Napoleon (Part 2) - The Conquest of Europe (1805 - 1812)
Napoleon (Part 2) - The Conquest of Europe (1805 - 1812)
This is part two of our video series on the history of Napoleon. In this video, we cover the period from the Napoleonic wars until the invasion of Russia.
--------
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geohistory
--------
English translation \u0026 voiceover: Rahul Venkit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD1X…
--------
Original French version: • Napoléon - À la conquête de l’Europe …
Russian version: • [2/3] Наполеон - завоевание Европы (1…
Arabic version: • نابليون (الجزء الثاني) - غزو أوروبا 1…
Spanish version: • Historia de Napoleón (Parte 2) - La c…
Portuguese version (Brazil):
Japanese version: • ナポレオンの人生 第2章
German version: • Napoleon - Die Eroberung Europas (Tei…
--------
Music: Mission to Mars - Audio Hertz (YouTube Library)
--------
Software used for editing: Adobe After Effects
--------
Chapter
00:00 Introduction
00:53 The Third Coalition
01:49 French domination
02:44 Battle of Austerlitz
03:59 The Fourth Coalition
04:59 The Polish Campaign
05:58 Treaties of Tilsit
07:05 Peninsular War
08:00 Guerilla warfare
08:48 The Grande Armée in Spain
09:40 The Fifth Coalition
10:42 Treaty of Schonbrunn
Content
5.16 -> France and its Spanish ally are at war against
the United Kingdom.
9.68 -> Napoleon's Great Army or the so-called Grande
Armée,
13.12 -> is gathered along the Channel coast, ready to invade the island.
17.12 -> To this end, Napoleon asks the French Mediterranean fleet to head for the Caribbean
22.16 -> to lure the powerful Royal Navy.
24.54 -> They must then rush back to the English Channel
to facilitate a military landing.
29.71 -> But upon their return, the plan fails.
32.369 -> The French fleet is spotted and attacked along
the Spanish coast, forcing its retreat to Cadiz.
38.74 -> But Napoleon, the recently named french Emperor and the King of Italy,
42.7 -> has already changed his plan since the United Kingdom convinced Russia and Austria
47.74 -> to form a new anti-French coalition.
50.54 -> The British would finance the war.
57.14 -> Austria sends an army to Italy and a second to Bavaria, where the Russian army would join.
62.88 -> Napoleon then sends his Great Army at full
speed to Bavaria in order to arrive before the Russians.
69.04 -> He organises a diversion by sending an army
corps into the Black Forest,
73.64 -> where the Austrians wait, ready to fight, while the main battalion of the army gets around them in the north.
80.35 -> The Austrian army discovers, too late, that
they are surrounded.
85.08 -> Five days later, 25,000 soldiers surrender
without a fight.
89.78 -> Meanwhile, Napoleon orders his fleet, still
blocked in Cadiz, to join the Mediterranean.
95.52 -> The French and Spanish fleets try to end the
British blockade,
99.42 -> but are destroyed by the fleet of Admiral Nelson, who dies during the battle.
104.44 -> With this victory, the United Kingdom reaffirms
its maritime supremacy.
113.24 -> In Austria, the Russian army retreats towards
the northeast to await reinforcements,
119.06 -> paving the way for the French to Vienna.
121.7 -> Meanwhile in the south, the second Austrian
army is defeated and retreats.
126.64 -> Napoleon seizes the Austrian capital.
128.82 -> He decides to leave a big part of his army
there and leaves with 60,000 soldiers
133.48 -> to meet the army of Alexander I of Russia, which has received reinforcements from Francis II.
140.44 -> As he is outnumbered, Napoleon decides to
station his troops on the strategic plateau of Pratzen.
146.92 -> He studies the field and devises a plan.
149.98 -> On the evening of December 1st, as the Austro-Russian
army approaches,
154.64 -> he orders his troops to retreat, pretending to flee.
158.24 -> The army of the allies jumps on the opportunity
and seizes the plateau for the night.
168.26 -> The next morning, convinced that the French
are retreating,
171.54 -> 40,000 Russians charge toward the south.
174.98 -> The outnumbered French army tries to hold
them back as best as they can.
