Articles
Napoleonic-era history, grounded in the same correspondence and campaign data behind the map.
People
Events
14 articles
Biography
The French Revolution and Napoleon's Rise
Before Italy and Egypt made him famous, Napoleon's early life — Corsican politics, a Jacobin pamphlet, and the Siege of Toulon — was shaped directly by the French Revolution's upheaval.
3 min read
Person
Napoleon's Marshals: Who Were They?
Napoleon created 26 Marshals of the Empire to reward and bind his most capable generals to his new imperial regime — men like Davout, Murat, Ney, and Berthier, from wildly varied backgrounds.
3 min read
Biography
Napoleon's Life: A Timeline
A year-by-year timeline of Napoleon Bonaparte's life, from his birth in Corsica in 1769 through his rise, reign, and death in exile in 1821.
2 min read
Biography
Napoleon's Exile: Elba and St Helena
Napoleon was exiled twice — first to Elba in 1814, a lenient exile he escaped within a year, then to the remote St Helena after Waterloo, from which there was no return.
2 min read
Campaign
Napoleonic Wars: A Complete Overview
A campaign-by-campaign overview of the Napoleonic Wars, from the Third Coalition and Austerlitz through Russia, Leipzig, and the final defeat at Waterloo.
3 min read
Biography
Napoleon Bonaparte: A Short Biography
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte? A concise biography covering his Corsican origins, meteoric military rise, reign as Emperor of the French, and downfall and exile.
3 min read
Battle
Battle of Waterloo
How the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 ended the Hundred Days, defeated Napoleon for the last time, and closed the Napoleonic Wars.
2 min read
Campaign
Why Did Napoleon Invade Russia?
The breakdown of the Tilsit alliance, the Continental System, and the Polish question that led Napoleon to invade Russia in 1812 with over 600,000 men.
3 min read
Person
Who Did Napoleon Marry? Joséphine and Marie Louise
Napoleon married twice: Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1796, then Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810 after annulling his first marriage to secure an heir.
2 min read
Biography
How Did Napoleon Rise to Power So Fast?
From a Corsican artillery officer to First Consul of France in under seven years — how Napoleon's Italian and Egyptian campaigns and the Coup of 18 Brumaire built his rise to power.
3 min read
Biography
How Did Napoleon Die?
Napoleon died in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena on 5 May 1821, six years after his final defeat at Waterloo ended the Hundred Days.
3 min read
Treaty
The Treaty of Tilsit (1807): Napoleon and Alexander I Redraw Europe
How the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, negotiated on a raft on the Niemen River, turned Russia from enemy to ally and reshaped the map of Europe.
3 min read
Person
Joséphine de Beauharnais: Napoleon's First Empress
The life of Joséphine de Beauharnais, from her Caribbean upbringing and first marriage to becoming Napoleon's wife, empress, and lifelong correspondent.
3 min read
Battle
The Battle of Austerlitz (1805): Napoleon's Greatest Victory
How Napoleon defeated a combined Austrian and Russian army at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805, and why the battle is still studied as a masterpiece of maneuver.
3 min read