Questions tagged [napoleonic-wars]
Questions about a series of wars from 1803 to 1815 between the First French Empire and opposing (mostly European) coalitions.
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How were Martello towers supposed to work?
Having recently seen a Martello tower on the East coast of England, I tried to find-out what the defensive strategy was supposed to be - but the internet seems very short on information.
The South-...
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Are there historical instances of the capital of a colonising country being temporarily or permanently shifted to one of its colonies?
When the Portuguese Royal Court (over 15,000 souls) fled the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1807, and installed itself in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rio became the capital of the pluricontinental ...
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Capturing a much larger ship?
In Master and Commander (book 1 of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series), the 54-man, 14-gun Sophie captures the 319-man, 32-gun Cacafuego.
Is this really plausible? How would it work? Is it the ...
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What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?
In movies/books set in the Napoleonic Wars, the British are normally deployed into lines and the French into columns. The columns are usually the advancing ones, charging into the line as the line ...
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What is the context for Napoleon's quote "[the Austrians] did not know the value of five minutes"?
Is this a real quote from Napoleon, and if so, what is the context?
“The reason I beat the Austrians is, they did not know the value of five minutes.”
Found on many 'quotes' sites like azquotes
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How would you accurately use older British currencies when writing a story?
For writing a story set in the Napoleonic Wars era, how should one use the currencies accurately? I read in novels they use currencies like shilling, pound, guinea, sovereign, four (or six-, etc) ...
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Why did Napoleon march to Moscow instead of Saint Petersburg?
When Napoleon decided to invade Russia in 1812, why did he target Moscow instead of Saint Petersburg?
At the time, Saint Petersburg was the Capital of Russia, not Moscow (although Moscow may have had ...
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Why was Napoleon not executed or imprisoned?
I wonder why the Allies did not execute or imprison Napoleon for life after both times when he was captured. Even more, they risked by granting him an island in possession. This is quite illogical ...
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Did Napoleon plan to invade India?
In 1798 Napoleon invaded Egypt and in 1799 he invaded the Middle East. The only thing that stopped him from going further was the fortifications of Acre which he could not take. What was his plans if ...
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How much louder was a Napoleonic era cannon than a musket?
I recently stumbled upon this impressive quote about the Battle of Borodino in a video (here at 5:07):
"The artillery roared to such an extent that from dawn until the middle of the day we ...
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How was Napoleon's invasion of Russia supplied?
How was such a great army, like the army of Napoleon on its way to Moscow, supplied with food and other needed things? Were they transporting it from France or maybe stealing from territory on their ...
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Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?
During the Napoleonic wars in Europe, many heavy cavalry units still retain the use of armours, for example, French Carabiniers-à-Cheval below,
How effective were these to protect the cavalryman ...
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Which general rebuked the King of England over logistics?
I have a bit of a hunt for anyone with a fair bit of trivia knowledge about letters.
Back in a business class during my undergraduate studies, a professor shared a letter from a general to the King in ...
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Why was France given such a lenient peace after Napoleon was defeated?
For two decades revolutionary France had attacked and conquered many nations in Europe. Millions were killed. But when the allies finally defeated France, the peace was very lenient. France didn't ...
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What are these hats and the function of those wearing them (worn by the Russian imperial army at Borodino)?
After the battle of Borodino Franz Roubaud worked on a great panorama painting of 115 meters long.
looking at the big panorama painting by Franz Roubaud I noticed that some of the Russian imperial ...
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How much gunpowder could the average Napoleonic ship of the line carry?
I've run across a few references to a ship's magazine detonating during combat, and by all accounts the explosions were massive. I'm trying to put them into context a bit by figuring out how much ...
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Comparison of naval fleet strengths during the Napoleonic wars
Do we have knowledge on the number of vessels in the armadas of the various belligerents of the Napoleonic wars? Information on the types of boats, captured vessels, and sunk vessels will also be nice....
