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BECOMING HEAD OF STATE
Napoleon I was considered a consummate military strategist, and his battles were for many years used as models by some military academies. The first emperor was also a charismatic leader of men, a man for whom victory was his constant companion. How could his nephew, Napoleon III, face up to the crushing inheritance, the myth of Napoleon the Great? Louis-Napoléon did not wear the commander in chief's uniform with any comfort, and this at that middle of the 19th century when it was expected that the head of state would also be a successful military figure. Perhaps herein lies the source of much of the criticism of which he was the target (see the article by Jacques Garnier on the French side of the site). But the third Napoleon was not short on qualities. They were however more those we expect from today's statesmen and women (though Napoleon I was not lacking here either), namely: his understanding of Second Empire society as it grew, his modernity in economic, industrial and social matters, his firmness in European diplomacy. In short, he was arguably a great man.
Today, military prowess does not even figure on the cv of those have to face up to a 'global' world to say nothing of the problems faced by Europe alone. If we were to rate Napoleon III as head of state by twenty-first century standards, we would doubtless get a much more accurate (and positive) judgement of this man of power.
Irène Delage
Web editor
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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
"The Cinco de Mayo and French Imperialism" by Peter Hicks
Following on from the recent Cinco de Mayo festivities that celebrate the Mexican victory over French troops at the Battle of Puebla as well as our short history in last week's letter of said battle, our latest article of the month is "The Cinco de Mayo and French Imperialism" by Peter Hicks. Often confused with the date celebrating Mexican independence from Spain (Mexican Independence Day is actually 16 September), the victory nevertheless continues to play an important role in Mexican national identity.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON AND THE INSTITUTE ON NAPOLEON AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, FSU
2008-2009 newsletter
As part of our continuing work with the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution, Florida State University, Tallahassee, we bring you the 2008-2009 newsletter available online on napoleon.org. Professors Rafe Blaufarb and Darrin McMahon are currently on research leave in Paris working on their respective projects, the former on the juridical transformation of property across the Revolutionary/Napoleonic period and the latter on the idea of genius notably with respect to Napoleon I.
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EVENTS
Nuit des musées 2009
The fifth Nuit des musées pan-European event is taking place this weekend (Saturday 16 May except if otherwise noted) and we at the Fondation Napoléon have sifted through the numerous museums and exhibitions that will be open a little bit later than usual to give you our selection for the evening(s).
Napoleon's Austrian campaign 1809-2009
Following on from last week's little note about the various events taking place in Austria over the next coming months and into the summer, we have further details on three new exhibitions.
16 May - 1 November 2009: the exhibition Napoleon, Feldherr, Kaiser und Genie in which the Fondation Napoléon is involved, opens this Saturday in Schallaburg, Austria.
4 March - 24 December 2009: Napoleon in Traiskirchen, which takes place in Möllersdorf, details Napoleonic operations in the Traiskirchen area between 1805 and 1809.
4 April - 18 October 2009: the exhibition Napoleon´s Gegner – Bewunderer – Opfer - Der Krieg 1809 wie er wirklich war tells the story of Napoleon's 1809 Austrian campaign, and is currently open in Marchegg.
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COMMEMORATION
Double anniversary: Charles Darwin and "On the origin of species"
2009 marks a double anniversary in the history of evolutionary biology and Charles Darwin: not only is it the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, but it is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, "On the origin of species" which revolutionised the way people thought about life on earth. There are numerous events taking place this year, and we at the Fondation Napoléon have selected a number of events taking place across the world.
200 YEARS AGO
The Austrian campaign: Linz and the Danube
As Napoleon's troops poured east in direction of Vienna, Davout and Vandamme were charged with securing and watching over the army's northern flank along the Danube. Particularly important in this strategy was the control of the Linz-Urfahr bridgehead. Archduke Charles, still retreating towards Vienna, began to suspect (albeit incorrectly) that Napoleon would move north, turning away briefly from Vienna, and strike across the Danube at the heart of the Austrian army, effectively bringing the campaign to an end. On 7 May, Charles issued Lieutenant-General Kolowrat with orders to cross the Danube and attack the French flank in a bid to slow the advance on Vienna and take the French troops by surprise. Napoleon, anticipating the likelihood of an attack, wrote in a letter to Maréchal Davout that "the word here is that Prince Charles is looking to give battle; you must therefore keep your troops rested in order to go wherever it may be necessary." [Napoleon to Maréchal Davout, 15 May, 1809, Correspondance de Napoléon Bonaparte, n° 15212]
Yet by 16 May, Kolowrat was still about 40 km from Linz (at a town called Freistadt), by which time Vienna had already fallen. Worse still, the French had learnt of his position. On 16 May, his right wing had crossed paths with a Württemberg outpost at Leonfelden, north of Linz, resulting in a brief skirmish. Moreover, Marshal Bernadotte and his Saxon troops had also advanced on Linz to reinforce Vandamme, having received orders from Napoleon to join up with the general and inspect the bridgehead there:
"Mon cousin, I see from your last letter dispatched from Passau that today, the 15th, you will be in Linz. […] Inspect the work going on at the bridgehead […] and ensure that it is in the best state possible." [Napoleon to Maréchal Bernadotte, 15 May, 1809, Correspondance de Napoléon Bonaparte, n° 15213]
Despite this added French presence, Kolowrat attacked in the afternoon of 17 May and initially made progress, driving back the Württemberg skirmishers and cavalry posted in advance of the Urfahr bridgehead. Vandamme and Bernadotte were however able to repel the attack and eventually succeeded in pushing the main Austrian attack back east of Linz. At the same time, Vandamme sent a detachment of Württembergers north which, through a mixture of surprise and aggression, succeeded in dislodging the Austrians from their defensible position whilst taking nearly 400 prisoners. Kolowrat and the remaining Austrian troops retreated to Freistadt with the intent of launching a counter attack, but Aspern-Essling would however intervene in these plans.
