Category: World Civ-French Rev & Napoleon

German Caricatures of Napoleon's Army "In Shambles"

While Napoleon Bonaparte waged war across the continent in the early 19th century, European satirists living in countries threatened by his encroachments represented his progress in a flood of caricatures.

These prints, published in French-occupied Germany in 1813, depict a parade of ragged French soldiers. Some are mounted on sorry-looking horses, some are missing limbs, and most lack shoes and lean heavily on canes. Any semblance of military uniformity has dropped away, as the men appear swathed in rags and tatters.

After Napoleon’s ill-fated attempt to wage war on Russia in the summer of 1812, his army of half a million men suffered greatly—first from the heat, as the Russians withdrew inland and dragged the invading army along, and later from the winter snow and cold, as they retreated, pursued by the Russian forces. As Joe Knight wrote for Slate last year, the army was also plagued by lice, and large numbers of men died of typhus carried by the insects.

Advice (Not Taken) for the French Revolution from America

In 1789, at the onset of the French Revolution, that American model was France’s for the taking—she had helped pay for it, and Frenchmen had fought and died for it. When the French set about drafting a constitution and establishing unfamiliar political and judicial institutions, advice and wisdom from thoughtful Americans might have been highly useful. After all, the Americans had already drafted a Constitution, elected George Washington as their first president, and, in the summer of 1789, were in the process of framing a Bill of Rights.

But the tables quickly turned. The French had strong doubts about their sister revolution. Some believed they could improve upon what the Americans had done—maybe even surpass it.

But did lice kill Napoleon's quest for hegemony?

History has taught us that Napoleon, in his invasion of Russia in 1812, marched into Moscow with his army largely intact and retreated only because the citizens of Moscow burned three-fourths of the city, depriving the army of food and supplies. The harsh Russian winter then devastated the army as it retreated. The Russians’ victory, commemorated by Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, was one of the great upsets of military history.

But did lice kill Napoleon’s quest for hegemony?

The Napoleonic Experience

Napoleon created a new form of government in France, reshaped the boundaries of Europe, and influenced revolutionaries and nationalists the world over. Since his first days in power he aroused controversies that continue today. Was he a true son of the Enlightenment who modernized French government and brought the message of equality under the law wherever he went? Or was he an authoritarian military dictator who fought incessant wars and conquered territory in order to maintain his egomaniacal grip on power? There is abundant evidence for both views. The evidence is presented here under three main headings: domestic policies; foreign policies and wars; and his legacy.

The Napoleonic Experience and Response Questions

Danton in Film

Made in 1982 by the Polish director, Andrzej Wadja, Danton is based on a Polish play of 1931 called the “Danton Affair.” Begun in Poland during a high point of the Solidarity liberation movement, it was eventually filmed in France after the movement was outlawed and martial law was instituted in 1981 under General Jarulszelski—a coup directed by the Soviet Union.  After the coup, Wadja and his crew moved to France as émigrés.  There they completed the film with a cast of Polish and French actors.

Danton was played by the French Gérard Depardieu and Robespierre, by the Pole Wojciech Pszoniak.  The  film reflects Wadja’s opposition to the return of a Stalinist regime in his homeland.

Our objectives are to compare Andrzej Wadja’s portrayal of the Danton Affair with history while also assessing the film itself as an historical artifact. As a means to this end, your assignment is to:

1. Read this Wikipedia entry on Danton. This should offer a decent foundation.
2. Read Robespierre’s Justification for the Use of Terror and The National Convention’s decision that “Terror is the order of the day”
3. Read these film reviews from Mary Ashburn Miller of Reed College and Vincent Canby of the New York Times.

Then write 1000-1500 word film review which considers the objectives above and which clearly demonstrates that you have read and thought about the given readings. To do so, consider these questions:

  • Some critiques claim that historical films reveal more about the period in which they were made than about the period they portray.  To what extent and in what specific ways do you think this is true of Danton?
  • However flawed it may be, what does Danton contribute to your understanding of the French Revolution?
  • What does Danton illustrate about the possibility of film as form of good history?

Be prepared to discuss your film reviews in class.

The Execution of Louis XVI and the End of the French Monarchy

But how had this come about? The question began to be asked almost before Louis XVI’s headless corpse was cold. How could the French, the most monarchical of people, have turned so suddenly against a ruler whom they had proclaimed, as recently as 1789, the ‘Restorer of French Liberty’?

William Doyle discusses traditional and revisionist interpretations of the downfall of the Kings of France, arguing that notions of a ‘desacralised monarchy’ are inadequate to explain what happened. (History Today)

Fifty Years of Rewriting the French Revolution

Each age, we are often told, rewrites the past in its own image. In the case of the French Revolution, this is an understatement. In the second half of this century the scholarship has seemed to be in a state of almost permanent revolution as historians have taken up one interpretative or methodological approach after another. My main concern in this essay is to draw attention to important developments which have occurred in the scholarship on the Revolution as a whole.

John Dunne signposts main landmarks and current directions in the historiographical debate. (History Today)