The Napoleonic Wars and the Long Peace

Catalog description

This course examines the theory and practice of warfare in Europe from 1785 to 1870. It will emphasize the rise of Napoleon as a military leader, as a practitioner of the operational art, but will also examine his political, economic and legal impact on Europe as a whole. This course will focus on the wars of the French Revolution, Napoleon's northern Italian campaigns, his expedition to Egypt, his battles while leading the Grand Army at Austerlitz and Jena, and his march to Moscow where he led the largest army in European history to date. It will also cover the 1813 and 1814 campaigns, the reactions of Napoleon's enemies to his innovations in warfare, and his final defeat at Waterloo. The course then looks at the status of Europe in 1815 and the conditions which set the terms for the “Long Peace”. The course ends prior to the start of the wars of 1870 and the lessons learned. (Prerequisite: HIST300/HS334 for History and Military History majors only)