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180-521: The monument commemorates the defeat of Napoleon 's French army at Leipzig, a crucial step towards the end of hostilities in the War of the Sixth Coalition . The coalition armies of Russia , Prussia , Austria and Sweden were led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg . There were Germans fighting on both sides, as Napoleon's troops also included conscripted Germans from

360-414: A Legislative Body and Tribunate which were selected from indirectly elected candidates, and a Senate and Council of State which were effectively nominated by the executive. The new constitution was approved by plebiscite on 7 February 1800. The official count was over three million in favour and 1,562 against. Lucien, however, had doubled the count of the "yes" vote to give the false impression that

540-697: A Seventh Coalition , which defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died of stomach cancer in 1821, aged 51. Napoleon is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and Napoleonic tactics are still studied at military schools worldwide. His legacy endures through the modernizing legal and administrative reforms he enacted in France and Western Europe, embodied in

720-517: A coup d'état that purged royalists from the legislative councils on 4 September—the Coup of 18 Fructidor . This left Barras and his republican allies in control again but more dependent upon Bonaparte who finalized peace terms with Austria by the Treaty of Campo Formio . Bonaparte returned to Paris on 5 December 1797 as a hero. He met Charles Maurice de Talleyrand , France's Foreign Minister, and took command of

900-650: A "heap of rocks", which had "nothing to do with art". The style proved influential, for instance in Eliel Saarinen 's design for a new parliament building in Canberra in 1912. Originally intended by the Association of German Patriots as a symbol for the achievement of German unity after a long period of struggle throughout the 19th century, the monument was soon accepted as a Nationaldenkmal (national monument), with different groups projecting different symbolism onto it. At

1080-652: A French company of Miners was captured and taken into service of the Republic. France also made extensive use of Free Companies and Legions. At the Battle of Fontenoy , deployment of the British attack column was hampered by the French 'Harquebusiers de Grassins'. After the Battle of Lauffelt, French light troops pursued the retreating allies, but were engaged in a bloody guerilla war with Austrian and Dutch light troops and Free Companies for

1260-577: A clear characterisation of the Monument difficult even today." Many of the sculptures reflect the masonic ideas of the members of the Patriotenbund , aimed at introducing them to the general public through the monument. Unlike many monuments and buildings of the era, the monument lacks classicist style elements, instead borrowing from the architecture of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt . Thieme, who made frequent adjustments to Schmitz's design, most often under

1440-566: A coalition of Russian, Austrian, Prussian, and Swedish forces. About half a million soldiers were involved and at the end of the battle, around 110,000 men had lost their lives, with many more dying in the days after in field hospitals in and around the city. The scope of the fighting was unprecedented. In the immediate aftermath, both the Battle of Leipzig as well as the Wars of Liberation ( Befreiungskriege ), as they became known in Germany, soon established

1620-445: A combination of amnesties for those who lay down their arms and brutal repression of those who continued to resist. Bonaparte also improved state finances by securing loans under a promise to defend private property, raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and salt, and extracting levies from France's satellite republics. Bonaparte believed that the best way to secure his regime was by a victorious peace. In May 1800, he led an army across

1800-479: A complex three-way struggle among royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. He became a supporter of the Jacobins and joined the pro-French Corsican Republicans who opposed Paoli's policy and his aspirations to secede. He was given command over a battalion of Corsican volunteers and promoted to captain in the regular army in 1792, despite exceeding his leave of absence and a dispute between his volunteers and

1980-458: A controversial and divided culture of remembrance. For liberal thinkers and young, educated students, many of whom had fought in the wars, they resembled a starting point for a potential German unification into a national state. This sentiment was embodied in the mythologization of the Freikorps and Landwehr regiments, volunteer fighters against the French rule. On the other side, the monarchs of

