The great French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte had initially capitalized on the reforms of the French Revolution to improve the lives of French citizens. However his focus on conquering Europe had eventually overridden his economic and military accomplishments. His previous successes exacerbated his ego to the point at which he became complacent with his standard tactics both on the battlefield and in the council. A sequence of poor diplomacy and belief that he could hold the European countries together by sheer force led to European countries rising in vengeance, such as the Spanish ulcer. Napoleon’s failure to deal with these threats and subsequent failing to enforce the ill fated continental system meant his empire was being dismantled piece by piece. Another reason for his downfall was his war tactic of constant Napoleonic Warfare. His main goal was to completely destroy the enemies army to the point where they no longer had the men to fight. But, this also caused heavy causualities on his side. Also, during his Invasion of Russia, he was hurt by the infamous Russian winters. When he retreated from Russia, almost all of his men got left behind (along with Michael Ney) and were completely annihilated by the enemy forces. After this, he suffered because of his army, or lack thereof. The resultant strain of fighting a multi front war against the united European forces was more failure of effective leadership than simple bad luck. Although he successfully returned from exile in the Hundred Days, his military defeat at Waterloo was the final nail in his
The great French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte had initially capitalized on the reforms of the French Revolution to improve the lives of French citizens. However his focus on conquering Europe had eventually overridden his economic and military accomplishments. His previous successes exacerbated his ego to the point at which he became complacent with his standard tactics both on the battlefield and in the council. A sequence of poor diplomacy and belief that he could hold the European countries together by sheer force led to European countries rising in vengeance, such as the Spanish ulcer. Napoleon’s failure to deal with these threats and subsequent failing to enforce the ill fated continental system meant his empire was being dismantled piece by piece. Another reason for his downfall was his war tactic of constant Napoleonic Warfare. His main goal was to completely destroy the enemies army to the point where they no longer had the men to fight. But, this also caused heavy causualities on his side. Also, during his Invasion of Russia, he was hurt by the infamous Russian winters. When he retreated from Russia, almost all of his men got left behind (along with Michael Ney) and were completely annihilated by the enemy forces. After this, he suffered because of his army, or lack thereof. The resultant strain of fighting a multi front war against the united European forces was more failure of effective leadership than simple bad luck. Although he successfully returned from exile in the Hundred Days, his military defeat at Waterloo was the final nail in his