Napoleon at War: Identifying Battles Quiz

Answer:

In spite of some obvious errors in judgement, there is no doubt that Napoleon was a military genius. His tactics and ability to inspire his men were far superior to most other armies of his time. Of the estimated 80+ battles in which he participated, he only lost eleven.

The Battle of the Pyramids (July 21, 1798) and Battle of Abukir (July 25, 1799) were part of his Egypt and Syria Campaign, which was an attempt to disrupt British trade routes and establish a French presence for trade and scientific inquiry in the area. Initially successful on both counts, the French were eventually forced to retreat from the area.

The Invasion of Russia originally seemed like a great idea, and the Russians definitely needed to be disciplined for ditching Napoleon's Continental System and trading with the British. That is - until the Russians began scorching the earth. The Battles of Vitebsk (July 26-27, 1812) and Borodino (September 7, 1812), were both victories for the French, but the situation in Russia was about to get tense!

European countries that felt threatened by France formed several incarnations of Coalition armies and the rest of the battles on the list were fought against different Coalition members. Lodi (May 10, 1796) was fought against the First Coalition and Marengo (June 14, 1800) was fought against the Second Coalition. Leipzig (October 16-19, 1813), Montmirail (February 11, 1814), and Mormant (February 17, 1814) were all fought against members of the Sixth Coalition.