Download Wellington, Nelson, Napoleon Information File

Nelson’s early life
Born on 29 September 1758 in Burnham
Thorpe, Norfolk, Horatio Nelson was the
sixth of the 11 children of a clergyman.
He joined the navy aged 12, on a ship
commanded by a maternal uncle. He
became a captain at 20, and saw service
in the West Indies, Baltic and Canada.
Nelson’s personality
He married Frances Nisbet in 1787
in Nevis, and returned to England
with his bride to spend the next five
years on half-pay, frustrated at the
lack of a command.
Nelson’s early career
When Britain entered the French
Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Nelson was
given command of the Agamemnon. He
served in the Mediterranean, helped
capture Corsica and saw battle at Calvi
(where he lost the sight in his right eye).
He would later lose his right arm at the
Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797.
Nelson’s attitude
As a commander he was known for bold
action, and the occasional disregard of orders
from his seniors. This defiance brought him
victories against the Spanish off Cape Vincent
in 1797, and at the Battle of Copenhagen four
years later, where he ignored orders to cease
action by putting his telescope to his blind eye
and claiming he couldn't seen the signal to
withdraw.
Nelson’s affaire
Nelson's next posting took him to
Naples, where he fell in love with
Emma, Lady Hamilton. Although they
remained in their respective marriages,
Nelson and Emma Hamilton considered
each other soul-mates and had a child
together, Horatia, in 1801.
Nelson’s military record
Over the period 1794 to 1805, under
Nelson's leadership, the Royal Navy
proved its supremacy over the French.
His most famous engagement, at Cape
Trafalgar, saved Britain from threat of
invasion by Napoleon.
Nelson’s death
On 21 October 1805, Nelson sent out the
famous signal to his fleet 'England expects
that every man will do his duty'. He was
killed by a French sniper a few hours later
while leading the attack on the combined
French and Spanish fleet. His body was
preserved in brandy and transported back
to England where he was given a state
funeral.
Nelson and punishment
Brutal punishment was common on board
British navy ships, it was one of the only
ways to keep people in line. Nelson did not
approve of harsh punishments, he felt they
would make a good man bad and a bad man
worse.
Nelson’s strategy
Nelson had been taught the traditional way
to command a fleet of ships as a young man
but knew that Napoleon was a great
tactician and needed to be inventive. At the
battle of Trafalgar Nelson’s bold move to sail
straight at the French ships to break them
up was arguably what won the battle for the
English.
Nelson as seen today
Nelson’s statue sits
on top of ‘Nelson’s
Column’ in Trafalgar
square London. The
column is the height
of the tallest mast
on Nelson’s ship
‘The Victory’.
Wellington’s early life
An unhappy, lonely boy, Wellington
exhibited few of the talents that would
come to make his name. Lazy and socially
awkward, his early schooling was
fragmented, his performance uninspired.
Only his violin playing showed any real
promise.
Wellington’s education and training
Wellington was not one for school. When
his family ran short of money they decided
to send his younger brother to school as he
was a better prospect. Seemingly
uninterested the best option for him was to
join the army. After 6 years he had climbed
high and already had 5 commissions. How
much of his success was down to his
brothers reputation was unknown.
Wellington takes control
When the French revolution broke out
Wellington could no longer rely on his
brother’s influence to help him climb
through the ranks. He began to focus on
being a good soldier and gained
promotion from his own merits.
Wellington’s resilience
After being sent to fight in the Netherlands
Wellington was seen as a good soldier and
commander of his regiment but the campaign
ended in defeat. Wellington felt the
commanders had not done enough and
decided to start learning about military history
in an attempt to gain a better understanding
of battle strategy and tactics.
Wellington’s rejection
As a young man with little money he
proposed to Kitty Pakenham but her family
would not allow the marriage. Now that he
was a successful soldier with more money he
asked her again and was accepted into the
family. Kitty had changed over the years
however and the marriage was one of duty.
They had two sons but were not thought to
be happy together.
Wellington’s military record
By 1812 Wellington was commanding
large armies. In July of 1812 he won a
decisive victory over the French which
gave him a great reputation back home
as a military genius.
Wellington to the rescue
Having made a name for himself as an
important leader and military expert he was
called upon to save the day when Napoleon
returned to re-take Europe. Wellington is
probably best known for his victory at
Waterloo, but he did not fight Napoleon’s
army alone, he had the Prussians to help.
All the same it was seen as a great victory.
Wellington and scandal
Wellington and his wife did not get on and it
was generally well known that he had
affairs. One of his lovers wrote a book
about their affair and this was published.
The press had a field day picking apart
Wellington’s reputation.
Wellington’s last battle
The battle of Waterloo ended the
Napoleonic wars and brought peace to the
people of Britain for almost 100 years, but
the event traumatized him. Wellington
never fought another battle and left the
army for politics.
Wellington as seen today
Wellington’s victory is remembered today a
monument in central London called the
Wellington Arch.
Napoleon’s early life
Napoleon came from a humble
background. His family claimed to have
noble decent but this was never taken
seriously, there was nothing to suggest
what Napoleon would become from his
early life.
Napoleon’s tough youth
Aged 9 Napoleon moved from his home of
Corsica to France to be educated as an
outsider. He spent most of his time at a
military school where did not do particularly
well. Aged 16 his father died and, although
not the eldest son, returned to Corsica to be
head of the family.
Napoleon’s identity crisis
Napoleon’s homeland of Corsica had been
taken over by the French when he was very
young and he felt proud to be Corsican. When
the French revolution happened and leaders
changed Napoleon’s family were rejected and
asked to leave Corsica. He returned to France
where he got caught up in the revolution that
was taking place and decided he would adopt
French as his new nationality.
Napoleon’s early success
Napoleon was promoted to Brigadier
General at the age of just 24. This was
following a great victory over the British
were he recaptured a port for the
French. He had finally proven his military
worth and his loyalty to France.
Napoleon’s military record
Napoleon had great success as a military
leaders he won far more battles than he
lost and was put in charge of the whole
Italian army on behalf of the French. He
would go on to have great success leading
the French army to victories over almost all
of its European neighbours at one point or
another.
Napoleon’s Coup D’etat
In 1799 the new French leader feared
that the Monarchy might return and
that a strong military leader was the
only way to stop this. Napoleon took
his opportunity and managed to make
himself the Military and Political leader
of all France and her Empire…
essentially a dictator.
Napoleon & the other 2 Emperors
In 1805 Napoleon won a battle against the
Emperors of Austria and Russia at the same
time. His army was said to have killed
26,000 of his enemy and only took 9,000
losses of their own. This victory clearly
marked Napoleon as one of Europe's
greatest military leaders.
Napoleon bounces back
Eventually the nations of Europe fighting
against Napoleon defeated him and he was
imprisoned on the Island of Elba, from
which he escaped. He went on to retake
power in France and was only defeated at
the Battle of Waterloo by Wellington.
Napoleon and marriage
Napoleon married Josephine whom he
loved dearly. Unfortunately for him she was
a widow who needed to marry and was not
particularly interested in him. Napoleon
only had his first child with his second wife
after his reluctant divorce from Josephine.
Napoleon as seen today
Napoleons body is entombed beneath the
dome of a magnificent building in Paris.