179.42 -> But further north, hidden behind the hills,
181.72 -> the bulk of the French Army launches a surprise attack and takes back the plateau.
186.92 -> The Austro-Russian army finds itself split
in two.
190.78 -> The russians try at all costs to take back the
plateau but fail.
195.28 -> The army in the north is pushed back to the
east,
198.08 -> while the French surround thousands of Russian soldiers in the south.
202.22 -> Russian troops panic and surrender, or try
to escape on frozen ponds,
206.84 -> which are targeted by French artillery fire.
210.16 -> With the French victory complete, the Emperor
of Austria negotiates peace.
215.22 -> He loses control over the German states, marking
the end of the Holy Roman Empire,
220.46 -> which would gradually be replaced by the Confederation
of the Rhine under Napoleon's protection.
226.16 -> Napoleon appoints his brother Joseph as the
king of Naples
229.7 -> and his other brother Louis as the king of Holland.
232.66 -> He also begins the construction of the
Arc de Triomphe in Paris to celebrate future victories.
243.18 -> Prussia dislikes French management of the
German states,
246.84 -> so comes together with other powers to form a fourth coalition against France.
251.7 -> Three Prussian armies enter Saxony and an
ultimatum is given to the French,
256.28 -> demanding their withdrawal to the west of the Rhine.
259.68 -> Napoleon goes to meet them with his Great
Army.
262.48 -> Initial contact is established and the French
immediately get the upper hand,
267.14 -> causing the Prussian armies to turn back to Leipzig.
270.38 -> But the French army, which is faster, catches
up and positions itself between the two main armies.
276.66 -> Napoleon then makes an error of judgment.
279.16 -> Thinking that the great Prussian army is in the south, he sends a small army of 25,000 men to the north.
285.72 -> They find themselves confronted by the great
Prussian army of over 60,000 men.
291.36 -> However, despite the odds, both battles are
won by the French that day,
296 -> opening the doors of Berlin to Napoleon.
303.86 -> With Prussia defeated, Napoleon attacks Russia.
307.16 -> Along the way, he enters Polish territory,
which was captured and shared between Russia,
312.38 -> Prussia and Austria 10 years earlier.
315.7 -> The French are welcomed as heroes, and thousands
of people join the ranks of the army.
321.13 -> The Russians avoid battle and retreat to await
reinforcements.
325.74 -> Eventually the two armies start fighting.
328.44 -> Two days of fierce battles ensue, causing
thousands of fatalities.
333.24 -> Both sides are tested and need time to recruit
new forces.
337.54 -> Four months later, the Russians try to surprise
the French by launching a frontal attack.
342.74 -> But they are repelled and chased.
345.47 -> A second decisive battle drives the Russian
army beyond the Niemen River.
350.52 -> Exhausted by war, neither side is able to
gain supremacy over the other.
355.02 -> A peace treaty is prepared.
362.24 -> Both sides meet on a raft especially built
for the occasion on the Niemen River,
367.06 -> where Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I negotiate.
371 -> According to the terms of the treaty, Prussia
loses half of its territory.
375.24 -> Its western territories are annexed to the
Kingdom of Westphalia,
379.32 -> of which Jerome Bonaparte becomes the king.
382.32 -> In the East, the Duchy of Warsaw is created.
385.42 -> Allied with France, this new state could act
as a strategic buffer in case of future war.
391.32 -> Russia, on the other hand, gets the authorization
to seize Finland.
395.4 -> Finally, the two powers ally against the United
Kingdom,
399.2 -> which finds itself squeezed by French domination on the continent.
403.6 -> Weakened by wars, the UK faces a difficult
economic situation.
408.08 -> And now, Napoleon tries to deliver a final
blow by imposing a continental blockade.
414.26 -> No European port may accept British commercial
vessels.
418.34 -> But not everyone agrees with this policy,
including Portugal, a historical ally of the British.
429.26 -> In response, Napoleon wants to invade Portugal.
432.46 -> Its Spanish ally joins the offensive and allows
French troops to cross its territory.
438.02 -> The following month, the Franco-Spanish army
seizes Lisbon, forcing the royal family to flee to Brazil.
445.24 -> But after this victory, new French troops
are sent to Spain.
449.34 -> Napoleon begins to show a new interest in
Spain, which is no longer the great power it once was.