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2160-418: A design of a round tower with a dome on top. The Patriotic Association was again not convinced of the winning design and contemplated a third round, but in order not to lose more time, eventually decided to give the commission to Schmitz, who was the most well-respected German architect of the time. While Schmitz was the principal architect, Thieme took great influence on the design, leading to the monument having

2340-604: A distinctive character from Schmitz' earlier work. Schmitz delivered a new design in June 1897, which resembled the final result. This was approved by the Patriotic Association on 18 October 1897 and then presented to Emperor Wilhelm II for approval. In August, the design was presented during the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung in August 1898, where it won a prize. Several more design changes, especially to

2520-645: A group of 167 scientists, with mathematicians, naturalists, chemists, and geodesists among them. Their discoveries included the Rosetta Stone , and their work was published in the Description de l'Égypte in 1809. En route to Egypt, Bonaparte reached Hospitaller Malta on 9 June 1798, then controlled by the Knights Hospitaller . Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim surrendered after token resistance, and Bonaparte captured an important naval base with

2700-655: A kind of commando or guerrilla force. Throughout the 19th century, these anti-Napoleonic Freikorps were greatly praised and glorified by German nationalists, and a heroic myth built up around their exploits. This myth was invoked, in considerably different circumstances, in the aftermath of Germany's defeat in World War I . The anti-Napoleonic movements in Germany, Russia and Spain in the early 1810s also produced their own style of poetry, hussar poetry or Freikorps poetry , written by soldier-poets. In Germany, Theodor Körner , Max von Schenkendorff and Ernst Moritz Arndt were

2880-522: A lesser extent, German youth who were not old enough to have served in World War I enlisted in the Freikorps in hopes of proving themselves as patriots and as men. Regardless of reasons for joining, modern German historians agree that men of the Freikorps consistently embodied post- Enlightenment masculine ideals that are characterized by "physical, emotional, and moral 'hardness'". Described as "children of

3060-514: A letter to Arndt, Friedrich lamented in March 1814: "I am not at all surprised, that no memorials are being erected, neither to mark the great cause of the Volk , nor to the manganimous deeds of great German men. As long as we remain man-servants to the princes, nothing of this sort will happen." Other people came forward with plans for a large memorial as well, including Karl Sieveking and August von Kotzebue ,

3240-483: A majority of those eligible to vote had approved the constitution. Historians have variously described Bonaparte's new regime as "dictatorship by plebiscite," "absolutist rule decked out in the spirit of the age," and "soft despotism." Local and regional administration was reformed to concentrate power in the central government, censorship was introduced, and most opposition newspapers were closed down to stifle dissent. Royalist and regional revolts were dealt with by

3420-662: A member of the Verein für die Geschichte Leipzigs (Association for the History of Leipzig) learned during a meeting of the association about the past plans to build a monument. Interested in resuming the project, Thieme, who was also a member of the Apollo masonic lodge and represented the National Liberal Party in Leipzig's city parliament, proposed the project during a meeting and gained

3600-482: A monument in his honour at the site, in 1838. In 1843, a sandstone monument was erected at "Napoleon Hill", where the Emperor had supposedly watched the battle. Two years later, the local government of Leipzig established another monument, commemorating the entrance of the victorious forces into the city. Until 1863, seven memorial stones were also placed to mark decisive points of the battle, which still remain to this day. In

3780-509: A monument to be built at the site. In a pamphlet entitled " Ein Wort über die Feier der Leipziger Schlacht " ("A Word on the Celebration of the Battle of Leipzig"), he demanded that it "has to be constructed in such a way that it can be seen from all the streets around from which the allied armies moved to the bloody decisive battle. If it is to be seen, it has to be large and splendid – like a collosus,

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3960-547: A number of "Vrij compagnieën"(Free Companies), raised between 1745 and 1747 and made up of volunteers and French deserters, such as the Walloon Grenadier Company. Although mostly used for reconnaissance and harassing enemy columns, the companies were organised into a battalion and engaged at the engagement at Wouw and the Battle of Lauffelt . Some companies were accompanied by a company of Dragons or Hussars, such as Roodt's Company and Cornabé's Legion. And in late 1747,

