Editing Age of Enlightenment (section)

==Napoleonic Wars==
Napoleon Bonaparte came into power as a Consul after the coup d'etat, declaring "Gentlemen, Revolution is over". This marked the beginning of the Napoleonic era. Sadly, nowadays the much more noble deeds of Napoleon are ignored. He stabilized the country, created an effective administration, built up France's infrastructure and adopted and spread the metric system, much to the despair of later generations of freeaboos. His magnum opus was the Napoleonic Code that went on to become the legal basis for numerous modern day countries. On a personal level, he was known to be honorable and respectful even to his enemies. One example is his admiration of Pyotr Bagration, a Georgian general who served under the Russian Empire and engaged Napoleon at Borodino.

However, he is mostly remembered for his schemes and utterly devastating wars of conquest. He invented new doctrines of warfare that concentrated on extensive usage of artillery; he had been an artilleryman by trade prior to the Revolution and still regarded it as the pinnacle of warfighting technology. Later, he abolished the republic and proclaimed himself [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of France]]. Under his rule, France engaged in numerous wars against virtually everyone else in Europe. In short order he smashed the Austrian, Prussian, Spanish and Russian armies and saw most of the continent fall under his influence, with his brothers and other close relatives claiming half a dozen thrones across Europe. His families usurpation of the spanish throne an example of said expansion. He also blockaded Great Britain from continental trade and instigated the final collapse of the Unholy German Confederation (aka the Holy Roman Empire). For a while, it seemed like nothing and no one could stop Napoleon; the British were still fighting in Portugal and Spain, but nobody else in Europe thought that was going to end in anything other than another negotiated peace in France's favor. Then Napoleon fell victim to one of the classic blunders and decided it was time to invade the Russian Empire. While both sides engaged in battle at first, the [[Kryptman|Russians eventually realized that they couldn't beat Boney in a straight fight and turned to a scorched earth policy, burning their own farms and settlements to the ground as they retreated into the vast Russian interior. When Napoleon finally reached Moscow, he took an empty and burned city.]] Out of supplies, freezing, exhausted, and being raided by Russian [[Vostroyan Firstborn|Cossacks]] and guerrillas, Napoleon's Grande Armee was forced into a long, cold, and ugly retreat. Sources vary on exactly how big the Grande Armee was at the beginning and end of the invasion. The most famous number, given in an infographic by Charles Joseph Minaud, gives a total strength of 450,000 French troops going in and 10,000 coming out, while others give numbers as high as 650,000 initially and 70,000 survivors at the end of the campaign. Either way, Napoleon's magnificent army was in ruins, his reputation for invincibility had been permanently shattered, and France was drained of manpower. The French army was finally defeated by a coalition of forces at Leipzig despite the Emperor's determination.

Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was first exiled to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy, but after the whole Hundred Days incident where he came back to France and was instantly re-proclaimed Emperor before Wellington and Blucher slapped the bitch out of him at Waterloo, the British opted to ship him all the way to the island of Saint Helena, a tiny little speck in the middle of the far South Atlantic, where he spent the remainder of his life. Once the man that shook the very foundations of the continent, he now lived in exile and disgrace with his pride and confidence shattered. This marked the start of the Congress of Vienna, which acted as the foundation for European international politics until the outbreak of World War I a century later.