It was during the Revolution that Napoleon transformed himself into a Jacobin revolutionary and showed the courage and ability commanding artillery at the siege of Toulon in December 1973 that found himself promoted to general and beginning to gain some control in the army. This chance to show off his leadership skills also helped him on his rise to power and although it did involve control of some of the army it shows that his control over them was not the only factor. Now he was a general he could get closer and closer to those most powerful and it was there that he met Paul Barras.
Paul Barras was particularly instrumental in Napoleon’s rise to power although even he incorporated the army into his advice. Barras may have been seen as corrupt and unscrupulous but he was also politically adept and it was under his direction that Napoleon commanded troops in October 1975, sweeping away the Royalist uprising of Vendemaire with ‘a whiff of grapeshot’. He gained notoriety here as a ruthless fighter by firing into the crowd and five days later was appointed commander of the Army of the Interior. Barras knew Napoleon could be useful in enforcing the ideas of the new government, the Directory, in which Barras was prominent and so close links remained between the two. As you can see, Napoleon was already gaining far more control and yes it was largely due to his role in the military. However, without his help from Barras Napoleon would not have managed to control the army at Vendemaire and get himself noticed. Yet again, we can see that not merely his control of army can be attributed to his rise to power.
The way the soldiers and government viewed Napoleon was very important. It was thanks to the Italian campaign in 1796 to 1797 that Napoleon gained the loyalty of his troops and a seemingly unshakable reputation which enabled him to come to power, another factor not merely, although contributed to, by his control of the army. In Italy he fought a brilliant campaign with a stunning victory and even established sister republics to the north. This was the start of the Legend of Napoleon which won so many people over, although many details may have been embellished – his veteran generals probably already knew he was capable of such things, so it was not such a surprise and his rousing speech to his troops may actually have been rather formal and dull. Still, these relatively minor issues did not stop the troops from gaining a lot of respect for Napoleon as he treated them well, paying them with silver, clothing and feeding them properly as they had not been before. Napoleon even kept his political masters happy by sending them back artistic treasures and cash. These all helped him to gain support from a large amount of people which would eventually enable him to rise to power. Hence once more we can see that other factors, not merely his control of the army, attributed to his rise to power.
There are many other factors which enabled Napoleon to rise to power rather than just his control of the army. Napoleon showed his ability to be a diplomat with the Treaty of Campo Formio and it gave him a taste of political leadership and experience that none of his military rivals shared. This experience would help him rise to power. The Legend of Napoleon also began to spread around France in carefully crafted reports for newspapers distributed around France especially with tales of his victories in Lodi, Arcola and Rivoli. Napoleon was beginning to seize control of the people as well as the army, and without the people’s support, not merely his control of the army, Napoleon would have been unable to rise to power.
At the close of this successful campaign Napoleon had more control than ever. He appeared to be the most successful of young generals as his main rival died not long after the Fructidor coup. This meant he was appointed to command an invasion of England. However Napoleon chose to invade Egypt instead which turned out to be, despite all the romance it provided for Napoleonic legend and intellectual progress, such as the Rosetta stone, a military failure. Thankfully for Napoleon this was not known in France until long after his return which meant his rise to power was not hindered in any way. The fact his humiliating defeat was concealed meant he could continue his rise to power, an aspect other than his control of the army that would help him to do so.
The Egyptian campaign did have some factors which helped Napoleon rise to power. It kept him away from the Directory’s constant coups and putting down of uprisings which occurred thanks to the governments Royalist or Jacobin majorities. This meant Napoleon could return as an untainted and able military leader to front a final coup, allowing him to rise to power which shows us it was not merely his control of the army which contributed to him doing so. On the other hand, in some ways the constant disruptions helped him. It meant the Directors had to give up on legality to keep order and rely more on force and so the people became very used to it. When Napoleon used the army to take over no one really took any notice they were so used to the idea. This helped Napoleon in his final ascent to the top, not just his control of the army, what many people know as the Coup d’etat of Brumaire.
