The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast

In this episode we explore the political events that resulted in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, the tragedy that formed the central events of Tolstoy’s War and Peace and which saw Napoleon raise the largest army in history up until that time, 500,000 – 700,000 men (historians vary on exactly how many there were). […] The post #23 – The Road To Moscow appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! It’s been a long time between episodes. To celebrate our return, we have a very special guest co-host – Prof. Bob Packett from “History According To Bob”! Bob is the Godfather of History podcasting. It was his show that gave me the idea to start our little Napoleon podcast and we’re very excited […] The post #22 – Au Revoir Josphine, Bonjour Marie-Louise and the King of Rome! appeared first on Napoleon.

In 1809, Austria decided to break the peace treaty they had signed after Austerlitz in 1807 and this lead to The War Of The Fifth Coalition. In this episode we discuss the events leading up to Austria’s attack and Napoleon’s response. The war ended with the Battle of Wagram, Napoleonic France’s last decisive military victory. […] The post #21 – The War Of The Fifth Coalition appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome to the dramatic conclusion to the Peninsular War! It’s a long episode, possibly our longest, but we were determined to conclude this affair today! In episode #19 we gave you some background on how Napoleon ended up in the Iberian peninsula. Today we pick it up from about the time Joseph was made the […] The post #20 – The Peninsula War (Part Two) appeared first on Napoleon.

After the Battle Of Trafalgar (1805), the relationship between Spain (which had previously declared war on France in 1793 and then an alliance in 1795) and France soured. In 1807, Spain was in turmoil, due to infighting between their disinterested Bourbon king Charles IV, his son Ferdinand and the Spanish Prime Minister (also the not-so-secret […] The post #19 – The Peninsula War (Part One) appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome to the tragic Episode 18 of the Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast here on The Podcast Network. Once again, David and I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback and comments we have received since the last episode. We both really appreciate it and it’s added motivation to keep producing the show although, as […] The post #18 – The Battle Of Trafalgar appeared first on Napoleon.

On this marvelous 17th episode, recorded almost 200 years after the actual events occurred, we examine the final months of the “Fourth Coalition” leading up to the “Treaty of Tilsit”. Russian forces, lead by Count von Bennigsen, were crushed by Napoleon’s army at Friedland on June 14, 1807. Three days later Russia asked for a […] The post #17 – The Battle of Friedland and the Treaty of Tilsit appeared first on Napoleon.

After Napoleon completely crushed the Prussians at Jena-Auerstedt, Europe was in shock. Back home in Paris, some were concerned that Napoleon’s continued success might blind him to opportunities for peace. Meanwhile, Russia’s Czar Alexander had his armies advance on Warsaw, forcing Napoleon to march to meet them. Early in 1807, he fought an extremely bloody […] The post #16 – Eylau, Poland and Maria Walewska appeared first on Napoleon.

The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (older name: Auerstädt) were fought on October 14, 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today’s Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia. The decisive defeat suffered by the Prussian army resulted in Prussia’s elimination from the […] The post #15 – The Battle of Jena-Auerstedt appeared first on Napoleon.

The Battle of Austerlitz (also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors) was a major engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition. It was fought on December 2, 1805 about four miles (6.4 km) east of the modern Czech town of Brno, then part of the Austrian Empire. The […] The post #14 – The Sun of Austerlitz appeared first on Napoleon.

This episode is pretty special – David and I recorded it sitting together, in the same hotel room, same city, same country and, as David likes to point out, on the same day (usually we’re in completely different timezones). As we were both in a strange city (San Francisco) and didn’t have access to our […] The post #13 – The War of the Third Coalition appeared first on Napoleon.

Napoleon crowned himself “Emperor Of The French” (as opposed to “Emperor of France”, an important distinction) on 2 December 1804 at Notre Dame de Paris. In this episode, we discuss in detail the events leading up to the Coronation, the reasons for it, the arguments against it, the actual coronation itself, and the reaction to […] The post #12 – Emperor of the French appeared first on Napoleon.

After the signing of The Treaty of Luneville in February 1801, France was at peace with every country in Europe. Only Britian stood in the way of a total peace. Listen in as JDM and I discuss some of the key events of the following period: William Pitt had been replaced briefly by Henry Addington […] The post #11 – Peace With Britian appeared first on Napoleon.

In this episode we explore First Consul Bonaparte’s failed attempts to make peace with the Kings of England and Austria after he took power in 1799 and the subsequent French campaign into Italy to regain the territory lost to the Austrians since Napoleon’s original Italian campaign. We also cover: The famous Jacques-Louis David painting of […] The post #10 – The Battle of Marengo appeared first on Napoleon.

In 1799, when Napoleon became First Consul of France, he started a series of important domestic reforms which were revolutionary in Europe, many of which survive to this day. In this episode, we depart from Napoleon’s military triumphs and demonstrate a less-appreciated aspect of his career – his genius for domestic affairs. We talk about: […] The post #9 – Domestic Affairs appeared first on Napoleon.

When we last left Napoleon he was leaving Egypt in the middle of the night to sail quickly back to a corrupt and floundering Paris. In this episode, we talk about: the corruption of the Directory the various plots to overthrow the Revolutionary Government Napoleon’s failed attempt to legitimately join the Directory to save it […] The post #8 – The Coup of 18 Brumaire appeared first on Napoleon.

Is it just me or are these shows gradually getting longer? 🙂 When we last left Napoleon, he had concluded the Italian Campaign with the treaty of Campo Formio and was a national hero. In this episode we talk about the Egyptian Campaign of 1798-99: Too soon for his political move in France The invasion […] The post #7 – The Egyptian Campaign appeared first on Napoleon.

When we last left Napoleon, he had taken the helm of the Army of Italy and was proving his brilliance in matters of strategy and tactics. In this episode we discuss: The Battle of Lodi The Kellerman incident The Bridge over Arcola The Papal States The Battle of Rivoli The Treaty of Campo Formio Napoleon’s […] The post #6 – The Army of Italy (part two) appeared first on Napoleon.

Napoleon is made Commander-In-Chief of the Army of France in Italy by Paul Barras in March 1796 (one week before he married Josephine). A couple of days later, he leaves to join his new command. In this episode, we talk about: Building a winning army His key team Berthier, Murat The generals he inherited, Massena, […] The post #5 – The Army of Italy (part one) appeared first on Napoleon.

  We left Napoleon in late 1795, having broken the back of the Paris insurgency with a “whiff of grapeshot”. For his efforts he was made Commander of the Army of the Interior, the largest armed force in France, with the rank of general de division. He changed his name from Buonaparte to Bonaparte. He […] The post #4 – Enter Josephine appeared first on Napoleon.