HIST362: Modern Revolutions

The Third Coalition against France ultimately comprised Austria, Russia, Britain, Sweden and Naples. The coalition's objectives essentially called for the restoration of European borders prior to 1802. It was their intention to roll back Lunéville and Campo Formio. Napoleon responded by building his own continental alliance, which included his satellites, the kingdoms of Italy and Holland, and the German princes of Baden, Wurttemberg and Bavaria. The main French army on the Channel coast was redirected to Germany. Both Napoleon and the Third Coalition sought to bring Prussia into their alliance, but without success. Napoleon therefore endeavored to secure Prussian neutrality in the conflict. The military operations lasted merely three months, from the end of September to the end of December 1805. Lack of coordination doomed the Third Coalition to dramatic defeats at Ulm and Austerlitz, enabling Napoleon to dictate, rather than negotiate, a peace.

The Treaty of Pressburg led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the establishment of the French-controlled Confederation of the Rhine. Austria relinquished Venice and the Trentino to the kingdom of Italy. Bavaria received the Tyrol and the elevation of its duchy to a German kingdom. The Austrians were completely excluded from Italy and Germany. A Franco-Italian army conquered Naples in February 1806, giving Napoleon control of the entire peninsula. Only Britain managed to achieve a decisive victory with the destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805. Prussia entered a formal alliance with France in February, leading to a British declaration of war.

Napoleon could now count Spain, Prussia, the Ottoman Empire, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden, and his satellite kingdoms of Italy, Naples and Holland as allies. Although French power dominated the alliance, the agreements were based upon mutual interests. Opposed to France stood Russia, Britain and Sweden. Prussia's isolation from Russia and Austria made it a tempting target and in October 1806 Napoleon overran the German kingdom having crushed its armies at Jena and Auerstedt on October 14, 1806 . He then moved against the Russians in Prussian Poland, defeating them at Friedland in June 1807 forcing Tsar Alexander I. (1777–1825)  to the table at Tilsit.

The Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 marked the height of Napoleonic hegemony with the creation of the Grand Empire. Napoleon departed from any historical or traditional framework in his strategic decisions. The Napoleonic Empire introduced fundamental changes to the European map. The abolition of the Holy Roman Empire and its replacing with the Confederation of the Rhine is seen widely as the beginning of modern Germany. The transformation of Italy under Napoleonic rule is perceived as critical to the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification. Thus nationalism emerged in these parts of Europe, deliberately fostered by the French in the kingdom of Italy, and emerging in Germany as a reaction to French occupation and political domination. Nonetheless, the Napoleonic era was a pivotal period in the transformation of nationalism from an intellectual movement in the eighteenth century to its nineteenth-century manifestation.

The creation of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 amounted to the establishment of a Polish state carved largely from Prussian Poland. The duchy was placed under the technical rule of the King of Saxony, thereby establishing a link to eighteenth-century precedents. The Poles remained the most steadfast supporters of Napoleon's empire against Russia, Prussia and Austria . This can be attributed both to the emergence of modern nationalism and to the historical relationship between France and Poland going back to the early-eighteenth century.

German and Italian nationalism appealed to a minority. The Napoleonic regime limited itself to fostering nationalism through propaganda and – more successfully – through the unifying national experience of military service. Indoctrination of conscripts and the daily life of soldiers during their time in the army remained the primary practical means of fostering nationalism. This was somewhat successful in the kingdom of Italy, but in the German states of the Rheinbund, the princes retained control over their states and could limit Napoleonic influence.

Much is made of the extension of French cultural influence into conquered Europe, but the full influence of Napoleonic rule was felt only in those regions of Europe incorporated directly into the French Empire. The satellite states ruled by Napoleon's family, and his allies and client states adopted the Code Napoleon and other elements of French Revolutionary traditions only to the extent that their societies and political systems could bear. The German princes managed to limit the degree of French constitutional and legal influence throughout the period. In some cases, these states were already in the process of significant reforms prior to the arrival of the French. In general, however, Napoleon limited his interference in internal affairs as long as troops for his armies were forthcoming.

Perhaps the most practical impact of French hegemony can be found in the influence on military institutions, organization and tactics. Napoleon's satellite states and allies gradually adapted the French system. They reduced terms of military service, established French-style divisions and brigades, and the tactics that brought Napoleon's armies success on the battlefield. Only French satellite states, such as the kingdoms of Italy, Westphalia, Holland and Naples, adopted the French conscription system. Napoleon's allies and clients modified their recruitment systems, but did not fully accept the French conscription model, as it had implications for their social and political systems. Austria, Prussia and Russia similarly introduced aspects of the French military system into their own, but rejected a complete overhaul on the French model.

Of greater significance for the forging of a European identity was the economic impact of Napoleonic rule. Curiously, recent research indicates that although the Continental System, which prohibited the importation and exportation of goods to and from Britain, was very detrimental for merchant houses in port cities  on the European continent, these trading houses moved their centers of operation to take advantage of the increasing flow of goods within the Grand Empire. An intra-European trade began to take root and this certainly provided for greater international trade, even if it no longer took the form of overseas commerce .