To some Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. He used the French Army (and those of allies) to spread the French revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity across Europe. His vision was of a united Europe, under the hegemony of France. To others he was a bloodthirsty tyrant, mad with conquest, who simply wanted to rule the world. From the late 1790s to 1815, with only brief periods of peace, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the waters of the Caribbean were theaters of war between his French Empire and the coalitions formed to defeat it, financially and militarily backed by Great Britain.
The combined wars against Napoleon were known in European history as the Great War until another usurped that title a century later. During those conflicts, innovations in warfare occurred within the contending armies, navies, and in the governments which sent them to the field or to sea. Some were immediately adopted, others were set aside to be further developed until they became assets in later wars.
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