Napoleon at War: Defeats Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Napoleon's list of victories began at the Siege of Toulon, a French naval base on the Mediterranean Sea, when he took over for a wounded artillery officer. Before that he had attended military school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment, but was distracted by what was happening in his native Corsica. He found that it was easier to gain appointments if he was associated with the correct people, and he was able to prove that his tactics on the battlefield left opposing armies in the dust.

The first tactical defeat suffered by Napoleon's army was at the Second Battle of Bassano on November 6, 1796, during the War of the First Coalition. Another defeat at the Battle of Caldiero on November 11 left Napoleon in a vulnerable position, but his army recovered and went on to defeat the forces of the First Coalition.

When the French determined that their best chance of defeating England was by blocking their shipping lines, they launched an extremely successful operation, which is called the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria. On Aug 1-3, 1798, Napoleon's loss at the Battle of the Nile proved that the Royal Navy was tough to defeat, which also was a factor in the defeat at the Battle of Acre the following year.

The Battle of Aspern-Essling, during the War of the Fifth Coalition, was Napoleon's first defeat in ten years (!) and is considered to be his first defeat in a major battle. Napoleon, however, was able to follow up a month later with a decisive win, and the Fifth Coalition fell apart.

Losses during the Russian campaign were more difficult to overcome, and after the Battles of Krasnoi and Berezina it was impossible to use clever propaganda, as had been done in the past, to cover up the dfeat. He was exiled after the War of the Sixth Coalition, following defeats at Leipzig, La Rothiere, Laon, and Arcis-sur-Aube. His final defeat was at Waterloo during the Hundred Days after his escape from Elba.

The incorrect battles listed were all from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71).