Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, and died on May 5, 1821. From 1799 he was the First Consul of the French Republic, from 1804 - the Emperor of the French. He is widely recognized as the most outstanding military commander in military history, and some even refer to him as the "God of War". Napoleon was not French by origin, but a Corsican, an island which the kingdom of France had conquered shortly before Napoleon's birth. At the age of 10, he was admitted to the military school in Brienne-le-Chateau, where he was able to study thanks to a royal scholarship. In 1784, he continued his military education in l'Ecole Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1786. Then he joined the French army as a second lieutenant - he was then 17 years old. In 1793 (at the age of 24) he commanded the victorious siege of Toulon. Napoleon's great military career began in 1796, when he took command of the French Army of Italy and in a series of well-conducted battles in 1796-1797 he completely defeated the Sardinian and Austrian armies, concluding a peace in Campo Formio favorable to France. He was only 28 at the time! Later, he was sent by the Directorate to Egypt, where he won the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798, but he left his army in 1799 and returned to France, where on November 9, 1799, he carried out a military coup (the so-called 18 Brumaire coup). At the age of 30, he became the 1st Consul. The following years (1800-1807) were a series of incredible military successes marked by such battles as: Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena and Frydland. In 1808, Napoleon's army entered Spain, and a year later (1809) the French emperor won the great battle of Wagram, gaining himself - until 1812 - the role of almost a hegemon in Europe. In 1812 the beginning of the end of Napoleon began, with the disaster of his army in Russia. In 1813, he lost the great battle of Leipzig, and despite the tactical successes achieved in France in 1814, he was forced to abdicate in the same year. He was exiled to the island of Elba, from which he escaped in 1815, taking power once more in France. However, the defeat at Waterloo ruined his chances of keeping the throne. He once again lost power and had to go to the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821. Apparently, his last words were "France, army, vanguard, Josephine ...". Napoleon Bonaparte is considered the greatest commander in world history and one of the greatest statesmen in the history of France.
