Napoleonic Wars 1809 - 14: Downfall

Here is the second part of our Napoleonic Wars compilation, taking the story from 1809 to the Emperor's defence of France in 1814. If you missed Parts 1-6 you can find it here: krclip.com/video/91OmO2YMiDM/비디오.html This series took 3 years to make (thank you for your patience, especially to Patreon supporters, and to HistoryMarche for mapping support), and is the culmination of more than 20 years reading and studying the Napoleonic era. I hope you enjoy!
Some shortcuts:
The Spanish Ulcer 1808 - 11 00:48
Battle of Salamanca 20:04
Napoleon invades Russia 35:44
Battle of Borodino 53:26
Retreat from Moscow 1:09:36
Germany 1813 1:35:33
Battle of Vitoria 2:00:15
Battle of Leipzig 2:20:46
Defence of France 1814 2:52:20

Honestly I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched this series. In my opinion it’s the greatest historical content on KRclip, alongside the ‘Marshals’ series. An incredible piece of work. I thank everyone involved. 👏🏻

The stress and the hopelessness of the retreat from Moscow cannot be narrated any better. Amazing

This is phenomenal. Unreal production value. The graphics and presentation, the narration, the delivery and quality of information. A masterpiece.

The production quality of this is almost hard to believe. I don’t know if most people understand that every second of this video represents significant work. How many hours did this take to make?! The pacing and details, like the way cropped images of generals are brought in when mentioned, is so clever. Also, props on the audio - the mixing is spot on.

there should be You Tube awards like Grammies or Oscars or something. Epic history would definitely get more than one. Exceptionally good production and history details. I love it!

If I may say so, this series is without any shadow of a doubt, the most well-presented, written, narrated, and informative about the Napoleonic wars, that I've ever seen! The artwork and the maps are impecably well-made and presented, and there's so much information I never knew about! Everything from Napoleon's early beginnings as an artillery officer/his first victory at Toulon, the tactics, weapons and uniforms, and battles and campaigns I never learned about before! Epic History TV, you've truly outdone yourselves!

I've spent the whole day watching both of the main parts of "The Napoleonic wars". I had a lot to do but it was just too well done and too absorbing to resist. A brilliant production.

This is an oscar worthy content on KRclip. Love you so much for bringing us content like this for free

This is the best historic depiction I've ever seen, I couldn't stop watching 10/10. If there is a chance of an updated 1815 to finish the series I'm definitely watching it!

My education lacked much study of the Napoleonic Wars. Having watched these series I understand the mechanics and strategy of the U.S. Civil War much better. Accounting for the addition of telegraphic communication and the use of railways, the similarities seem very pronounced. Thank you for providing us with these wonderful programs, they've greatly enhanced my understanding of 19th century warfare.

