Ready the drums for Napoleonic Wars trivia packed with daring campaigns, shifting alliances, famous marshals, and maps that refused to stay put.
These questions march from Napoleon's rise to Waterloo while keeping the human cost and complicated politics firmly in view.
Revolution, Republic, and a Rising General
Q: On which Mediterranean island was Napoleon Bonaparte born?
A: Corsica.
Q: In what year was Napoleon born?
A: 1769.
Q: In which branch of the French army did Napoleon begin his career?
A: The artillery.
Q: At which port did Napoleon gain fame by helping defeat royalist and British forces in 1793?
A: Toulon.
Q: What name is commonly given to Napoleon's 1796–1797 campaign against Austria in northern Italy?
A: The Italian Campaign.
Q: Which treaty ended that campaign and the War of the First Coalition?
A: The Treaty of Campo Formio.
Q: Which country did Napoleon invade in 1798 in an attempt to threaten British interests?
A: Egypt.
Q: At which 1798 battle did Napoleon defeat a Mamluk army near Cairo?
A: The Battle of the Pyramids.
Q: Which British admiral destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile?
A: Horatio Nelson.
Q: What famous inscribed stone was found by French soldiers in Egypt in 1799?
A: The Rosetta Stone.
Q: What political government did Napoleon overthrow in the coup of 18 Brumaire?
A: The Directory.
Q: What office did Napoleon take after the 1799 coup?
A: First Consul.
Q: Which 1800 battle strengthened Napoleon's hold on power after a victory over Austria?
A: The Battle of Marengo.
Q: What 1801 agreement repaired relations between France and the Catholic Church?
A: The Concordat.
Q: What title did Napoleon assume in 1804?
A: Emperor of the French.
Empire, Eagles, and the Grande Armée
Q: Where was Napoleon crowned emperor in December 1804?
A: Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Q: Who was pope at Napoleon's coronation?
A: Pope Pius VII.
Q: What was Napoleon's principal field army called?
A: The Grande Armée.
Q: What self-contained formations helped Napoleon move large armies flexibly?
A: Army corps.
Q: What bird appeared atop the standards issued to Napoleon's regiments?
A: The eagle.
Q: Which legal code introduced under Napoleon influenced civil law worldwide?
A: The Napoleonic Code.
Q: What merit-based honor did Napoleon establish in 1802?
A: The Legion of Honour.
Q: Which bank did Napoleon establish in 1800?
A: The Bank of France.
Q: What title did Napoleon give many of his senior battlefield commanders?
A: Marshal of the Empire.
Q: Which marshal was nicknamed the “bravest of the brave”?
A: Michel Ney.
Q: Which marshal became king of Sweden and founded its present royal dynasty?
A: Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte.
Q: Which marshal commanded the famous Iron Marshal's III Corps at Auerstedt?
A: Louis-Nicolas Davout.
Q: Which cavalry commander became king of Naples in 1808?
A: Joachim Murat.
Q: Who was Napoleon's first wife?
A: Joséphine de Beauharnais.
Q: Which Austrian archduchess became Napoleon's second wife?
A: Marie Louise.
Austerlitz, Trafalgar, and a Continent at War
Q: Which three emperors are associated with the Battle of Austerlitz?
A: Napoleon, Francis II, and Alexander I.
Q: In what year was the Battle of Austerlitz fought?
A: 1805.
Q: Which two allied powers did France defeat at Austerlitz?
A: Austria and Russia.
Q: Which naval battle in 1805 ended Napoleon's immediate hopes of invading Britain?
A: The Battle of Trafalgar.
Q: Which admiral died during the British victory at Trafalgar?
A: Horatio Nelson.
Q: Which two fleets fought Britain at Trafalgar?
A: The French and Spanish fleets.
Q: What confederation did Napoleon organize among German states in 1806?
A: The Confederation of the Rhine.
Q: Which centuries-old empire ended in 1806 after pressure from Napoleon?
A: The Holy Roman Empire.
Q: At which paired battles did Napoleon crush Prussia in October 1806?
A: Jena and Auerstedt.
Q: Which Russian city gave its name to Napoleon's bloody, indecisive winter battle of 1807?
A: Eylau.
Q: Which 1807 victory over Russia led to the Treaties of Tilsit?
A: The Battle of Friedland.
Q: On a raft in which river did Napoleon meet Tsar Alexander I at Tilsit?
A: The Neman River.
Q: What economic blockade sought to close European ports to British trade?
A: The Continental System.
Q: Which British goods were the chief target of the Continental System?
A: British imports and commerce.
Q: Which 1809 battle was Napoleon's major victory over Austria near Vienna?
A: The Battle of Wagram.
The Peninsular War
Q: On which peninsula did French forces fight Spanish, Portuguese, and British armies?
A: The Iberian Peninsula.
Q: In what year did the Peninsular War begin?
A: 1808.
Q: Which brother did Napoleon install as king of Spain?
A: Joseph Bonaparte.
Q: What Madrid uprising on May 2, 1808, became a symbol of Spanish resistance?
A: The Dos de Mayo uprising.
Q: Which Spanish artist depicted the executions that followed that uprising?
A: Francisco Goya.
Q: What term for irregular fighters entered English through the Spanish resistance?
A: Guerrilla.
Q: Which British commander later became the Duke of Wellington?
A: Arthur Wellesley.
Q: Which Portuguese defensive works protected Lisbon in 1810?
A: The Lines of Torres Vedras.
Q: Which 1808 battle forced a French army under Dupont to surrender?
A: The Battle of Bailén.
Q: Which British general was killed after winning the Battle of Corunna?
A: Sir John Moore.
Q: Which 1812 victory helped Wellington capture Madrid?
A: The Battle of Salamanca.
