Charles Nove

World War One 1914-1918: Epic History TV 2021 · 1 hr 7 min TV-MA Documentary A complete and detailed, big-picture history of “the war to end all wars,” using animated maps to explain every major campaign and battle. Starring Charles Nove Directed by Toby Groom

In 1804 Napoleon created 18 'Marshals of the Empire', to serve as the senior officers of the Grande Armée. He created a further 8 before his abdication in 1814. A few were aristocrats, but others were the sons of shopkeepers or tailors. The most favoured became princes and kings. Among their ranks were legendary figures such as Marshals Lannes, Ney, Soult, Davout and Masséna, but also less well know figures like Pérignon, Brune and Moncey. Our series explores the lives of all 26 Marshals, and ranks them according to our own judgement of their achievements as Marshals.

Napoleon brings his war against Russia and Prussia to an end with victory at Friedland, leading to the famous Tilsit conference, after which Napoleon stood at the peak of his power.

In October 1813 Napoleon faced the combined might of the Sixth Coalition (Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden) near Leipzig, in what would prove to be the decisive battle of his career. Outnumbered, virtually encircled, Napoleon opted for a high-risk strategy of striking against Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia, before the other Coalition armies could come to his aid. The four-day Battle of Leipzig would be the largest and bloodiest battle in European history before the First World War, and one that changed the destiny of Europe.

First engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon’s greatest victories at Austerlitz in 1805.

In 1796, at the height of the Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon Bonaparte took command of French forces in northern Italy. He was just 26 years old and had never commanded an army before. Within weeks, he had turned his ragged, demoralised troops into a ferocious fighting force, defeating the Austrians and knocking Piedmont out of the war. With success, Napoleon began to believe it was his destiny to shape the fate of nations. In this series, we follow Napoleon's first glorious campaign step by step.

It was during this siege that young Napoleon Bonaparte first won fame and promotion when his plan, involving the capture of fortifications above the harbour, was credited with forcing the city to capitulate and the Anglo-Spanish fleet to withdraw.

In 1800, France's new First Consul - Napoleon Bonaparte - faces a precarious military situation, with huge Austrian armies poised to strike against the French Republic. But Napoleon will not wither in the face of such a crisis. Instead, he embarks on one of the most famous and daring strategic manoeuvres in history - a march across the Alps - to turn the tables on France's enemies

In 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, General Napoleon Bonaparte led a French expedition to Egypt. The plan was to conquer the wealthy province and deal a major blow to British interests in the Mediterranean. What followed was a campaign featuring legendary battles, ruthless occupation and immense hardship.

Part two of Napoleon in Egypt, rejoining the campaign as he faces imminent attack by a huge Ottoman army... but decides to take the fight to them.

In 1799, the young French Republic faced war with a coalition of European enemies, and an unpopular and corrupt government at home. In the midst of disorder, military hero Napoleon Bonaparte returns from his campaign in Egypt. He has built a formidable reputation, he is adored by the people, and is viewed an essential ally for those vying for power. But Napoleon has his own ambitions, and on one famous day in November, he will take decisive action to make them a reality. This is the full story of the Brumaire Coup - a day that changed the course of French history.

Fresh from his great victory at Austerlitz, Napoleon's next campaign saw him take on Prussia in the autumn of 1806. Prussia's army had been feared throughout Europe since the days of Frederick the Great, but in just 5 weeks of 'Napoleonic Blitzkrieg', the French Emperor showed that those days were long gone.

In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte hoped to follow up his brilliant victories over Austria and Prussia with another decisive victory over the Russians in Poland. But amid freezing winter conditions, his attempted encirclement of General Bennigsen's Russian army near the East Prussian town of Eylau led, instead, to one of the most notorious battles of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in terrible conditions, with appalling losses on both sides.

In 1809, with Napoleon and his best troops bogged down in Spain, Austria decided to try to get revenge for her humiliation at Austerlitz three years before. Archduke Charles led an invasion of France's ally Bavaria, but Napoleon raised fresh troops and transformed the strategic situation in four days of hard fighting along the Danube. But having taken Vienna, Napoleon's overconfidence led to a desperate battle at Aspern-Essling, resulting in his first major defeat as Emperor, and the death of his closest friend.

