Napoleon, age 10, enters Royal military school.
Other boys make fun: short, bad French.
Napoleon enters prestigious Ecole Militaire de Paris.
Hates German, likes math ("He is quiet and solitary, capricious, haughty, and frightfully egotistical. . . He is most proud, ambitious, aspiring to everything. . . ").
Young Lieutenant Buonaparte making friends in revolutionary circles. In Paris he attends sessions of the Legislative Assembly as observer.
One important friend: Paul de Barras.
Napoleon watches the masses storm the Tuileries palace.
The public humiliation of King Louis XVI.
Such scenes strike life-long horror of the uncontrolled crowds.
France declares war on Great Britain.
Assassination of revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat.
Assassin is young woman, Charlotte Corday.
Buonaparte family flees revolutionary chaos.
Robespierre joins the Committee of Public Safety.
The Terror now at its worst in 1793.
Makes friends with Robespierre's brother.
Napoleon very close to most extreme revolutionary circles.
Napoleon sent to Genoa to negotiate with government.
Thus is fortunately absent from Paris at moment of the crisis of the overthrow of Robespierre summer 1794.
Nap. commands troops at street battle of St. Roch church.
Shoots hundreds in the streets.
Nap emerges hero and champion of revolutionary gov.
Initiate the new government of The Directorate.
Run by friends of Napoleon who arrange his appointment as Commander of the Army of the Interior.
It is at this time that he meets Josephine.
Napoleon appointed Commander of the Army of Italy.
Note Napoleon's interest in Italy as Corsican of Italian background.
Napoleon triumphant in northwest Italy.
Milan opens its gates to the French forces as liberators.
(that attitude lasts very short time; soon they are hated).
Napoleon defeats the Austrians in the northeast of Italy.
Establish the Army of the Orient: Napoleon.
Goal: conquer Egypt, challenge British.
Wasn't as easy as he expected.
Nelson destroys the French fleet.
Deals terrible blow to Napoleon's plan for the Middle East.
Napoleon initiates his Syrian campaign.
France pushes in to Middle East.
leaves his army in the Middle East.
Mobs turn out along the road to Paris.
Napoleon treated as national hero.
New Constitution establishes a new republican government.
Napoleon as First Consul to serve ten years.
Submitted to popular vote: overwhelmingly approve.
People are sick of revolutionary chaos. Want order.
Napoleon leads French forces over the St. Bernard pass.
Fight the Austrians again in Italy.
Napoleon wins the Battle of Marengo in Italy.
France pushing Austria out of Italy.
Concordat between the Papacy and France.
In northern Italy The Italian Republic was proclaimed.
Napoleon as Emperor and Josephine as Empress.
Both crowned in ceremony in Paris with Pope Pius VII in attendance.
Nap places crown on own head in imitation of Charlemagne.
Imperial office now made hereditary, pass to his brothers in absence of heir, establish elaborate imperial court rivaling the late royal court of Louis XVI. Napoleon now an absolute monarch but a modern one. Napoleon becomes the first real modern dictator with totalitarian power: secret police, press censorship, control army, control education.
Russia one hundred thousand men, France one hundred thousand men.
Total triumph for Napoleon over armies of Austria and Russia. Austria cedes vast territories to France. Napoleon proclaims the end of the reigning King of Naples. Places his brother Joseph on the throne as King of Naples. The Bourbon exiles withdraw to Sicily where the British protect them. Napoleon's other brother Louis becomes King of Holland.
Battles of Jena and Auerstadt.
Napoleon defeats the Prussians and in Nov occupies Berlin.
Lowly Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte marries the daughter of the Emperor of Austria Maria Louise of the Habsburgs. Now with Josephine gone and all his old friends away from court off in the army, and Josephine's son Eugenie also dismissed from his position in Naples cause reminds of Josephine, Napoleon more and more isolated.
Birth of the son to Marie Louise that Napoleon so wanted.
Lavishes rewards on Marie Louise.
Napoleon at the summit of his power.
Like some Greek drama: At the summit just before the fall.
Napoleon prepares then begins his long planned invasion of Russia with the greatest army ever assembled in Europe to that time: six hundred thousand men. reasons: rivalry between Napoleon and Czar Alexander both of whom want to lead all of Europe and esp. Napoleon's marriage to Austria which now became a French ally.
City in shock over reports from the Russian front.
This is the beginning of the end for Napoleon.
Prussia rises up against the French.
Frederick William issues appeal to his people.
He allies with the Russians.
German princes now rise up against former French ally.
Austria declares war on France despite fact that Emperor's daughter is the Empress of France.
Battle of Leipzig ("Battle of the Nations").
Russia, Prussia and Austria field huge armies to encircle Napoleon.
Allies storm Leipzig and Napoleon retreats west.
Napoleon takes his army west across the Rhine at Mainz.
Soon his whole German empire is gone.
invade France and go all way to Paris.
The British are penetrating France after success in Spain.
In March they now win at Bordeaux.
Allies grant him Elba as a sovereign principality but his wife is not allowed to join him with their son.
She retires to Vienna to be watched over by her father.
carves up all of Europe.