The part about Suchet is telling as another Marshal, Bernadotte also had the same attitude towards soldiering, and their stories all contributed to Napoleon's downfall.
One of the issue with Napoleon's leadership was that while he himself is a brilliant, if not unparalleled tactician, his personal ambition led him to promoting himself to a position that he's not suitable for. In a strange parallel of story and history, Napoleon and Alexander resemble each other in very strange way. One fiction speculated that Philip II would have preferred Alexander as a general, rather than a king. Napoleon was exactly the same. Great general, terrible Emperor.
This leadership trouble can be seen from his Marshals. As mentioned, many of Napoleon's great Marshals behaved like bandits, engaged in looting and terrorised the locals on their campaign. This was never addressed due to the Emperor's preference for "meritocracy", but only on the battlefield. He promoted people who distinguished themselves through fighting, which led to all sort of people within his inner circle and command. This led to Napoleon himself putting his close family and subordinates into positions that they were not qualified nor suitable for. Him crowning his brother as King of Spain was an example. This was not just a mere meritocracy issue of course, and will be discussed next. It's notable that almost all of Napoleon's Marshals suffered defeat when he was not present to direct them. The Peninsula War and the Sixth Coalition demonstrated the limit of his choice of subordinates. His promotion of brave but foolhardy generals doomed his reign, as those he elevated failed to live up to their task. Interestingly, they failed in 2 distinct ways. Either they were hampered by short-sighted strategic blunders such as at Dennewitz, or they had serious personality flaws like those who led the French in Peninsula War. Murat while being a terrific soldier battlefield, carried the same recklessness back home. After abandoning the Emperor's side, he waged war against the Austrian, lost, was captured and then executed.
Though I digressed, the point is, Napoleon lacked general appreciation for the intricate work of administration and ruling.
The bigger issue with Napoleon, however, that led to his ascension as Emperor, was his arrogance. His belief in his brilliance led him from Italy to Russia, but that belief also clouded his eyes. Him failing to appreciate the difficult of the Russian campaign is infamous, but his long list of mistakes due to arrogance extends much further than that. It is his arrogance that led to him crowning himself Emperor in the first place, which triggered the 3rd Coalition. His appointment of his brother and giving his Marshals titles were also notable mistakes that came from his arrogance. Napoleon disregarded the general population opinion, as well as tradition and opinions of others. Had he been less reckless, he could have avoided Coalition coming together with Britain against him or the Peninsula War, let alone the Russian campaign.
This doesn't stop here, Napoleon disregard for administration and arrogance also turned people against him. French 2 infamous traitors, Talleyrand and Bernadotte, who were not spoken off fondly by French historians, were valuable servants to Napoleon. Both turned their backs on him after being humiliated by the Emperor.
Talleyrand helped Napoleon become Emperor, he mediated the civil situation while Napoleon planned his campaigns and negotiate to establish foothold for France during and after Napoleon's conquests. Napoleon ignored Talleyrand's words, in led to Talleyrand working against him. This all culminated in 1808 with a famous episode. After discovering Talleyrand discussions with Fouche about the succession, Napoleon humiliated Talleyrand in front of his Marshals.
Bernadotte had complex personal history with Napoleon, but professionally, he served his Emperor loyally. Napoleon's arrogance led him to allowing Bernadotte to go to Sweden and ultimately worked directly against Napoleon. Bernadotte was reprimanded harshly but deservedly by Napoleon at Auerstadt and Wagram. However, Napoleon felt comfortable letting his Marshals work for another state demonstrated his underestimation of his Marshal's skill. Bernadotte, throughout his service for the Revolution and Napoleon, had proven to be an honest, hardworking, cautious, fair and capable administrator. He enforced harsh discipline on troops to prevent crimes against the population, treating citizen and enemies with kindness to foster good relations. His skill as an administrator and strategist were tested many times and he accomplished his task with satisfactory results. Napoleon was too keen on martial matters, and only saw Bernadotte's conservative command on the field, underestimated the value of his Marshal. His arrogance was also at work as he was bemused by the situation rather than consider carefully the consequence of letting go one of his capable subordinate. Bernadotte administration skill could have relieved the animosity towards the French in Spain as he did in Denmark, Sweden and the Germany. Suchet demonstrated the value of soldiers with administrative skill. This led to Bernadotte helped forming the Trachenberg plan which led to Napoleon's defeat in 1813 and 1814.
Although Napoleon's failings were obvious, it was also those qualities that propelled him to the top. His fall might have been inevitable, but his mark on history is eternal.

EHTV has the best documentaries and combines the best visuals with excellent narration

It's really cool to hear about these old battles & generals & commanders picking up the flag & leading their men from the front, like Napoleon did ealier in his career, true bravery, leadership, & I note also how quite a few high-ranking men, even in their 60-70s, lead calvery charges, maybe dying, maybe not.
Balls of steel back then.

This is just SO good. Unbelievable the level of detail and professionalism! You guys have made me absolutely obsessed with Napoleon Bonaparte, a figure from history that I previously had little to no interest in.
I just ordered a bunch of books on his life, politics and effects on Europe.
THANK YOU!!!

Hope that one day you may present us with the Franco - Prussian war. With your dedication, that series will be legend.

This is absolutely incredible. The best documentary series I have ever watched. It’s just a master piece

The magnum opus of Napoleonic videos. A magistral work. Once again, you out do yourself, Toby!

Excellent isn't enough to describe this video. There was not a single moment without intrigue and suspense that made learning all of this important history so exciting and fascinating. The storytelling and narration of the events, the graphics, along with the inclusion of the paintings and photos and quotes from the people involved was outstanding. Bravo 👏🏻

"He would return to France to fight one last, great campaign, to reclaim his throne."
Couldn't have ended on a better note.

