Napoleon Bonaparte: One of the Greatest Military Masterminds in History

This essay will illustrate why Napoleon Bonaparte is regarded as one of the greatest military masterminds in the history of mankind. It will show the life of Napoleon from when he was a young boy, till he died in 1821. It will show how he deceived the French into giving him power, and how he used this power for his own interests. It will also reveal how Napoleon almost killed of an entire generation of France, and proved that all good things always come to an end.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica near Italy. This was only a few months after France had annexed the island. He had 7 brothers and sisters, and his father was a lawyer whose family stemmed from the Florentine nobility. In 1779 Napoleon went to school at Brienne in France. There he took a great interest in history, especially in the lives of great ancient generals worldwide.

Napoleon was often badly treated at Brienne, because he was not as wealthy as the other kids, and very short. He also did not speak French well, because Italian was spoken on Corsica where he grew up. He studied very hard at Brienne so that he could do better then those who made fun of him.

Napoleon attended the Ecole Military School in Paris in 1784 after receiving a scholarship. This is where he received his military training. He studied to be an officer. Napoleon finished his training and joined the French army when he was 16 years old. He was appointed to an artillery regiment, and commissioned as a lieutenant of the French army. Once again he was not well liked by his fellow officers because he was short, spoke with an Italian accent. Napoleon spent little time with his regiment. He was more concerned with trying to free his home land of Corsica, witch had been taken with force by France. Soon after being commissioned his father died, and he was forced to provide for his family. Napoleon spent the next seven years reading the works of the philosophers, and educating himself in military matters by studying the campaigns of the great military leaders of the past. The French Revolution and the European war that followed broadened his sights and presented him with new opportunities. Napoleon was a supporter of the French Revolution by all means. He went back and forth between Paris and Ajaccio, working for the Republic. Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks and bec...

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...ut all the while still had his eyes on France. On June 18, 1815 Napoleon with his new army once again attacked the English, led by the Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo. This battle was short lived and Napoleon was quickly defeated, and he was once again abdicated. But this time they sent him to live on the Island of St. Helena, where he died in may 1821.

As you can see Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military masterminds of all times, but as is with all good thing, they must come to an end. For all his intelligence and skill he was a terrible man but his tactics and strategies remain to be the most impressive by some today. He killed almost half a million of his men, not to mention the men he kill that were not his enemies.

Works Cited:

---.‘‘ Napoleon.” The Berlin Decree of November (1806): 176-84.

‘‘Napoleon. ” Britannica Junior Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.

‘‘Napoleon (The Quest of the French Army)” Britannica Junior Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.

---. Napoleon's Defeat in Russia. 1812. Poland. Historia-DWA, 1982.

Edward, Skszypczak. ‘‘Napoleon: Greatest French Generals in History” Western Civilization and Europe Civilization volume II (1995): 697 – 698.