150 YEARS AGO
The Battle of Montebello*
By 15 May, the entire French army, with Napoleon III at its head, was in Italy. Conditions were very wet and the roads in the area, as well as the plain near the Sesia and Dora Baltea rivers, were flooded. This, as well as the French Emperor's command of all allied forces, was cause for much concern for the Sardinian king, Victor-Emmanuel, who wrote to the Count Cavour:
"New difficulties have arisen [...] it is [now] the very worthy Emperor who is conducting matters. He changes his projects, and then changes them again, and he wants things that are impossible. [...] The military preparations are strange, and if we continue in this manner, we will soon be without an army. Today I wrote a little energetically to the Emperor; I hope that he will not be displeased. [...] For the moment, we are up to our necks in mud and it seems unlikely that we shall make any attack for eight or ten days." [Letter from King Victor-Emmanuel to Count Cavour, 16 May, 1859, quoted in Raymond Bourgerie, Magenta et Solferino (1859): Napoleon III et le rêve italien]
Despite the king's pessimistic outlook, the French won their first battle of the campaign, at Montebello della Battaglia, on 20 May. Count Gyulai, commanding the Austrian troops, was unsure of Napoleon III's plans and reluctant to make any decisive move. However, needing to ascertain the location of the French troops between Voghera and Piacenza (the route of an important line of rail track), he sent a reconnaissance force under General Stadion south towards the Montebello plain. With one brigade making for Oriolo (a village to the north of Voghera), another two at Casatisma (a village north of Casteggio) and a final one marching along the railway line from the town of Casteggio, the Austrians advanced on large town of Voghera. The French troops under General Forey which were stationed at Voghera were caught slightly unawares and fighting broke out along the road (today's Via Piacenza) running east from Voghera to the village of Genestrello. Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, the French forces succeeded in transforming a defensive action into an offensive counter-attack. Driving the Austrians back along the road and recapturing Genestrello, the French troops pushed the Stadion and his troops back to Montebello della Battaglia, which eventually fell at 6.30pm. Stadion retreated back through Casteggio. For a relatively minor battle in the campaign, losses on both sides were high: between 700 and 800 dead, injured or missing on the Franco- Piedmontese side, and around 1300 for the Austrians.
* Today called Montebello della Battaglia
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 498, 15 - 21 May 2009
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© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
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THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Spring opening times:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: 1pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Friday)
THE MAGAZINE
Book of the month (English)
- Emilio Ocampo: Emperor's Last Campaign: A Napoleonic Empire in America
Book of the month (French)
- Pierre Milza: La guerre de 1870
Press review
- The Guardian (UK): English translation of Clisson et Eugénie
- INRAP: archaeological dig in the Vendée
- The Nelson Dispatch, vol. 10, part 2, April 2009
- The Guardian Weekly (UK): Juliette Récamier, Muse et Mécène exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Seen on the web (all links are external)
Fondation Napoléon History Prizes 2008
- Francis and Madeleine Ambrière, Talma, ou l'histoire du théâtre
- Alain Decaux, Coup d'état à l'Elysée
- Edgardo Donati, La Toscana nell'impero napoleonico
Fondation Napoléon news
- Fondation Napoléon Research Grants 2008
WHAT'S ON
Events
- The "Nuit des Musées 2009", various towns and cities (Europe), 16-17 May, 2009
Conferences
- "Seventh International Napoleonic Congress: Napoleon, Europe and the World", and call for papers, Montreal (Canada), 8-12 June, 2009
- "Civilians and War in Europe, c. 1640-1815", Liverpool (UK), 18-20 June, 2009
- Australian Napoleonic Congress, Goulburn (Australia), 31 October - 1 November, 2009
Commemorations
- Dartmoor Prison commemorations
- Bicentennial commemoration of the death of Maréchal Lannes
- French presence in South Africa
Re-enactments
- "Napoleon and Groß-Enzersdorf", Groß-Enzersdorf (Austria), 22 - 24 May, 2009
- Aspern-Essling, 2009, Aspern and Essling (Vienna, Austria), 21 - 24 May, 2009
- Znaim 1809 bicentenary re-enactment, Znojmo and Dobšice (Czech Republic), 11-12 July, 2009
- Bivouac and the Battle of Oostmalle, Oostmalle (Belgium), 5-6 September, 2009
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon Bonaparte and Egypt: fire and light", Arras, France [16/05/2008 - 19/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon. His opponents, his admirers, and the sacrifice", Marchegg, Austria [04/04/2009 - 18/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon in Traiskirchen" ("Napoleon in Traiskirchen"), Möllersdorf, Austria [04/03/2009 - 24/12/2009]
Full details
- "The Satirical Eye: comedy and critique from Hogarth to Daumier", Melbourne, Australia [27/02/2009 - 26/07/2009]
Full details
- "Second Empire Paris: History and Modernity", Williamstown, USA [25/04/2009 - 21/06/2009]
Full details
- "Juliette Récamier: muse and patron of the arts", Lyon, France [27/03/2009 - 29/06/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon and Corsica", Corte, France [20/06/2009 - 30/12/2009]
Ful
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