Q: Which fortified Spanish city did British troops storm in April 1812?
A: Badajoz.
Q: Which 1813 battle broke French power in Spain?
A: The Battle of Vitoria.
Q: Into which country did Wellington's army advance after crossing the Pyrenees?
A: France.
Q: What nickname did Napoleon give the draining conflict in Spain?
A: The Spanish ulcer.
The Russian Campaign
Q: In what year did Napoleon invade Russia?
A: 1812.
Q: What river did the Grande Armée cross to begin the invasion?
A: The Neman River.
Q: Which Russian emperor opposed Napoleon in 1812?
A: Alexander I.
Q: Which Russian commander took overall command before Borodino?
A: Mikhail Kutuzov.
Q: What strategy denied supplies to Napoleon's advancing army?
A: Scorched earth.
Q: Which enormous battle was fought west of Moscow on September 7, 1812?
A: The Battle of Borodino.
Q: Which redoubt became a focus of fierce fighting at Borodino?
A: The Great Redoubt.
Q: What happened to much of Moscow after Napoleon entered it?
A: It burned.
Q: Did Alexander I negotiate peace while Napoleon waited in Moscow?
A: No.
Q: Which season compounded the Grande Armée's losses during its retreat?
A: Winter.
Q: Which river crossing became a symbol of the retreat's desperation?
A: The Berezina.
Q: Besides cold, what two major forces devastated Napoleon's army?
A: Hunger and disease.
Q: Which Russian mounted troops repeatedly harassed the retreat?
A: Cossacks.
Q: Did most of the invasion force return in fighting condition?
A: No.
Q: What political effect did the Russian disaster have across Europe?
A: It encouraged a new coalition against Napoleon.
Leipzig, Exile, and the Hundred Days
Q: What 1813 clash is known as the Battle of the Nations?
A: The Battle of Leipzig.
Q: Which four major powers fought Napoleon at Leipzig?
A: Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Sweden.
Q: Which former French marshal commanded Sweden's army against Napoleon?
A: Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte.
Q: In what year did Allied forces enter Paris and force Napoleon to abdicate?
A: 1814.
Q: To which island was Napoleon first exiled?
A: Elba.
Q: What title was Napoleon allowed to retain on Elba?
A: Emperor.
Q: Which Bourbon king returned to the French throne in 1814?
A: Louis XVIII.
Q: What name is given to Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815?
A: The Hundred Days.
Q: Near which French town did Napoleon land after escaping Elba?
A: Golfe-Juan.
Q: What happened when troops sent to arrest Napoleon met him near Grenoble?
A: They joined him.
Q: Which coalition formed to oppose Napoleon's return?
A: The Seventh Coalition.
Q: Which battle did Napoleon win against the Prussians two days before Waterloo?
A: The Battle of Ligny.
Q: Which battle delayed part of Wellington's army on June 16, 1815?
A: The Battle of Quatre Bras.
Q: Which marshal failed to prevent the Prussians from reaching Waterloo?
A: Emmanuel de Grouchy.
Q: Where did Napoleon abdicate for a second time?
A: Paris.
Waterloo and Saint Helena
Q: On what date was the Battle of Waterloo fought?
A: June 18, 1815.
Q: In which present-day country is Waterloo?
A: Belgium.
Q: Who commanded the Anglo-allied army at Waterloo?
A: The Duke of Wellington.
Q: Who commanded the Prussian army that arrived during the battle?
A: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.
Q: Which fortified farmhouse anchored Wellington's right at Waterloo?
A: Hougoumont.
Q: Which farm near the center of the battlefield was repeatedly attacked?
A: La Haye Sainte.
Q: What weather condition delayed Napoleon's main attack?
A: Rain that left the ground muddy.
Q: Which elite French troops made the final major assault?
A: The Imperial Guard.
Q: What happened when the Imperial Guard was repulsed?
A: The French army's retreat became a rout.
Q: Aboard which British warship did Napoleon surrender?
A: HMS Bellerophon.
Q: To which remote island was Napoleon exiled after Waterloo?
A: Saint Helena.
Q: In which ocean is Saint Helena?
A: The South Atlantic.
Q: What was Napoleon's residence on Saint Helena called?
A: Longwood House.
Q: In what year did Napoleon die?
A: 1821.
Q: Where are Napoleon's remains now entombed?
A: Les Invalides in Paris.
Coalitions, Diplomacy, and Lasting Change
Q: How many numbered coalitions fought Revolutionary and Napoleonic France?
A: Seven.
Q: Which country remained Napoleon's most persistent maritime enemy?
A: Britain.
Q: Which Austrian diplomat became a leading architect of the postwar settlement?
A: Klemens von Metternich.
Q: What congress redrew Europe's political map after Napoleon's defeat?
A: The Congress of Vienna.
Q: Which French diplomat represented restored France at that congress?
A: Charles Maurice de Talleyrand.
Q: What principle sought to restore established royal dynasties after the wars?
A: Legitimacy.
Q: What diplomatic idea aimed to prevent one state from dominating Europe?
A: The balance of power.
Q: Which kingdom gained substantial territory in the Rhineland after the wars?
A: Prussia.
Q: What new kingdom combined the northern and southern Netherlands in 1815?
A: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Q: Which European country received Norway in the postwar settlement?
A: Sweden.
Q: Which former Polish state did Napoleon create in 1807?
A: The Duchy of Warsaw.
Q: What measurement system spread through territories influenced by France?
A: The metric system.
Q: What legal principle did the Napoleonic Code proclaim for male citizens?
A: Equality before the law.
Q: Did the Napoleonic Code grant women legal equality with men?
A: No.
Q: What broad political force did French occupation often stimulate in Europe?
A: Nationalism.
Your Campaign Is Complete
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