455.4 -> After a coup attempt orchestrated by Ferdinand
against his father King Charles IV,
461 -> both go to Bayonne to ask Napoleon to resolve the situation.
465.26 -> Meanwhile in Madrid, people rise against the
French occupiers.
469.52 -> The revolt is violently put down.
471.88 -> Napoleon then decides to place his brother
Joseph on the throne of the country,
476.08 -> while his brother-in law Murat gets the Kingdom of Naples.
484.12 -> The French brutality in Madrid infuriates
the Spanish population.
488.72 -> Throughout the country, militias form and
organize a guerrilla warfare against the French,
493.56 -> targeting isolated garrisons and lines of
communication.
497.4 -> The French are tortured and slaughtered.
499.84 -> In response, French armies burn to the ground
villages suspected of harboring rebels.
505.28 -> In the years to come, France would need to
constantly strengthen its military presence
509.92 -> to try and defeat rebel strongholds.
512.98 -> In the south, a French army is defeated.
515.8 -> In panic, Joseph Bonaparte flees Madrid with
his army.
519.82 -> The news spreads throughout Europe, reinforcing
anti-French sentiments.
524.369 -> Meanwhile, a British army contingent lands
in Portugal.
533.34 -> Napoleon wants to settle things himself with
his Great Army.
536.88 -> But fearful of being outflanked in the east,
he organizes a meeting with the Tsar
541.76 -> to try and strengthen their alliance, but in vain.
545.16 -> He still sends part of his army to the peninsula
where the Spanish armies,
549.32 -> divided and poorly organized, are crushed in a month.
553.16 -> While advancing on the British army, Napoleon
learns that Austria is ready to go to war.
558.98 -> Leaving his army in Spain, he quickly heads
eastwards, where the Austrian army enters Bavaria.
565.44 -> They hope to be joined by Prussia and the
Confederation of the Rhine,
569.46 -> driven by rising German nationalism. But it would not happen.
574.2 -> Meanwhile, Napoleon asks Russia to go to war
against Austria, which it declines.
584.52 -> A fifth coalition is formed, but in fact,
Austria finds itself alone against Napoleon.
590.26 -> Within days, the Austrian army is divided
into two.
593.72 -> The main body manages to flee north of the
Danube, leaving Vienna defenseless.
599.14 -> Napoleon seizes the Austrian capital for the second time,
602.3 -> while the Austrian army positions itself north of the Danube.
606.38 -> To complete victory, Napoleon must find a
way to cross the river, but all bridges are destroyed.
612.8 -> He begins building bridges and attempts to
cross with his army.
616.66 -> But a powerful Austrian offensive pushes them
back to the island of Lobau.
621.96 -> This is Napoleon’s first major defeat.
624.98 -> He moves back to Vienna to strengthen his
army and organize a new offensive.
630.36 -> In one night, he makes more than 140,000 soldiers
cross the Danube.
635.66 -> After two days of fierce and bloody fighting,
the Austrians retreat and ask for an armistice.
646.74 -> As per the unfavourable peace treaty, Austria
loses many of its territories and its access to the sea.
653.86 -> Moreover, Napoleon divorces Josephine, with
whom he can’t get legitimate heirs.
659.04 -> And marries Marie-Louise, daughter of the Emperor
of Austria, with whom he hopes to have a child.
665.42 -> In France, Napoleon becomes increasingly authoritarian,
jailing political opponents,
670.66 -> censoring the media, and spreading his propaganda.
674.329 -> The economic situation of the country worsens.
677.17 -> Wars, and especially the 300,000 soldiers
stationed in Spain,
681.5 -> are expensive and require a lot of resources.
685.16 -> On March 20, 1811, Marie-Louise gives birth
to Napoleon’s much-awaited heir.
691.62 -> The baby receives the title of the king of
Rome.
695.1 -> In Portugal, a new British army led by Wellington
takes over and pushes the French away.
702.08 -> The French army requests reinforcements from
Napoleon,
705.82 -> but these remain unanswered as he focuses all his strength on the Duchy of Warsaw.
711.72 -> The relationship with Russia deteriorates,
714.145 -> causing Napoleon to prepare for the invasion of the country.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq-0qkVTR04