Napoleon Essay -- European History Military Generals Essays

Napoleon â€Å"I live only for posterity, death is nothing, but to live without glory is to die every day† (Lefebvre 43). Napoleon was driven by his desire for glory and ambition and his ascension was tremendous. Born in Corsica, his family moved to France, in Marseilles, when he was only a child. From the state of a â€Å"lieutenant,† at the age of sixteen, to the one of emperor in 1804, till reigning over the European continent after his conquest of Prussia, his ascension was not only due to the events that occurred during his life, but was also due to his ambition and his tremendous genius. His genius was both military and political. Napoleon was a military genius because of his career rapidity. He went to the School of Officers in Paris. At the age of sixteen he was already a lieutenant. At Toulon, this battle enabled him to climb quickly the echelons in the military. As Chandler states, Napoleon gave military orders to produce a large number of guns. These guns and mortars provided Napoleon the possibility to attack the different forts situated in places that were overlooking the harbor. Because of this production, Napoleon was able to produce enough guns to attack the place without having a great loss in his army. Horne declared the recapture of the port became possible because the previous attacks enabled Napoleon to place a number of guns and mortars in good position to fire the British fleet commanded by Hood (17). By the success of his capture, the British fleet left the harbor and Napoleon gained great recognition by the military and was soon after promoted to the rank of â€Å"gà ©neral de brigade.† Napoleon’s military genius is perceived through the new division of the army. Gates state... ..., Georges. â€Å"A Romantic Tempered by Realpolitik.† Kafker & Laux. Napoleon and his Times: Selected Interpretations. Malabar Florida: Robert E. Krieger Pub. Co., 1989. Napoleonic Europe 1812. Map. Atlas of European History. By Bartholomew, Edinburgh. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 148-49 Rothenberg, Gunther. â€Å"Military Affairs.† Kafker & Laux. Napoleon and his Times: Selected Interpretations. Malabar, Florida: Robert E. Krieger Pub. Co., 1989. Rowe, Michael. â€Å"Debate: Napoleon and the Post-Revolutionary Management of Sovereignty.† Modern and Contemporary France 8.4 (2000): 510-13. Academic Search Premiere. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 04 Nov. 2002 Vandal, Albert. â€Å"The Restoration of Order and National Unity.† Kafker & Laux. Napoleon and his Times: Selected Interpretations. Malabar Florida: Robert E. Krieger Pub. Co., 1989.