N & E
Napoleon & Empire

Napoleon Bonaparte's movements
day by day

Napoleon Bonaparte was a great traveler. His career spanned three continents, and his life ended in the southern hemisphere. His comrades in arms, from his time onwards, recounted his travels, detailing them (more or less accurately) and dating them (generally quite precisely). The correspondence of the person concerned, as a soldier and then a statesman, of course remains the cornerstone of any study of said travels.

Historians and writers have naturally set out to follow, day by day, the young Corsican who became a general of the Republic and then First Consul and Emperor. A difficult task, concerning his childhood and youth, meticulous for what followed. In their successive works, Albert Schuermans, Louis Garros and Jean Tulard have worked on this.

We have based ourselves mainly on their works (but also those of other authors, such as Roger Iappini) to offer the visitor to our site the following:

  1. On the one hand, a daily narration of Napoleon's main military campaigns, including photographs of the places where he was, and which we ourselves - for the most part - visited. As far as possible, we have digitally retouched these images to remove most of the signs of modernity (wind turbines, electrical wires and pylons, street lamps, roof windows, photovoltaic panels, antennas and satellite dishes, advertising and road signs, etc.) so that the visitors have before their eyes, more or less, what the Emperor himself and his valiant grognards saw.

  2. On the other hand, a tool, unique to our knowledge, which geolocates Napoleon day by day, between his birth on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio and his death on Saint Helena on May 5, 1821 (we have chosen to display the latitude and longitude coordinates in decimal degrees DD rather than in the sexagesimal DMS). Better still, this tool even allows to follow each of Napoleon's movements on a zoomable map (for this we have placed our trust in Google Maps, a global online mapping service that has existed for almost twenty years).

Napoleon in Italy

The movements of General Bonaparte during the first Italian campaign (1796-1797)

Firts campaign in Italy

1796-1797
ItalyAustria

For a little over a year, General Bonaparte travelled the length and breadth of northern Italy, from Genoa to Verona or Mantua and from Brescia to Florence, before penetrating the Julian Alps to the gates of Vienna. But it was in Milan that he spent the most time and where he installed Joséphine.

The Travels of the First Consul during the Second Italian Campaign (1800)

Second campaign in Italy

1800
Swiss ConfederationItaly

This time the campaign lasted only two months. That was enough to cross the Alps via the Great St. Bernard Pass, descend on Aosta, Milan and Alessandria, beat the Austrians at Marengo, then return to France via Turin and the Mont Cenis Pass.

Napoleon in the Middle East

The movements of General Bonaparte during the invasion of Syria (1799)

French Invasion of Syria

1799
EgyptIsrael

In 1799, today's Israel was part of Syria, a province of the Ottoman Empire. It was on these lands, rich in a history spanning several thousand years, that the fighting would take place, in locations whose names shimmered with memories of the Bible or the Crusades: Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Nazareth, Caesarea...

Napoleon & Empire

Napoleon in Germany

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Germany (1805)

Campaign in Germany

1805
GermanyAustria Czech Republic

When the Russians, Austrians and Prussians were agitated, it was difficult to ignore them in order to pass as planned into England. The Emperor would therefore cross Germany and Austria, via Ulm, Munich and Vienna (first stay in Schönbrunn) to celebrate the anniversary of his coronation in the present-day Czech Republic, at Slavkov u Brna (or Austerlitz, as it was called at the time).

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Prussia (1806)

Campaign in Prussia

1806
Germany

The King of Prussia issued an ultimatum. Napoleon saw it as an invitation. In two months, he would visit Jena, Auerstaedt, Weimar, Berlin, Sanssouci, bringing back precious souvenirs, such as the sword of King Frederick II.

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Saxony (1813)

Campaign in Saxony

1813
GermanyPoland

Napoleon's last stay in Germany began well. At Lützen and Bautzen, he found his old habits of victory. This would be the case again at Dresden. But Leipzig was much less welcoming. He finally returned to France via Hanau and Frankfurt am Main.

Napoleon in Poland

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Poland (1807)

Campaign in Poland and East-Prussia

1806-1807
RussiaPoland

The plains of Mazovia and East Prussia, the shores of the Baltic Sea and the bridges of Königsberg, the Niemen River, the architectural beauties of Warsaw and Poznan, all places visited by Napoleon during a seven-month journey in these northern European regions, including a holiday at the delightful Finckenstein Castle, in the charming company of a beautiful and tender Polish woman.

So many beauties which could not, however, mitigate the harshness of the climate and the incredible ferocity of the fighting.

Napoleon in Spain

Napoleon's travels in Spain (1808-1809)

Campaign of 1808-1809

1808-1809
Espagne

Tolosa, Vitoria, Burgos, Madrid, Valladolid, Burgos, Tolosa and back: Napoleon would never know Spain other than this circuit, partly travelled at full speed. The mountains, at Somossiera or at the Guadarrama Pass, having hardly shown themselves to be more welcoming than the population, it is not certain that he kept a very good memory of it.

Napoleon in Austria

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Austria (1809)

Campaign in Austria

1809
GermanyAustria

During this campaign, the Austrians had to face the facts: Vienna was definitely Napoleon's favourite destination in Europe. While he had been content to admire it from afar in 1797, then to make a short stay there in 1805, this time he lingered there for a long time, enjoying the pleasures of the delightful Schönbrunn Palace from May to October.

Napoleon in Russia

Napoleon's movements during the invasion of Russia (1812)

Invasion of Russia

1812
LithuaniaRussia Belarus

His six months in Russia would cost Napoleon his army and the country two of its most prestigious cities: Smolensk and Moscow. Fire would destroy the cities, snow would bury the army. Perhaps those who were not killed there returned stronger. It is certain that they returned in too few numbers to prevent the death of the French Empire.

Napoleon in France

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Northeast France

Campaign in Northeast France

1814
France

After so many campaigns in so many countries, including the most distant ones, Napoleon ended his career at the gates of Paris. Champagne and Aisne witnessed his last brilliant exploits; Seine-et-Marne his (almost) definitive fall.

Napoleon's movements during his return from the island of Elba

The Flight of the Eagle

1815
France

Napoleon traced a final furrow on French soil and gave his name to a road, from the Mediterranean Sea to Grenoble, which only his audacity could make legendary.

Napoleon in Belgium

Napoleon's movements during the campaign in Belgium

Campaign in Belgium

1815
Belgium

Napoleon's shortest campaign would unfortunately be the most decisive and would not even give him the opportunity to see the pleasant Grand Place of Brussels again. Some would console themselves by thinking that the Emperor never lost the battle of Waterloo, for the good reason that there was no battle in Waterloo itself.

General itinerary from 1769 to 1821

Déplacements de Napoleon

All of Napoleon's movements

Where was Napoleon on such and such a day? When did he pass through such and such a place?

Just ask...