Napoleonic Wars
Early nineteenth-century European battles
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1803 to 1815 involving Napoleon Bonaparte's French Empire against various European coalitions.
These wars reshaped the political map of Europe, ended the Holy Roman Empire, and spread revolutionary ideals across the continent.
The period ended with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and his exile to Saint Helena.
My ancestor fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Crushing, decisive defeat
- AusterlitzDecisive Napoleonic victory site
- Trafalgar1805 naval battle site
- LeipzigMajor Saxon metropolis
- SalamancaCity in western Spain
Peninsular · siege · campaign · victory · defeat · casualty · armistice · surrender
Male ruler of empire
- French EmpireBonaparte's imperial state
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- reignSovereign's time in power
Josephine · Corsica · Elba · Saint Helena · dominion · sovereignty · hegemony · monarchy
Formal union of parties
- AustriaCentral European alpine republic
- PrussiaFormer German kingdom
- RussiaEurasian federation, largest country
- BritainIsland off northwestern Europe
Spain · Portugal · Wellington · Nelson · treaty · pact · accord · allied powers
Ground combat troops
- cavalryMounted military force
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- musketMuzzle-loaded infantry firearm
- bayonetRifle-mounted stabbing blade
cannonade · marshal · Grande Armée · regiment · battalion · conscript · uniform · fortification
Methods to achieve goals
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
- flankingAt the sides of
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
- logisticsCoordination of complex activities
battleplan · scorched earth · guerrilla warfare · blockade · ambush · siege warfare · intelligence · reconnaissance
Late-1700s republican upheaval
- BastilleParis fortress-prison
- guillotineVertical beheading apparatus
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- equalitySame status for all
fraternity · Jacobins · Robespierre · Reign of Terror · conscription · Republic · sans-culottes · Marat
Forcible entry into territory
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- territorialDefensive about owned space
subjugation · puppet state · plunder · tribute · domination · vassalage · capitulation · occupation forces
Proxy rule period
- GeorgianOf four kings' era
- Bourbon RestorationMonarchs regaining French power
- Congress of ViennaAssembly reshaping post-war Europe
- RomanticismEmotion-centered artistic movement
Industrial Revolution · King George III · post-revolutionary · nineteenth century · legitimacy · restoration · Great Powers · nationalism
Waterloo
Crushing, decisive defeat
- AusterlitzDecisive Napoleonic victory site
- Trafalgar1805 naval battle site
- LeipzigMajor Saxon metropolis
Salamanca · Peninsular · siege · campaign · victory · defeat · casualty · armistice · surrender · decisive
emperor
Male ruler of empire
- French EmpireBonaparte's imperial state
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
reign · Josephine · Corsica · Elba · Saint Helena · dominion · sovereignty · hegemony · monarchy · legitimacy
alliance
Formal union of parties
- AustriaCentral European alpine republic
- PrussiaFormer German kingdom
- RussiaEurasian federation, largest country
Britain · Spain · Portugal · Wellington · Nelson · treaty · pact · accord · allied powers · diplomacy
infantry
Ground combat troops
- cavalryMounted military force
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- musketMuzzle-loaded infantry firearm
bayonet · cannonade · marshal · Grande Armée · regiment · battalion · conscript · uniform · fortification · garrison
tactics
Methods to achieve goals
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
- flankingAt the sides of
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
logistics · battleplan · scorched earth · guerrilla warfare · blockade · ambush · siege warfare · intelligence · reconnaissance · supply lines
French Revolution
Late-1700s republican upheaval
- BastilleParis fortress-prison
- guillotineVertical beheading apparatus
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
equality · fraternity · Jacobins · Robespierre · Reign of Terror · conscription · Republic · sans-culottes · Marat · radicalism
invasion
Forcible entry into territory
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
territorial · subjugation · puppet state · plunder · tribute · domination · vassalage · capitulation · occupation forces · requisition
Regency
Proxy rule period
- GeorgianOf four kings' era
- Bourbon RestorationMonarchs regaining French power
- Congress of ViennaAssembly reshaping post-war Europe
Romanticism · Industrial Revolution · King George III · post-revolutionary · nineteenth century · legitimacy · restoration · Great Powers · nationalism
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
- Victorianaseances, Dickens, spiritualism, Sherlock Holmes, phrenology
- 1800sVictorian era, Gilded Age, Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution, Abraham Lincoln
- conquestwar of conquest, capture, invasion, domination, subjugation
- WarsWorld War I, WWI, civil war, cold war, Korean War
- French HistoryFrench Revolution, Bastille, Reign of Terror, Charles de Gaulle, de Gaulle
Napoleonic WarsPax Romana
Imperial era of stability
Concert of Europe · interwar period · Ancien Régime · Medieval period
Napoleonic WarsCongress of Vienna
Assembly reshaping post-war Europe
Concert of Europe · armistice · peacetime · peace · Peace of Westphalia
Napoleonic WarsRestoration
1660s monarchical revival
Holy Alliance · counter-revolution · ancien régime · French Revolution