Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major conflicts involving France under Napoleon Bonaparte against shifting coalitions of European powers. Napoleon's military genius — rapid maneuver, corps system, use of artillery, personal battlefield leadership — produced victories against every major European power, at various times controlling territory from Spain to Russia. The 1812 Russian campaign was the turning point — Napoleon invaded with 680,000 men and retreated with fewer than 100,000. The attrition of constant war, the military innovations of his enemies (who learned from him), and the enormous expense ultimately brought him down. Waterloo (June 18, 1815) was his final defeat. The Congress of Vienna (1815) redrew European borders and created a balance of power that lasted until 1914.