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What is the origin of this pre-industrial naval depiction
I'm neither a history buff not an artist, so I apologise in advance for my poor descriptions.
I have recently come into possession of a painting depicting some naval ships, perhaps 19th century, ...
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Why did Britain decide to issue perpetual bonds during Napoleonic era?
Background A few years ago I was a student of an economic course about loans, debts, interests, NPV etc. The trainer mentioned "The UK took a loan to fund wars against Napoleon. This has no term, ...
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How much of the Napoleonic wars were paid by the sale of Louisiana?
in 1803, Napoleon sold French Louisiana to the United States, thus allowing to finance various war campaigns.
How do 15 millions dollars compare to the cost of the napoleonic wars between 1803 and ...
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Why did United Kingdom not keep the colonies after Napoleon's defeat?
During the Napoleonic Wars the British occupied some French, Dutch and Danish colonies mainly in the Caribbean like: Dutch Surinam, Danish West Indies, French Martinique.
I have 2 questions:
Why ...
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Why was the Kamchatka Regiment sent?
About 1800, Major-General Andrey Somov headed a regiment sent from Irkutsk to reinforce Kamchatka. Soldiers were to take up positions in about five garrisons around the peninsula. Feeding them was a ...
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Health precautions before going into Battle of Trafalgar and other battles
Tom Pocock's The Terror Before Trafalgar: Nelson, Napoleon, and the Secret War contains this memorable description of preparations aboard HMS Victory immediately before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805:...
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In the Film Master and Commander, why do they start towing their rowboats after they beat to quarters?
In the first scene on Master and Commander after the ship beats to quarters they're shown lowering three rowboats and towing them behind the ship. Why do they do that?
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How accurate is the book "Rifleman Dodd"?
I recently borrowed a Napoleonic war era book titled Rifleman Dodd, by C.S.Forester. It was a entertaining story set in Portugal in the years 1810-1811. I'm wondering if the book is a work of fiction ...
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Was the Battle of Trafalgar strategically pointless?
On a tactical level, the Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most analysed naval battles in history and there are many books and papers covering the battle itself. Most of the strategic analysis covers ...
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Could the anti-Napoleonic forces have done better by uniting earlier before Waterloo?
During the Waterloo campaign, there were TWO Allied armies facing Napoleon, one under England's Wellington, and one under Prussia's Blucher. Napoleon first defeated Blucher at Ligny, then turned on ...
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How were mounted infantry (like dragoons) used in battle?
During the Napoleonic Wars, Some troops performed as "mounted infantry", i.e. they rode horses to move, but dismounted and fought like infantry. Dragoons are usually given as examples. How was this ...
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During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?
During revolutions or civil wars, countries usually suffer enormous economic losses along with much civil unrest. These things would seem to make it impossible for a nation to operate a huge army and ...
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What is the motivation of having heavy infantry to the right and light infantry to the left flank?
In Napoleonic wars era, a line contains mostly regular troops except for two kind of elite units, the heavy one, e.g. grenadiers, they normally are the bravest, strongest troops with the best stamina, ...
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Is this anecdote about use of poison in guerrilla war mentioned by Schopenhauer based on facts?
In Schopenhauer's 1819 "The World as Will and Representation", volume 1, in the (only) footnote of chapter 64, we can read:
“That Spanish bishop, who in the last war simultaneously
poisoned ...
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At the Battle of Waterloo, why did the French army throw so many troops into the fight for Hougoumont?
The beginning of the battle of Waterloo is usually described as a French diversionary attack (of Jérôme Bonaparte’s 6th Division) on the allied position at the walled farm of Hougoumont (on Wellington’...
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During/After the Napoleonic occupation of the Germanic Rhinelands, what happened to the currency in the area?
Did Napoleon bring the French Francs over, or did the (many) local currencies remain in use? I understood that the area's tolls on the river were unified, but have a hard time imagining how exactly ...
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Did any major European country stay neutral during the Napoleonic Wars?
