 Jun 1807	Greater Poland Uprising		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
43.	23 Dec 1806	Czarnowo		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
44.	7-8 Feb 1807	Eylau		Kingdom of Prussia	Indecisive
45.	14 Jun 1807	Friedland		Kingdom of Prussia	Victory
46.	30 Nov 1808	Somosierra		Spain	Victory
47.	19 Apr 1809	Teugen-Hausen		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
48.	20 Apr 1809	Abensberg		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
49.	21 Apr 1809	Landshut		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
50.	21-22 Apr 1809	Eckmühl		Kingdom of Bavaria	Victory
51.	23 Apr 1809	Ratisbon		Principality of Regensburg	Victory
52.	21-22 May 1809	Aspern-Essling		Austrian Empire	Defeat
53.	5-6 Jul 1809	Wagram		Austrian Empire	Victory
54.	26-27 Jul 1812	Vitebsk		Russian Empire	Victory
55.	16-18 Aug 1812	Smolensk		Russian Empire	Victory
56.	7 Sep 1812	Borodino		Russian Empire	Victory
57.	15-18 Nov 1812	Krasnoi		Russian Empire	Defeat
58.	26-29 Nov 1812	Berezina		Russian Empire	Inconclusive
59.	2 May 1813	Lützen		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
60.	20-21 May 1813	Bautzen		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
61.	22 May 1813	Reichenbach		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
62.	26-27 Aug 1813	Dresden		Kingdom of Saxony	Victory
63.	17 Sep 1813	Kulm		Kingdom of Saxony	Defeat
64.	16-19 Oct 1813	Leipzig		Kingdom of Saxony	Defeat
65.	30-31 Oct 1813	Hanau		Duchy of Frankfurt	Victory
66.	29 Jan 1814	Brienne		French Empire	Victory
67.	1 Feb 1814	La Rothière		French Empire	Defeat
68.	10 Feb 1814	Champaubert		French Empire	Victory
69.	11 Feb 1814	Montmirail		French Empire	Victory
70.	12 Feb 1814	Chateau-Thierry		French Empire	Victory
71.	14 Feb 1814	Vauchamps		French Empire	Victory
72.	17 Feb 1814	Mormant		French Empire	Victory
73.	18 Feb 1814	Montereau		French Empire	Victory
74.	5 Mar 1814	Berry-au-Bac (1814)		French Empire	Victory
75.	7 Mar 1814	Craonne		French Empire	Victory
76.	9-10 Mar 1814	Laon		French Empire	Defeat
77.	12-13 Mar 1814	Reims		French Empire	Victory
78.	20-21 Mar 1814	Arcis-sur-Aube		French Empire	Defeat
79.	26 Mar 1814	Sain-Dizier		French Empire	Victory
80.	16 Jun 1815	Ligny		United Kingdom of the Netherlands	Victory
81.	18 Jun 1815	Waterloo		United Kingdom of the Netherlands	Defeat

Further reading

Main article: Napoleonic Wars § Further reading

• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon (1973) 1172 pp; a detailed guide to all major battles excerpt and text search
• Crowdy, Terry. Napoleon's Infantry Handbook (2015)
• Dupuy, Trevor N. and Dupuy, R. Ernest. The Encyclopedia of Military History (2nd ed. 1970) pp 730–770
• Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grand Armee (1988)
• Esdaile, Charles. Napoleon's Wars: An International History 1803-1815 (2008), 621pp
• Gates, David. The Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815 (NY: Random House, 2011)
• Hazen, Charles Downer. The French Revolution and Napoleon (1917) online free
• Nafziger, George F. The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign (2014)
• Parker, Harold T. "Why Did Napoleon Invade Russia? A Study in Motivation and the Interrelations of Personality and Social Structure," Journal of Military History (1990) 54#2 pp 131–46 in JSTOR.
• Pope, Stephen (1999). The Cassel Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. Cassel. ISBN 0-304-35229-2.
• Riley, Jonathon P. Napoleon as a General (Hambledon Press, 2007)
• Rothenberg, Gunther E. (1988). "The Origins, Causes, and Extension of the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 18 (4): 771–793. JSTOR 204824. JSTOR 204824
• Rothenberg, E. Gunther. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon (1977)
• Schneid, Frederick C. (2011). The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Mainz: Institute of European History.
• Shoffner, Thomas A. Napoleon's Cavalry: A Key Element to Decisive Victory (2014)
• Smith, Digby George. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery (1998)