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EDITORIAL
It all began with the rapprochement between Cavour and Napoleon III. The Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia and the French emperor were together to alter radically the territorial settlement of 1815. And what started as a Piedmontese plan was eventually to include the whole of Italy, independent and united, under king Victor Emmanuel. Orsini's bombs and the desires of a brilliant Piedmontese nobleman were to lead to secret talks in the forests of the Vosges and a plot to catalyse Austrian aggression in Piedmont in order to allow France to aid Italy to expel the Austrian occupant – if victorious France was to receive the territories of Savoy and Nice in exchange – fixing once and for all the natural frontiers in that southern corner of France. The alliance was cemented by the diplomatic marriage, in Turin, of Prince Napoléon, (Plon Plon) the emperor's cousin, and the young Marie Clothilde de Savoie, eldest daughter of the king of Piedmont Sardinia. Once Austria had taken the first step, France and Piedmont moved if not quickly, at least successfully, to victory outside Milan and outside Verona, finally pushing Austria to the negotiating table and laying the foundations of the modern state of Italy. And it all happened 150 years ago this week.
Peter Hicks and Emmanuelle Papot
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CLOSE-UP > MAGENTA AND SOLFERINO/THE «RESURGENCE» OF ITALY
Magenta and Solferino (June 1859), for their results, are probably Napoleon III's most successful military campaigns. Not only did they allow France to be the patron of Italian independence and unity and to establish the natural frontiers to the south (through the accession of Savoy and Nice to French territory), they also underlined the weakness of Austria in the concert of nations and highlighted the potential of French military might if unleashed. The face of Europe changed almost over night.
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SUMMER SELECTION 2009
Whether you're leaving on holiday or not, the summer's always a good time to catch up your reading. We've made a selection here for you choose from Napoleonic books published this year. Here's hoping you find something to your taste. Enjoy your read!
View our selection here.
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JUST PUBLISHED > THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SYMPOSIUM IN VIENNA
The proceedings of the International Symposium «The campaign of 1809», sponsored by the Fondation Napoléon, are currently on sale and can be ordered via email from one of the organisers, Robert Ouvrard robert.ouvrard@chello.at, for the price of 30 euros (not including P&P). The trilingual (German, French, English) symposium took place on 4 and 5 June, 2009. Both Fondation Napoléon Director, Thierry Lentz, and Fondation Napoléon International affairs manager, Peter Hicks, gave papers.
For further details concerning the conference, the papers given and photographs of the participants, click here (external link).
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PHD VIVA
The Fondation Napoléon is delighted to announce that Marie Emilie Vaxelaire, who received a Fondation Napoléon research grant in 2007, successfully defended her PhD thesis on «Mellerio/Meller, the history of a Parisian jewellers in the 19th century» on 19 June, 2009, at the Paris Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art. Her thesis received the accolade «très honorable» (summa cum laude). Bravo!
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JUST PUBLISHED > SPECIAL OFFER
In co-operation with the publishers the History Press, readers of the English-version of Fondation Napoléon bulletin are being given the chance to order exclusively reserved copies of this work numbered 1 to 25. These will be distributed by ballot to the first 25 people who order the book. In this way, everyone will have the opportunity to own copy number one.
To discover the book and participate in the offer, click here.
PRESS REVIEW > WATERLOO 2009
More than 1,200 enthusiasts came from all over Europe to participate in the re-enactment of the battle of Waterloo on Thursday 18 June, 2009, in Waterloo in Belgique. This year it was the French lawyer Frank Samson, who wore the emperor's greatcoat.
Photographs and a short film can be viewed here (external link)
SEEN ON THE WEB > BATTLEFIELD ANOMALIES
Graham J. Morris has produced an exceedingly detailed enthusiast's web site dedicated solely to military history (external link). There are many files which will be of interest to the Napoleon enthusiast both First and Second Empires, obviously this week the presentation of the Battle of Solferino (external link).
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE N°s 4 and 5
Issue 5 of Napoleonica La Revue will soon be available, including a ground-breaking 130-page on the Banque de France by Emmanuel Prunaux (publishable because Napoleonica La Revue is an e-journal) and a fascinating piece by Michael Broers on his theory of «inner» and «outer» Napoleonic empire. In the meantime, you can calm your impatience by having a look articles you may have missed in the previous four issues.
For the contents of previous issues, click here.
You can order an individual article (7 €) or sign up for a whole year (60 €), up to you!
200 YEARS AGO
The campaign in Austria 1809
On 1 July, 1809, Napoleon established his headquarters on the island of Lobau, now called «Napoleon island» and which had been occupied by French troops for several weeks. The setback at Aspern/Essling (21-22 May, 1809) (see Bulletin 499) was to be avenged when Napoleon once again sent his armies onto the north bank of the Danube on 5 July, 1809, around the village of Deutsch-Wagram.
Here at the beginning of July, 150,000 French troops faced 170,000 Austrians across one tiny arm of the Danube…
150 YEARS AGO
The Italian Campaign: the aftermath of Solferino
On 30 June, 1859, French troops reached the river Mincio and crossed it slowly the following day. Viel Castel (having learned of the battle of Solferino the day after the epic encounter via a telegraphic dispatch received by the Princess Mathilde) wrote the following entry in his diary for the day 25 June, 1859: «We have taken 75 cannon, and many standards: more than 30,000 Austrians are hors de combat, a great number drowned, and the number of prisoners is estimated at 15,000.» Also on 30 June, Napoleon III installed his headquarters in Valeggio, just the other side of the Mincio close to the remains of Austrian army.
After the victory at Solferino, Napoleon III decided to up the ante by attacking the Austrian-held city of Venice by sea. Since the end of June, Admiral Romain-Desfossés had been blockading the city. In addition, Admiral Bouët-Willaumez received the order to reinforce the blockade by bringing up his siege fleet (comprising, inter alia, four steam frigates and thirty-five gunboats). He arrived at Lossini, twenty leagues from Venice, on 1 July, 1859. The operation was called off on 8 July in view of the armistice talks planned for 11 July at Villafranca.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 499, 22 - 28 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
- La Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte, Volume 6: "Vers le Grand Empire"
Just published
- Martin Howard, Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice
- Carl E. Franklin, British Napoleonic Uniforms
- Richard Blake, Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815
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
WHAT'S ON
Guided tours
- "Discover Malmaison" in English, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
- "Discover Malmaison" in Italian, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
Conferences
- Napoleonic Association conference 2009, Southampton (UK), 10 October, 2009
- Australian Napoleonic Congress, Goulburn (Australia), 31 October - 1 November, 2009
Commemorations
- Royal British Legion remembrance ceremony for those fallen at Waterloo
- Bicentenary of the Illyrian Provinces
- Haydn 2009
- Bicentennial commemoration of the death of Maréchal Lannes
- French presence in South Africa
Re-enactments
- 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
Festivals
- Napoleon Festival 2009, Sarzana (Italy), 24-27 September, 2009
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon says: Illyria arise!", Ljubljana, Slovenia [12/05/2009 - 31/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon III and Paris", New York, USA [09/06/2009 - 07/09/2009]
Full details
- "Napoléon", Philadelphia, USA [29/05/2009 - 07/09/2009]
Full details
- "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", <<
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