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CORRESPONDENCE
OF NAPOLEON I


 
Napoleon I was born Napoleone di Buonaparte on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica. By the time of his banishment from Europe in 1815, this brilliant artillery graduate of the École Militaire in Paris had become the Emperor of France, and his military successes had placed him as one of history's foremost military leaders. The armies which Napoleon led were modern, dedicated, and headed by a commander who demonstrated a willingness to die with his men on several occasions. This reputation as a soldier's soldier, coupled with his charisma and computer-like memory made for a human being who was difficult to resist. Indeed, even as a middle-aged prisoner of the British, caution was required to prevent his immense powers of persuasion from swaying the opinions of individual captors. The feature that people most remembered about him were his large, grey eyes, which were said to be piercing, very expressive and "mobile," something which it was claimed, was never able to be reproduced on canvas.

These on-line selections of Napoleon's Headquarters Correspondence are drawn from the original 32 volumes of dispatches and orders first published in 1853. Because of the sheer size of the Correspondence, it is 32 volumes of French language text, we can only provide highlights of important battles or campaigns. Hopefully the future will allow us to expand this greatly so that more of this historic information can be available on-line!

Napoleon takes command of the Army of Italy
March 27th through 31st, 1797

The Battle of Austerlitz
December 1st through 3rd, 1805
December 3rd, 1805


Prelude and first day of Aspern-Essling
May 19 through 21, 1809 (French)
May 19 through 21, 1809 (English)


Second day and aftermath of Aspern-Essling
May 22 through 24, 1809


The battles of Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo (Mont-Saint-Jean)
June 15th and 16th, 1815 (French)
June 15th and 16th, 1815 (English)

June 18th through 21st, 1815 (French)
June 18th through 21st, 1815 (English)
 
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