4140-613: A plebiscite since the Revolution. France had regained her overseas colonies under Amiens but did not control them all. The French National Convention had voted to abolish slavery in February 1794, but, in May 1802, Bonaparte reintroduced it in all the recovered colonies except Saint-Domingue and Guadeloupe which were under the control of rebel generals. A French military expedition under Antoine Richepanse regained control of Guadeloupe and slavery

4320-457: A pyramid, a Cologne Cathedral ". His plans included a 60 m (200 ft) high mound surrounded by oak groves, with a large cross on top. However, lack of political will prevented such a monument of being built at the time. Arndt, together with the painter Caspar David Friedrich , worked on a monument for Gerhard von Scharnhorst , who had died from injuries sustained in the Battle of Großgörschen, but received no support from state officials. In

4500-787: A section leader and quartermaster. Reich Farmers' Leader and Minister of Food and Agriculture Richard Walther Darré was part of the Berlin Freikorps. Reinhard Heydrich , future chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo , Kripo , and SD ) and initiator of the Final Solution , was in Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker 's Freikorps as a teenager. Leader of the SS Heinrich Himmler enlisted in

4680-579: A sense of belonging in the Freikorps. Jason Crouthamel notes how the Freikorps' military structure was a familiar continuation of the frontlines, emulating the Kampfgemeinschaft (battle community) and Kameradschaft (camaraderie), thus preserving "the heroic spirit of comradeship in the trenches". Others, angry at Germany's sudden, seemingly inexplicable defeat , joined the Freikorps to fight against communism and socialism in Germany or to exact some form of revenge on those they considered responsible. To

4860-557: A series of victories. The Republic, however, was bankrupt and the ineffective Directory was unpopular. Despite the failures in Egypt, Bonaparte returned to a hero's welcome. The Directory discussed Bonaparte's desertion but was too weak to punish him. Bonaparte formed an alliance with Talleyrand and leading members of the Council of Five Hundred and Directory: Lucien Bonaparte, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès , Roger Ducos and Joseph Fouché to overthrow

5040-511: A temporary increase of French power in Egypt, though it faced repeated uprisings. In early 1799, he moved an army into the Ottoman province of Damascus (Syria and Galilee ). Bonaparte led these 13,000 French soldiers in the conquest of the coastal towns of Arish , Gaza , Jaffa , and Haifa . The attack on Jaffa was particularly brutal. Bonaparte discovered that many of the defenders were former prisoners of war, ostensibly on parole, so he ordered

5220-501: A total of eight 6 m (6.6 yd) high death masks. The crypt was meant as a symbolic tomb for the fallen soldiers of the battle. In the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) on the second floor, four large sculptures are placed facing each other, each meant to symbolise an alleged virtue of the German people (bravery, strength of faith, people's strength, and sacrifice). Each of these sculptures

5400-522: A typical Corsican of the time. In January 1779, at age 9, Napoleon moved to the French mainland and enrolled at a religious school in Autun to improve his French (his mother tongue was the Corsican dialect of Italian). Although he eventually became fluent in French, he spoke with a Corsican accent and his French spelling was poor. In May, he transferred to the military academy at Brienne-le-Château where he

5580-583: Is 124 metres (407 ft) square. The main structure, at 91 metres (299 ft), is as of 2013 still the tallest monument in Europe. Poser places the monument in a line of tradition of similar national monuments of the 19th century. The design deviates consciously from the style of the Wilhelmine period of the time, as the architects attempted to develop a distinctly German style in architecture and sculpture. A "multitude of symbols and metaphors", as Poser writes, "makes