Nonetheless, it was the factor of weakness of the Directory politically, socially and economically that meant France was in the state it was in, causing all these uprisings, enabling Napoleon to take on the role of hero and bring him to power. These ruling classes were made up of middle class businessmen, financial speculators, army contractors and land owning peasants who had profited from revolution and war. They were only concerned with increasing their own gains and were known to be vulgar in taste with unscrupulous habits. They were successful in crushing rebellion at home but had little victory abroad. They were so focused on keeping power that other matters seemed unimportant and so the country was in a terrible state. What the people needed was a strong man to lead them out of this recession and that was what Napoleon seemed to offer them. One class who particularly felt this way were the property owning classes. They supported Napoleon as they felt the Directory was too weak to protect the land they had acquired during the revolution. Businessmen also needed war to expand their markets, which they felt the Directory was unfit to do and so supported Napoleon. Thus, we can see another factor which attributed to Napoleon’s rise to power, not merely his control of the army.
Some now say that in fact things were not quite as bad as they seemed and The Directory did quite well at increasing French prosperity in what was a period of great economic depression throughout the world. Napoleon managed to seize power during a general economic upturn which lasted several years, perhaps another factor which helped him to rise to power.
Meanwhile, a man called Joseph Sieyes, one of the Directors, was dissatisfied with the constitution. In Napoleon, he saw a strong, military figure that he could use to overthrow the current government, placing himself in a position of power whilst Napoleon would quietly step down. Through a series of secret meetings between Sieyes and Napoleon the Coup d’etat of Brumaire was arranged. It is clear that without Sieyes the Coup would never have occurred and Napoleon would have not risen to power in the quick, deft way he did, if at all. Here we see that the role of Sieyes was another factor which attributed to Napoleon’s rise to power which does not merely concern his control of the army. However, Sieyes must have chosen Napoleon with reference to his military capabilities and power amongst the army.
So, the plans were put into action and the Coup d’etat of Brumaire began. Thanks to the general apathy in the country the public showed little concern over this changing of hands of power. It has to be said that Sieyes in fact wanted a far more peaceful coup, but delays in the meetings caused Napoleons impatience to flare up and the peaceful first act became a very different second act. Who knows, without this element of Napoleon’s character the Coup may not have been successful at all?
Sieyes and Napoleon persuaded the councils to move out into the suburbs away from the threat of an anarchist attack, leaving Napoleon in charge of the army. Of course, the Ancients agreed, feeling safe in the hands of this war hero. Napoleon managed to reword his oath to the government so that it was truthful as well as effective and then rallied the troops with similair words. The role of the army is important in the Coup. Napoleon was popular with the army already after the victory in Italy and became even more so when he promised to remedy their grievances with the government on the 18th Brumaire. The next day, the debate began only for the two councils to find that the Directors had resigned or been arrested and so the Directory was over. Napoleon, impatient burst into the room and delivered a speech of some sort. What followed was the stormy meeting of the Five Hundred where Napoleon was met with cries of ‘Outlaw the Dictator!’ Napoleon was much jostled and ended up with a smear of blood on his cheek, although whether it was caused by himself is up for debate. The army then proved very necessary in dispersing the Five Hundred with their fixed bayonets and scaring away with any trouble makers. It is clear here that Napoleon’s control of the army attributed to his rise to power and possibly even saved his life.
The role of Lucien, Napoleon’s brother, is seen to be very useful here at the Coup. It was he who roused the troops to clear the Five Hundred as Napoleon was too frightened after coming ‘so close to death’. He reassured the troops of Napoleon’s good intentions and acted as a counter balance to the Jacobin majority when calming the members of the Five Hundred inside. He could be seen as the real hero here and was certainly invaluable as he saved Napoleon from becoming an outlaw. He is another factor, which did not involve Napoleon’s control of the army, which contributed to Napoleon’s rise to power. The Ancients heard about what had occurred and abolished the Directory, meaning the Law of Brumaire could be created, leaving Napoleon as one of the three provisional consuls and in the perfect position to gain complete control of all of France and complete political power.
Thus, we can see that a large number of factors attributed to Napoleon’s rise to power, not merely his control of the army. Yet, I still feel that without his control over the army, he would have been unlikely to seize power successfully, as although there were many other factors, many linked in a direct or indirect way to Napoleon’s military influence and power. Therefore I still feel that Napoleon’s control of the army is the most important factor of all in relation to Napoleon’s rise to power.