During World Wars I and II, many countries managed to stay neutral, like Spain and Switzerland. Was there any major country (e.g. not a city-state or a micronation) that did the same during the ...
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Ports Used by French Navy in 1792 and Strength of Fleet
I am currently writing series of young adult novels about the European Conflicts beginning in 1792.
Where were the major and minor French Navy ports and yards, and what was the relative strength of ...
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What was the final result for France after the Napoleonic wars?
What I'd like to know is if the final outcome of the wars was ultimately beneficial for France. In territorial terms.
Did it manage to keep some territorial gains?
If the question isn't clear be ...
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Why did Napoleon change his mind and continue the attack into Russia?
On July 28, 1812 some of his officers convinced Napoleon to end the Russian campaign due to huge losses due to typhus. A couple of days later, Napoleon changed his mind and the rest is, as they say, ...
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Civilians in Napoleon's Grand Army when he invaded Russia
It is fairly well documented that Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812 was somewhat slowed by the large amounts of civilians following the army. My question is - where did these civilians come from ...
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Was the speed of the attack at Jena critical to victory?
[i narrowed the focus of my original post]
Many sources explain that the Prussian army was not anticipating the entire French force in the battle of Jena during the Napoleonic Wars. My question is ...
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Napoleon's Dresden Victory Double-Flank attack
I know that Napoleon used a double flank attack against the armies at Dresden; and wasn't doing well in the center until a cannonball hit a renowned leader which demoralized the Allied army.
My ...
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Identifying a military uniform from the early 19th century
I would like to identify this military uniform from someone related to my family in Portugal. It is probably from the early 19th century, and it may be from the Portuguese, British or Napoleonic Army ...
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Did the famous French privateer Surcouf really drop that epic zinger on an anonymous British officer?
It is said that when a British captive officer taunted Surcouf with the words "You French fight for money while we fight for honour", Surcouf replied "Each of us fights for what he ...
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Was Napoleon's own strategy the cause of his downfall? [closed]
I've been reading Rothenburg's The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon and Parker's Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800, and while I realize there were a ...
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What do we know about the squadron that evacuated Moore's force after Corunna?
Upon being appointed commander of British forces in Iberia, and Napoleon's subsequent invasion with Le Grande Armee, Sir John Moore's retreated to a defensive position near the port of Corunna, in ...
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Why did water stored on premodern ships "go brackish" or "go bad" while at sea?
I have read in several Napoleonic historical fiction novels that water stored on ships would somehow spoil over time. The water is described as completely unpalatable if not undrinkable, and alcohol (...
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Did armored cavalry have an advantage over unarmored cavalry in 18th/19th century?
Armor was being phased out during the 1500's as muskets capable of penetrating armor proliferated. By the 18th century, hardly any units on the European battlefields wore armor. Except for one - the ...
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Battle of Ulm: why did general Mack surrender to Napoleon instead of retreating to Ulm and wait for the Russian Army?
Was there something that made being besieged at these times inconceivable? I can imagine that a lack of provisions and/or logistics of keeping ~70 000 men in a city wouldn't make the situation ideal ...
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Power of Prussian artillery pieces during the Napoleonic Wars
I'm developing a RTS game which is set during the Napoleonic Wars and want to implement these artillery for the Prussian side:
6 pound cannon
7 pound howitzer
12 pound cannon
Unfortunately, I have ...
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What is the name of this hat and the function of those wearing them (worn by Nansouty's French Guard cavalry)?
Horace Vernet's painting "Battle of Hanau", held at the National Gallery in London. This scene depicts the Austro-Bavarian cavalry charge on the French Grand Battery and the countercharge of Nansouty'...
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Why was Napoleon so lenient to Austria?
Austria (unlike Prussia) "rebelled" against Napoleon during the War of the Fifth Coalition. After putting down this country (but not Spain, Portugal, and the U.K.), Napoleon allowed the ...
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