Why was England able to defeat Napoleon by 1815?

Umair Khalid Mr Pedley History

Why was England able to defeat Napoleon by 1815?

England was able to defeat Napoleon due to various factors, which led to his long-term downfall such as the war in Russia. England co-operated with the Allies who defeated Napoleon but England can be seen as the driving force behind the coalition, who won the crucial victory at Trafalgar and then again at Waterloo, which finally defeated Napoleon.

A big factor in the defeat of Napoleon was England’s dogged determination to achieve their objective as being the victor in the war with Napoleon. This determination caused many problems for Napoleon since only England’s presence in the war was enough to influence Napoleon to try and gain the upperhand against England somehow. To begin with, Napoleon set up the Continental Blockade against Britain, which was designed to ‘bring the nation of shopkeepers’ to their knees by cutting off their trade. However, resilience of British traders proved a problem, as they sought and obtained new outlets in South American and managed, from wartime distribution centers like Heligoland and Malta, to keep illicit commercial contacts with Prussia. This kept the economy going which could in turn support the navy, the army and also the people. The British could then also fund the Allies for a war effort, and this even influenced the Allies to take up arms. British money wasn’t the only factor which influenced the Allies into war- Napoleon himself must share the blame for this since he needed to tighten the blockade on Britian, due to the determination of British traders. In order to do this, he might excess pressure on the Allies to enforce the Continental system and this created tension between France and the Allies. For instance, initially Prussia remained neutral due to the offer of Hanover in return for peace, from France. However, due to excess pressure from Napoleon, Prussia decided to join the war against France.

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The failure of the continental system can itself be called a reason for why England could defeat Napoleon, since England’s economy was kept going and so it could fund the war effort. Due to the continental system failing, Napoleon decided to invade Spain, in order to make them enforce the system. This, for the first time, created a sense of nationalism in the enemy which was a force Napoleon harnessed successfully in his early years. The result in Spain were guerilla fighters who kept harassing the French. Napoleon, for all his genius, could not adapt to this new style of warfare, and this can be said to be a reason for his defeat. The French economy was constantly being drained, and this became worse when the British army intervened after their ports in Spain were attacked. The Iberian Peninsula war became one of the key turning points in the downfall of Napoleon, along with the Russian war. The French were fighting in two fronts and so were defeated in Spain, and defeated in Russia with a loss of 700 000 men. The failure of the continental system again was responsible for Napoleon invading Russia, but Napoleon himself at the time became war obsessed, relying on war to generate and fund another war. In Russia, burning of crops tactics was used and the French could not handle this since they normally lived off the land. The French were told to believe that at Moscow they would receive all the pleasures of life, but they only found the city burnt down. This totally bedazzled Napoleon, but more importantly sapped the morale of the soldiers. This is a fault with Napoleon’s tactics since although he successfully used these tactics earlier; he did not develop them while the Allies did giving them an advantage. While the French lived off the land, the British didn’t. Instead, they brought light carts along with them and maintained contact with Britain and ports in Spain. These excellent tactics were developed by Wellington, who superbly led the British army.

He formatted his army into thin lines with well equipped and trained volunteers in contrast with masses of ill equipped and trained, French conscripts. The British lost a lot less men, and so they always had high morale. The British were supplied well by sea, and with a secure base behind impenetrable fortifications at Torres Vedras. The navy was very important since they won the Battle of Trafalgar which ensured that the British could continue to receive supplies and so could carry on the war effort. To Napoleon, his main aim was to cut off supplies to Britain that supplied the army who would ultimately defeat him.

Wellington’s genius and leadership skills were equal to that of Napoleon, or even greater since Napoleon was too arrogant and always underestimated his opponent. Wellington joined up with the Allies in the 4th Coalition to create a huge force that met with the French at the Battle of the Nations, at Leipzig in 1813. This was a turning point since it was the first major land battle that Napoleon had lost and it signaled for the worst the events that were about to occur. At Waterloo, the genius of Wellington once again came to play an important part. He ordered his army to retreat 100 meters behind the crust of a hill, and so gave the signal to the French that they were retreating. Napoleon, who was off the battlefield, had left Ney in charge and he ordered the French to charge. If Napoleon had been there, it might have been a different story but he wasn’t and so the end result was that the French was met by British soldiers arranged in squares who fired in all directions in all directions. They were slaughtered. This bad leadership by Ney did not just show once. He even ordered the cavalry to charge at the British without any infantry support and the French lost even more men and morale. Leipzig may have caused Napoleon to abdicate, but Waterloo caused him to be defeated forever.

The British played an important part in the defeat of Napoleon since they provided the backbone to any French opposition, and to the Allies who defeated Napoleon at Leipzig. The Battle of Waterloo shows the hatred between Britain and France since they fought passionately, but ultimately the British influence on the Allies and the actions of Napoleon which influenced the Allies too, caused the Prussians to arrive and signal the end for Napoleon.