The Napoleonic Era Essay Example for Free

The Napoleonic Era Essay Napoleon’s impact has been so great that an entire historical time period bears his name, the Napoleonic Era. For over a decade, he was to be the master of Europe—but he was also a man. During the Triumvirate and Despotate in 1799 to 1804 CE and 1804 to 1815 CE, respectively, Napoleon made several errors (Rose, 2006). First of all, he suffered greatly due to an impediment at Eylau, Leipzig, Borodino, and the ultimately at Waterloo.   Napoleon’s decision not to establish a treaty with other players such as Austria (in a Paris-Vienna axis) in the balance of power was his first major setback. The treaty could have helped him maintain the power of Britain and simultaneously gain and improve his peripherals and palatinates within Italy. Not only will this improve his power over Italy but also to the Autarchy of Naples, Dutch-Belgian demarcation, the Helvetian Republic and the Piedmont Kingdom. Another mistake that he committed was the two-front war. Napoleon wages war over Russia and Iberian promontory in the year 1807 up to 1814 CE. He even made an error regarding the unity among his troops, which was divided when he appointed four different marshals having different military and social backgrounds. Napoleon also misjudged military activities by the sea, which resulted to a weak line of defense, or no defense at all, from the Mediterranean up to the Atlantic (Coakley, 1992). Second, with regards to economic warfare, Napoleon’s Berlin Blockade, then modified to Continental Blockade, ultimately produced negative effects or results for France, exciting dissidence and unrest. In the east, he failed with a tripartite incursion of the Swedish throne. He also failed with the Ottoman Empire’s symmachia that was directed to Russia. As a result, the attention of Russia was brought upon Napoleon’s intentions, putting him near the edge of winning. Lastly, Napoleon miscalculated the size of the phalanxes at the Russian Campaign (Stocqueler, 1852). This eventually rendered him unable to gain victory over Russia. In the end, all of Napoleon’s mistakes are the fruit of his unwavering ego. References Coakley, T. P. (1992). Command and Control for War and Peace: Diane Publishing Company. Rose, J. H. (2006). The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era, 1789-1815: Adamant Media Corporation. Stocqueler, J. H. (1852). The Life of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington. New York: Ingram, Cooke and Co.