Napoleonic Wars: A Complete Overview

The Napoleonic Wars weren't one continuous conflict — they were a series of wars fought by shifting coalitions of European powers against France, roughly from Napoleon's coronation as Emperor in 1804 to his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. This overview walks through them roughly in order.

A scoping note before starting: this deliberately covers 1803 onward — the wars fought as Emperor. His earlier Italian and Egyptian campaigns as a general of the Republic belong to a distinct, earlier conflict historians usually call the French Revolutionary Wars, not the Napoleonic Wars proper.

The Third Coalition (1805)

Austria and Russia allied against France, and Napoleon answered with one of his most celebrated campaigns, culminating in the decisive Battle of Austerlitz — often called his masterpiece — which knocked Austria out of the war within weeks.

The Fourth Coalition (1806–1807)

Prussia entered the war and was crushed in a matter of weeks; Napoleon's subsequent campaign into Poland against Russia ground on through a brutal winter before the Treaty of Tilsit turned Russia from enemy into uneasy ally.

The Peninsular War (1808–1814)

Napoleon's attempt to control Spain and Portugal by installing his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne triggered a long, grinding guerrilla war that drained French resources for years and became a running wound in an otherwise dominant military record.

The Fifth Coalition and Wagram (1809)

Austria tried again while Napoleon was tied down in Spain, and was defeated a second time at the costly Battle of Wagram — a victory that came at a much higher price than Austerlitz had.

The Russian Campaign (1812)

Napoleon's invasion of Russia with over 600,000 men ended in catastrophe: Moscow occupied but empty, no peace offer, and a retreat through brutal winter that destroyed the Grande Armée. Read the fuller story in Why Did Napoleon Invade Russia?

The German Campaign and the Sixth Coalition (1813)

With his army shattered, Napoleon faced a reinvigorated coalition of Prussia, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, culminating in defeat at the enormous Battle of Leipzig — the largest battle in Europe before the First World War.

The French Campaign, First Abdication, and the Hundred Days (1814–1815)

Coalition armies invaded France itself in 1814, forcing Napoleon's first abdication and exile to Elba. His return the following year triggered the Hundred Days, ending in final defeat at Waterloo.

See the places, dates, and correspondence behind this article.

See all letters and locations relating to War of the Third Coalition, Austerlitz Campaign, War of the Fourth Coalition, Prussian Campaign, Polish Campaign, Peninsular War (Spain), War of the Fifth Coalition, Wagram Campaign, Russian Campaign, German Campaign, French Campaign, Hundred Days, and Waterloo Campaign — click here

Each phase above is individually tagged in the taxonomy; this link combines all of them into one filtered view of the entire 1803–1815 conflict, letting you trace the correspondence across the whole arc of the wars rather than one campaign at a time.