This channel is pure gold. Many thanks to the team for providing this great content and sparking interest in the study of history.

The combination of an enthralling script narrated beautifully, maps, battle plays, artwork, quotes and backing music made this so enjoyable to watch. There's so many little details, like what people's personalities were said to have been like.

Can’t express how good these are, as well as enjoyable. One of the best historical channels on KRclip

The Greatest documentary series ever on Napoleon.

Love coming back for my now annual epic history binge, genuinely the highest quality history creator on YT as of now. Others are still fantastic but this is better than most professional documentaries and a couple of my old history teachers use it for after school programs or for individual lessons.

What I'm trying to understand is how this is all available for free. Thank you for these absolutely incredible videos!!!

I've watched this series several times and can never get tired. Even when I'm reading about Napoleon, this is the voice I am hearing. Well done 🙌

The production on these videos is amazing. I would love them to do similar videos on other time periods

1:23:00 Marshal Ney deserves a massive shoutout...managing to escape encirclement in a 6000 vs 60000 match up, outnumbered 10 to 1

Whoever dislikes this is a fool. The amount of studying memorization reading plus all the political and social things happening during that time is insane. Mad respect for you man and I hope to see more quality content from you!

Simply brilliant !! Once you start you can't stop ! Don't want to miss 5 seconds of it . What a epic series

simply outstanding: the music, the pacing, the visuals, the quotes. I wonder why history channel doesnt make things like this

This is just fantastic. 3 hours of detailed content and it's flown by and I want more! It says something that for a 3 hour video, I was engrossed the whole way through. Brilliant!

You must be the best to explain the war and make people feel like they are there. Can't even explain how good this was, but it was damn good. Felt like i was there and felt the struggle of every moment and decision making.

Absolutely outstanding documentary series, fantastic job fellas!! How you did this on a small KRclip budget I'll never know, it's truly epic and well worth all the praise it's getting on here.

Napoleon's awareness, speed to react and reach places at critical times was extraordinary, he seemed to be riding a motorcycle while everybody else was riding on horse....

I absolutely have nothing but love and respect for the videos you've produced, especially the ones on Napoleon. Thanks for everything you do. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for a great series.
I'd also like to thank your team for making the effort to try to get the pronunciation of names and places right. Not being a French native, but having spent a lot of time in France, I'd say that your pronunciation of many troubling French cities (Rheims and Troyes, specifically) is as good as I am able to get.

This series led me read war and peace, never thought I would. Thank you.

I love watching these through every so often.
Fantastically made and presented, informative, entertaining and all around brilliant

I am totally enthralled with the battle sequences. And the animation and map details are top notch. This is how I'd like to see every battle documentary done. It's like I'm seeing these battles for the first time. Thank you so much for this series. Great work. Outstanding. 👍

"To the cannon, all men are equal" napoleons quotes are breathtaking and epic

Wonderful, one of, if not the best documentary I've seen about La Grand Armée. While everyone knows about Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, Borodino, Waterloo etc these battles are less known apart from Austerlitz,(to me at least)I learned a lot mainly because of how well you explained. Looking forward to part 2.

It's the third time i watch this amazing documentary. I cannot really express my excitement of how well structured and animated the narration is. Miles ahead of modern big channel productions

The quality of thr content and it's presentation is simply incredible. You've done an amazing work and I keep coming back to it. Thank you!

Thank you for giving us this most excellent epic presentation of the complex Napoleonic Wars. The clear, organized visuals helped us better understand the combatants of each battle in wars marked by shifting alliances and geographical goals. Like so many wars, the Napoleonic Wars were ones of “frenemies” indeed.

This is so well done, that watching it a second time, I'm even convinced I'm watching something newly created.

Think how much planning, production and skill this series took to make! Napoleons Grand armee probably required less organisation, and all for free on the internet. People often compare this channel to ‘the history channel’ but frankly at this point this is ‘the history channel’.

Exceptionally well produced and excellently presented! Nothing lesser could have done justice to the story of greatest military commander in history.

