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Arthur Wellesley, The Duke of Wellington.

"I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they terrify me."1

Son of the Irish earl of Mornington, he entered the army in 1787 and served in the Irish Parliament (1790-97). Sent to India in 1796, he commanded troops to victories in the Maratha War (1803). Back in England, he served in the British House of Commons and as chief secretary in Ireland (1807-09). Commanding British troops in the Peninsular War, he won battles against the French in Portugal and Spain and invaded France to win the war in 1814, for which he was promoted to field marshal and created a duke. After Napoleon renewed the war against the European powers, the "Iron Duke" commanded the Allied armies to victory at the Battle of Waterloo(1815). Richly rewarded by English and foreign sovereigns, he became one of the most honoured men in Europe. After commanding the army of occupation in France (1815-18) and serving in the Tory cabinet as master general of ordnance (1818-27), he served as prime minister (1828-30), but he was forced to resign after opposing any parliamentary reform. He was honoured on his death by a monumental funeral and burial in St. Paul's Cathedral alongside Horatio Nelson.

Cited from:

"Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of"Britannica Concise Encyclopedia from Encyclopedia Britannica.
http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=407827

1The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. www.bartleby.com/66/. 13th November 2003

Napoleon Bonaparte

"I made all my generals out of mud."2

born Aug. 15, 1769 Ajaccio, Corsica
died May 5, 1821 St. Helena Island

French general and emperor (1804-15).

Born to parents of Italian ancestry, he was educated in France and became an army officer in 1785. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and was promoted to brigadier general in 1793. After victories against the Austrians in northern Italy, he negotiated the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797). He attempted to conquer Egypt (1798-99) but was defeated by the British under Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile. The Coup of 18/19 Brumaire brought him to power in 1799, and he installed a military dictatorship, with himself as First Consul. He introduced numerous reforms in government, including the Napoleonic Code, and reconstructed the French education system. He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the pope. After victory against the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo(1800), he embarked on the Napoleonic Wars. The formation of coalitions of European countries against him led Napoleon to declare France a hereditary empire and to crown himself emperor in 1804. He won his greatest military victory at the Battle of Austerlitz against Austria and Russia in 1805. He defeated Prussia at the Battles of Jena and Auerstedt (1806) and Russia at the Battle of Friedland (1807). He then imposed the Treaty of Tilsit on Russia, ending the fourth coalition of countries against France. Despite his loss to Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar, he sought to weaken British commerce and established the Continental System of port blockades. He consolidated his European empire until 1810 but became embroiled in the Peninsular War(1808-14). He led the French army into Austria and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram (1809), signing the Treaty of Vienna. To enforce the Treaty of Tilsit,he led an army of about 600,000 into Russia in 1812, winning the Battle of Borodino, but was forced to retreat from Moscow with disastrous losses. His army greatly weakened, he was met by a strong coalition of allied powers, who defeated him at the battle of Leipzig (1813). After Paris was taken by the allied coalition, Napoleon was forced to abdicate in 1814 and was exiled to the island of Elba. In 1815 he mustered a force and returned to France to re-establish himself as emperor for the Hundred Days, but he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He was sent into exile on the remote island of St. Helena, where he died six years later. One of the most celebrated figures in history, Napoleon revolutionized military organization and training and brought about reforms that permanently influenced civil institutions in France and throughout Europe.

Cited from
"Napoleon"Britannica Concise Encyclopedia from Encyclopedia Britannica.
http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=398327

2The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. www.bartleby.com. 13th November 2003

The Peninsular War

After French forces occupied Portugal (1807) and Napoleon installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain (1808), a rebellion in Madrid began what was called in Spain "the War of Independence", and insurrections soon erupted in other cities. By 1810 the French overcame the Spanish rebels in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. Meanwhile, the British under the future duke of Wellington landed in Portugal (1808), where they fought the French in inconclusive campaigns until 1812. After Napoleon withdrew French forces to bolster his invasion of Russia, Wellington began his gradual advance into Spain. The British victory at the Battle of Vitoria (1813) and their march into southwestern France forced the French to withdraw from Spain and to reinstall Ferdinand VII as king (1814).

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