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5760-447: Is 9.5 m (10.4 yd) tall. Towering above the crypt is a 68 m (74 yd) high dome. Leading towards it, pillared windows are decorated with 96 smaller sculptures representing the suffering in war. The dome itself is filled with "324 almost life-sized equestrian statues representing the homecoming of the victors". The dome, 29 m (32 yd) in diameter, creates unusual acoustics which allow for concerts to take place within

5940-672: The Conspiration des poignards (Dagger plot) in October 1800 and the Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise two months later, gave him a pretext to arrest about 100 suspected Jacobins and royalists, some of whom were shot and many others deported to penal colonies. After a decade of war, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, bringing the Revolutionary Wars to an end. Under

6120-555: The Battle of Leipzig . The coalition invaded France and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. They exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba and restored the Bourbons to power . Ten months later, Napoleon escaped from Elba on a brig, landed in France with a thousand men, and marched on Paris, again taking control of the country. His opponents responded by forming

6300-462: The Battle of the Nations outside Leipzig was the decisive one in the war, cementing the French defeat and temporarily ending Napoleon's rule. The Emperor was exiled to Elba in May 1814, but briefly returned to power the following year, before being permanently banished following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo . The Battle of the Nations was fought between France and their German allies against

6480-592: The Corps Francs d'Afrique (CFA) (African Corps Franc) was raised in French Morocco within the Free French Forces by General Giraud . Giraud drew the members of the all-volunteer unit from residents of Northern Africa of diverse religious backgrounds (Christian, Jew, and Muslim) and gave them the title of Vélite , a name inspired by the elite light infantry of Napoleon's Imperial Guard , who were named after

6660-1064: The Darlan Deal wherein Vichy French forces came over to the Allied side. Darlan was later assassinated by Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle , an early member of the Corps Francs d'Afrique. They functioned as the Free French equivalent to the British Commandos . The Corps also included many Spanish and International old combatants of the Spanish Republican Army , which had sought refuge in Northern Africa in 1939. The Corps Francs d'Afrique, under command of Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert , went on to fight Rommel's Afrikakorps in Tunisia with

6840-514: The Fall of Maximilien Robespierre in July 1794, Bonaparte's association with leading Jacobins made him politically suspect to the new regime. He was arrested on 9 August but released two weeks later. He was asked to draw up plans to attack Italian positions as part of France's war with Austria and, in March 1795, he took part in an expedition to take back Corsica from the British, but the French were repulsed by

7020-664: The French Republican calendar —he fired on the rebels with canister rounds (later called: "a whiff of grapeshot "). About 300 to 1,400 rebels died in the uprising. Bonaparte's role in defeating the rebellion earned him and his family the patronage of the new government, the French Directory . On 26 October, he was promoted to commander of the Army of the Interior, and in January 1796 he

7200-678: The French Revolution and led a series of successful campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815. Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and

7380-521: The Gorlitz Freikorps under Lieutenant Colonel Faupel, and two Swabian divisions from Württemberg under General Haas and Major Hirl as well as the largest Freikorps in Bavaria commanded by Colonel Franz Ritter von Epp . While they were met with little Communist resistance, the Freikorps acted with particular brutality and violence under Noske's blessing and at the behest of Major Schulz, adjutant of

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7560-753: The Groupes Francs Motorisé de Cavalerie (GFC) who played a storied role in the delaying operations and last stands of the Battle of France , notably in the defenses of the Seine and the Loire . Between April – September 1944, the Corps Franc de la Montagne Noire unit operated as part of the French Resistance . On 25 November 1942, in the immediate aftermath of the Allied Invasion of Vichy French North Africa

7740-415: The King's German Legion , who had fought for Britain in French-occupied Spain and mainly were recruited from Hanoverians, the Lützow Free Corps and the Black Brunswickers . The Freikorps attracted many nationally disposed citizens and students. Freikorps commanders such as Ferdinand von Schill , Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow or Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , known as