Thank you for producing such an excellent documentary. Extremely well put!

This is the single most compelling documentary I've ever seen. I've rewatched it twice now. Love it so much!

I would love to see a second channel called Epic Mythology TV where you break down Greek, Roman, Norse, Hindu mythologies and others as well in a similar way to the History videos. I love this channel.

Wow! This is just brilliant.. The military art is just an epic touch.. I thought Kings and Generals was good.. You guys are a totally different beast!

I watch a great deal of history videos, but Epic History is definitely the best. The coverage of Napoleon’s wars is objective, detailed and informative, as well as highly entertaining. Congratulations for this outstanding job.

Such a fantastic historical account of the Napoleonic Wars. Bravo!

I'm not one for watching hour long videos but this is a masterpiece compared to any other documentary about Napoleon and his wars.

this is amazing such perfect details and engaging battle tactics. this could probably be watched 10 times over and not get boring

Maybe the best doc I've ever seen on KRclip. Thank you so much for this. Obviously a ton of hard work went into this.

“If other history channels are foolish enough to make napoleonic content,
I will march to meet them...
Then you will see the meaning of the word debacle.”
Epic History Tv to his subscribers
Britain, June 2021

No matter how many times I watch this documentary, it is never enough. The best historical doc. on KRclip.

Greatest documentary series on Napoleon ever, sophisticated and amazing.

A truly epic work. Congratulations on its completion! This is an immensely enjoyable and informative production that will be appreciated by all who love history. Thank you.

Some of the absolut best historic content on KRclip. Captivating graphics and interesting quotes and analysis. Best wishes!

Man I dont know How many times I have been seeing this documentary of Napoleonic wars, it’s truly master class!

Small correction: "el empecinado" means stubborm today, but not back then. The meaning of stubborn comes from the man's stubbornness. Empecinado literally means "covered in tar", because this man's village was next to a swamp.

Epic History TV, the sheer brilliance and momentous effort put forth to bring us this historical content can never be overstated. I'm sick at home, bed ridden and I am so glad I found this series. I honestly never never much about napoleon or the other historical characters involved. I knew as much as the next person.
But now, I have a deeper understanding and respect for those countless men whom so courageously gave their lives in order to protect their loved ones and to uphold thier duty to ruler and country.
If History had taught me anything, it's that no one man can ever rule the world. It's too big.
Thank you for making my day both educational and interesting.
And to all the History buffs out there,
See you in the next series!

Lol, I can barely sit through a 90 minute movie these days but had no problem watching both parts of this documentary for 5 hours straight. Absolutely incredible work. Best documentary I’ve seen on KRclip.

This Napoleonic Wars series may be might favorite series on youtube. I’ve watched many other history series and documentaries, and while there are a lot of extremely good ones out there, none has quite engaged me so much as this. Likely a combination of incredible presentation and enthralling narration.
Furthermore, the Napoleonic Wars is so recent in our history, with such a massive impact yet not all too often discussed. Of course there’s many other things in history that you can say that about, but the Napoleonic Wars really sticks out to me, and I’m really glad to have such a good documentary of it available.

The breadth and depth of all the episodes are mighty impressive along with the quality of the presentation. When I have recovered I shall probably watch again.

Epic History TV, great job on this documentary. I have been thoroughly enthralled for the past couple of weeks while I have been watching it. I look forward to watching more of your documentaries in the future.

Hands down the best historical series on KRclip. You make the best battle maps, I hope you keep doing these!

The amount of detail in this is stunning 👏🏼👏🏼 must have taken years to put this together, well done!

Well, you got my attention and gained a subscriber.
That was an exquisite dive in history. I appreciate the effort and dedication on the topic.

Napoleon was such a great emperor. I love watching documentaries like this - Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Simba. All great stories

This is so amazing and even though we all know how it ended it keeps me on the edge.

This is incredibly well done and if this would be used at schools (hopefully) the younger generation could be made more interested in history (which is so important for the present!)
Thank you to all the people who made this possible - it's a masterpiece.
liked, subscribed and shared with friends and family

The way you make videos is incredible. You made a documentarial masterpiece of Napoleon. The music, the story telling, the voice, the sequence, the clarity, the imagery. Everything is amazingly done. WOW. Thank you.

