Napoleon

Napoleon was undoubtedly one of the greatest strategists of his era. He won the majority of his battles, despite any disadvantages such as number or geography. He expanded the French borders across the European continent, as well as making most of Europe his allies, whether by force or by mutual agreement. It’s hard to believe that he came into power when France was falling apart. Not only did he manage to turn France’s entire economy around, but he also turned the tides of war all across the French borders. One could easily say he saved France. However, his laws greatly reduced the freedoms of the common French citizen. He also created networks of spies to watch his own countrymen and imprisoned any who spoke out against his reign. And despite being a military genius, his arrogance and greed for power led him to attempt to conquer Russia during the winter. Though he did succeed early on, as winter set in he lost nearly all of his army of 600,000. After facing severe losses, he scrambled back to France to raise another army. However, by the time he made it back, people all over his empire began to revolt. His extremely high taxes of money and manpower had led to significant unrest among the masses. Along with the revolts came another coalition against France, one that finally succeeded in bringing down Napoleon. At this point, he was hardly the hero of the people who had become the French Emperor. I think that he was a man of the French Revolution in the respect that he saved France from its weakening “democracy” and defeated the enemies of the French. However, he ultimately caused France major losses in money, common rights, and the end of France’s first attempt at democracy.