7920-456: The Lützow Freikorps , who reminded his men that it "[was] a lot better to kill a few innocent people than to let one guilty person escape" and that there was no place in his ranks for those whose conscience bothered them. On 5 May 1919, Lieutenant Georg Pölzing, one of Schulz's officers, travelled to the town of Perlach outside of Munich . There, Pölzing chose a dozen alleged communist workers—none of whom were actually communists, but members of

8100-404: The Maginot Line during the period known as the Phoney War (Drôle de Guerre) . They were tasked with attacking German troops guarding the Siegfried Line . Future Vichy collaborationist , Anti-Bolshevik and SS Major Joseph Darnand was one of the more famous participants in these commando actions. In May 1940, the experience of the Phoney War-era Corps Franc was an influence in creating

8280-473: The Maison Bonaparte home in Ajaccio , where Napoleon was born on 15 August 1769. He had an elder brother, Joseph , and, later, six younger siblings: Lucien , Elisa , Louis , Pauline , Caroline , and Jérôme . Five more siblings were stillborn or did not survive infancy. Napoleon was baptized as a Catholic , under the name Napoleone di Buonaparte . In his youth, his name was also spelled as Nabulione , Nabulio , Napolionne , and Napulione . Napoleon

8460-409: The Napoleonic Code . He established a system of public education, abolished the vestiges of feudalism , emancipated Jews and other religious minorities, abolished the Spanish Inquisition , enacted the principle of equality before the law for an emerging middle class, and centralized state power at the expense of religious authorities. His conquests acted as a catalyst for political change and

8640-417: The Napoleonic Wars , Austria recruited various Freikorps of Slavic origin. The Slavonic Wurmser Freikorps fought in Alsace . The combat effectiveness of the six Viennese Freikorps (37,000 infantrymen and cavalrymen), however, was low. An exception were the border regiments of Croats and Serbs who served permanently on the Austro- Ottoman border. During Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia ,

8820-403: The Nazi Party 's Sturmabteilung (SA), the Stahlhelm and others. Steffen Poser described the monument in the interwar years as a site used mainly by institutions working against the democratic, republican system. Following the rise of the Nazi Party to power and Adolf Hitler 's appointment as Chancellor of Germany , the monument was quickly turned into a meeting ground meant to symbolise

9000-453: The Nazis beginning in 1923. The rise of the Nazi Party led to a resurgence of Freikorps activity, as many members or ex-members were drawn to the party's marrying of military and political life and extreme nationalism by joining the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS). Unlike in the German Revolution of 1918–19 or their involvement in Eastern Europe, the Freikorps now had almost no military value and were instead utilized by

9180-659: The Nazis in their rise to power. The first Freikorps appeared during the War of the Austrian Succession and especially during the Seven Years' War, when France, Prussia, and the Habsburg monarchy embarked on an escalation of petty warfare while conserving their regular regiments. Even during the last Kabinettskrieg , the War of the Bavarian Succession , Freikorp formations were formed in 1778. Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Lithuanians, and South Slavs , as well as Turks, Tatars and Cossacks , were believed by all warring parties to be inherently good fighters. The nationality of many soldiers can no longer be ascertained as

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9360-455: The Roman Velites . Much of the Corps was drawn from Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie and José Aboulker 's Géo Gras French Resistance Group which had been responsible for the Algiers Insurrection where the Resistance seized control of Algiers on the night of 8 November 1942 in coordination with the Allied landings happening that same night. In taking over Algiers, they managed to capture both Admiral Darlan and General Juin , which led to

9540-409: The Social Democratic Party —and shot them on the spot. The following day, a Freikorps patrol led by Captain Alt-Sutterheim interrupted the meeting of a local Catholic club, the St Joseph Society, and chose twenty of the thirty members present to be shot, beaten, and bayoneted to death. A memorial on Pfanzeltplatz in Munich commemorates the incident. Historian Nigel Jones notes that as a result of