This documentary is an absolute must watch. A lot of important insight inside the Napoleonic era

Epic Work! Credits to the whole team involved. Never seen something better covered!
Is there any chance you could do a series about the Rise of Prussia?

One of the best documentaries i´ve seen in my 31 years of age. Magnificent, thanks guys.

Very good videos on the napoelonic wars! I didn't even like history in school, but ww1 / ww2 videos from simplehistory and these napoelonic war series videos from you i have enjoyed watching!

Absolutely informative video!!!
Can you please make videos about the things which happened after Napoleonic Wars ended till the WWI, like the German and Italian Unification? I am a student and your resources have helped me a lot in preparing notes for European History!

I'm so impressed with Marshal Berthiers life, but felt so anti climactic at his demise this guy basically is the reason why Napoleon won so many battles and is considered one of the most greatest military commanders in history, I wish there was technology so advanced it can help us see history filled with possibilities such as what If Davout and Berthier would be with the emperor during his last battle

This is just amazing to watch. The editing with the captivating background music gives me goosebumps.

This is an excellent series. I love how the focus of the very beginning of this is focused on the campaign which actually broke Napoleon's spell on Europe. His massive failure in Spain was the beginning of the end every bit as much as Midway for the Japanese and Gettysburg for Lee. The Russian campaign, Leipzig and Waterloo always get the credit for Napoleon's end. Spain was it.

This is really Epic, superb quality!! I'd love to see a documentary about the American civil war with the same format...you are amazing guys!

Dam I was rooting for Napoleon the whole time. What a character. If only he agreed to the first peace offering.

What an awsome educational and fun documentary man...never seen anything like it

Have watched this entire series back to back several times. Absolutely brilliant and one of the best documentaries I've ever watched.
Would love to see more on Napoleon if there is enough source material!

This was the best coverage of actual strategic war tactics that I've ever seen, bravo! Will be rewatching for sure!

This is a absolute masterpiece and Napoleon would approve!! ❤

A wonderful documentary, beautifully narrated and well illustrated. Highly recommended.

The whole series is a marvel to watch, but as Portuguese I really feel deep into my soul every episode about the Peninsular War.
The narration of the magazine explosion of Almeida - the only battle in Portuguese soil to be inscripted in Paris' _Arc de Triomphe_ - the astonishing art of war feat of the _Linhas de Torres_ defending Lisbon, the sheer atrocities commited against Portuguese civilians...
But also the brave participation of Portuguese regular soldiers and _guerrilheiros_ alike, fighting all over the Peninsula. Spain had just invaded and annexed a Portuguese town in 1801 and allowed the French Army to cross and invade Portugal in 1807, but there they were, fighting alongside a now common enemy.
There are two beautiful monuments, in Lisbon and Porto, to honor those people. The Lisbon one depicts a fighting scene, where a soldier narrowly catches the claws of an eagle that tries to fly away from the chaos. Porto one depicts, atop a high column, a lion smashing an eagle beneath him.
A bloody turning page in History, for both Portugal and Spain.

I would seriously pay top dollar to watch this if I had to. It’s close to ridiculus that its on KRclip for free. This has to be the best in depth documentary about Napoleon out there. Great thanks to epic history for giving us this absolute masterpiece of a documentary! ;)

I've loved Napoleonic history since my dad bought me L'Empereur for the NES when I was 10, on the same day I was cursed with braces. But what you've done is truly epic: allowing me to convert my wife, son, and parents into true history enthusiasts. Vive L'Empereur!

Loving these videos, glad I found this channel. Would love a set of videos about the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy. Such an interesting bit of history not enough know about

Its was very long documentary but feels like few minutes because of excellent narration & impressive story telling❤

What a beautifully made, hard hitting factual masterpiece of a documentary!

Davout and Murat are my favorites… although I knew the ending I was low key rooting for napoleon.. my favorite quote was when he saw the underwhelming deployment of general von Wrede “I made him a Count I couldn’t make him a general” referring to his lackluster skills as a commander even after learning under napoleon

Brilliant series. And a real bonus is the excellent battle graphics. Never seen better that allows me to follow the action.