In 1808, Napoleon's rivalry with Britain led to an ill-fated intervention in Portugal and Spain, that sparked a nationalist revolt against the French. At Bailén Napoleon's Empire suffered its first major defeat, and though Napoleon himself then arrived in Spain to reassert French military dominance, he could not prevent the escape of Sir John Moore's small British army, after its defensive victory at Corunna on 16 January 1809. The British army would return, under new leadership, to play a major part in his downfall.

Six weeks after his bloody repulse at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon led his reinforced army back across the Danube. The resulting clash with Archduke Charles's Austrian army was the biggest and bloodiest battle yet seen in European history, and despite heavy French losses, resulted in a decisive strategic victory for the French Emperor

In 1809, as Napoleon fought the Austrians at Wagram, the war in Spain and Portugal continued to rage. The French had inflicted several heavy defeats on Spanish field armies, but now they faced a popular insurgency as well as a well-trained Anglo-Portuguese army led by British general Lord Wellington. The Peninsular War, as became known, became Napoleon's 'bleeding ulcer', or his Vietnam, costing his empire nearly quarter of a million soldiers, in a war that looked increasingly unwinnable.

In 1812 French forces in Spain were severely overstretched, as Napoleon withdrew the best troops for his invasion of Russia. Wellington saw an opportunity to strike. First he secured the strategic fortress-cities of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, both taken in bloody assaults, then advanced to Salamanca, where his Anglo-Portuguese army met Marshal Marmont's French army in one of the most decisive clashes of the Peninsular War.

In 1815, eight miles south of Brussels, two of history's greatest generals met in battle for the first and only time: Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, and the Duke of Wellington. The result was an epic, brutal battle that would decide the fate of Europe

In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen, composed of troops from France as well Poland, Germany, Italy and several other allied states. The campaign that followed saw the Russians use scorched earth tactics to deny the enemy supplies, while Napoleon advanced further and further into Russia, searching in vain for the decisive blow that would force Emperor Alexander to negotiate peace.

Following his defeat in the giant Battle of Leipzig (Oct 1813), Napoleon's final defeat seemed only a matter of time. But when Coalition armies crossed the Rhine and invaded France, Napoleon outnumbered 4 to 1 - began one of the most daring and brilliant campaigns in military history. However Napoleon's hope that his victories would cause a fatal split in the Coalition did not materialise, and eventually, Schwarzenberg and Blücher's dash for Paris would seal the fate of the Napoleonic Empire.

Aiming to strike a major blow against British interests in the Mediterranean, Napoleon Bonaparte leads an expeditionary force to conquer Egypt. But Britain still has the most powerful navy in the world.. and they are in pursuit.

In May 1813, as Napoleon launches a desperate bid to save his empire following the disastrous defeat in Russia, the situation in Spain is particularly precarious. French forces have been weakened to make up for the enormous losses in Russia. But Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army, as well as the Spanish guerrillas, are stronger than ever. Wellington's advance into Spain will liberate Madrid a second time, and conclude with the final showdown of the Peninsular War - the Battle of Vitoria.

On a hot summer's day, near the town of Marengo, an advancing detachment of French soldiers find themselves facing 30,000 Austrians. Outmanned and outgunned, the French are soon fighting for their lives, and Napoleon faces an overwhelming defeat. But when last minute reinforcements arrive, victory may still be in sight...

For the Spanish, it was their 'War of Independence' for their British allies, 'the Peninsular War'. These are the voices of witnesses to those momentous days.

In 1813, following his disastrous invasion of Russia, Napoleon faced a desperate battle to save his empire. His enemies were gaining in strength, as Prussia and Sweden joined the Sixth Coalition against him, while Russian armies advanced across Poland and into Germany. The French Emperor worked miracles to raise a new Grande Armée of young conscripts, leading them to victory at Lützen and Bautzen. But Napoleon knew everything might ultimately depend on Austria - which side would his father-in-law, Austrian Emperor Francis I, chose to support? The matter would settled after a fateful and ill-tempered meeting in Dresden between Napoleon and Austrian foreign minister von Metternich...