To What extent was the unity of the allies the main factor in the eventual defeat of Napoleon in 1815

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To What extent was the unity of the allies the main factor in the eventual defeat of Napoleon in 1815

During the years of 1812-1815 there was a lot of change and a lot of conflict in Europe. Napoleon was at the centre of all the change and conflict and in the end he was sorely beaten.

The question asks to what extent was allied unity responsible for the defeat of Napoleon, this essay will answer by looking at developments in Europe between 1812 and 1815 and how large a part allied unity played in Napoleon's defeat. It will also look at how Napoleon himself was a main factor in his own defeat.During the year 1812 France had control of a major part of Europe, this was due to about 25 years of conflict which resulted in a great victory for Napoleon and vast territory for France. Things were fairly easy for France at that time as there was minimal resistance from mainland Europe. Britain was the only nation to be providing any major resistance to them, and Napoleon had set up a structure to cripple the British economy and bring a halt to their armies. The structure was, that British cargo ships were not allowed to dock in any European port. It was working, the British economy was struggling and if things kept up they might have been in real trouble. France had control of both Austria and Prussia, who were both impotet. Russia at that time was at war with Turkey, and was also an ally of France.

However neither nation trusted the other and it was only a matter of time before their agreement would be breached. Sweden was at war with Britain, which was costly to both nations, and they were an ally to Russia as well. Switzerland, Italy and the low countries were very quiet and offered no resistance. The situation in Europe at that time suggested that Europe was prepared to accept and live with Napoleon's conditions as they were, the only problem being that Napoleon was not prepared to let things stay as they were.Russia at this time was at war with Turkey, was an ally of France, but was the only country in Europe to be allowing British cargo ships into their ports. Napoleon became very angry at this and decided that he was going to do something about it. He gave secret encouragement to the Turks that things would change shortly and raised a massive army. The army was made up of troops from France, Austria, Prussia, West Germany, Italy and others and it was the largest army ever seen or ever would be seen again until 1914.

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The army crossed the Niemen river and invaded Russia. The Russians were wise to this move however and did two things to help themselves. Firstly they made an agreement with their ally of Sweden that they would help them in the pending conflict. Sweden would pull out of the conflict with Britain and in return would receive Norway as their own. By pulling out of the war with Britain, Britain could then concentrate on the war with France in Spain, which had been going on for some time. This was of great help towards Russia's chances. This was probably the ...

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