9720-443: The Sultan of Mysore , an enemy of the British. Bonaparte assured the Directory that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions". The Directory agreed in order to secure a trade route to the Indian subcontinent . In May 1798, Bonaparte was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences . His Egyptian expedition included

9900-401: The USSR . In 1953, the East German government hosted a large celebration of the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, at the cost of 680,000 East German marks . Thousands of people assembled in Leipzig, leading parades through the city towards the monument. Equally, ten years later, in 1963, the anniversary was marked with a big event, joined by regiments of the Soviet army, highlighting

10080-411: The Wartburg as well as the Battle of Leipzig. However, following the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 both the Burschenschaften , the nationalistic student groups, as well as the Turners , were outlawed, and commemoration of the Battle of Leipzig subsided over the following years. In the 1840s, the "Association for the Celebration of October 19" was established in Leipzig, partly reviving the remembrance of

10260-451: The Weimar Republic , the monument was still controlled by the Association of German Patriots, who restricted who was allowed to use it and how. Ideologically, the Association was most closely linked with the German People's Party , and both institutions held a common October celebration at the monument on the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig. In the years after World War I, the monument was commonly used for remembrance events for fallen of

10440-540: The Weimar Republic , the tenuous German government under Friedrich Ebert , leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands , SPD), used the Freikorps to quell socialist and communist uprisings. Minister of Defence and SPD member Gustav Noske also relied on the Freikorps to suppress the Marxist Spartacist uprising , culminating in the summary executions of revolutionary communist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on 15 January 1919. The Bavarian Soviet Republic

10620-430: The völkisch (ethnic) unity of the nation and the subservience of the individual to the collective. On 16 July 1933, the Nazi Party held their first big rally at the monument, culminating in a speech by Hitler. On 10 June 1934, the now state party organised a rally in support of the Territory of the Saar Basin rejoining Germany in advance of the referendum held the following January . Just one week later, on 17 June 1934,

10800-501: The "Black Duke", led their own attacks on Napoleonic occupation forces in Germany. Those led by Schill were decimated in the Battle of Stralsund (1809) ; many were killed in battle or executed at Napoleon's command in the aftermath. The Freikorps were very popular during the period of the German War of Liberation (1813–15), during which von Lützow, a survivor of Schill's Freikorps , formed his Lützow Free Corps. The anti-Napoleonic Freikorps often operated behind French lines as

10980-430: The "Thousand of Marsala", which landed in Sicily in 1860. Even before the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, Freikorps were developed in France that were known as franc-tireurs . After World War I , the meaning of the word Freikorps changed compared to its past iterations. After 1918, the term referred to various—yet, still, loosely affiliated— paramilitary organizations that were established in Germany following

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11160-428: The Army of England for the planned invasion of Britain. After two months of planning, Bonaparte decided that France's naval strength was not yet sufficient to confront the British Royal Navy. He decided on a military expedition to seize Egypt and thereby undermine Britain's access to its trade interests in India . Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East and join forces with Tipu Sultan ,

11340-405: The Austrians again challenged France in the War of the Fifth Coalition , in which Napoleon solidified his grip over Europe after winning the Battle of Wagram . In summer 1812, he launched an invasion of Russia , which ended in the catastrophic retreat of his army that winter. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russia in the War of the Sixth Coalition , in which Napoleon was decisively defeated at

11520-413: The Austrians at Hohenlinden in December. The Austrians capitulated and signed the Treaty of Lunéville in February 1801. The treaty reaffirmed and expanded earlier French gains at Campo Formio. Bonaparte's triumph at Marengo increased his popularity and political authority. However, he still faced royalist plots and feared Jacobin influence, especially in the army. Several assassination plots, including

11700-722: The Austrians sued for peace. The preliminary peace of Leoben , signed on 18 April, gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries , and promised to partition the Republic of Venice with Austria. Bonaparte marched on Venice and forced its surrender , ending 1,100 years of Venetian independence. He authorized the French to loot treasures such as the Horses of Saint Mark . In this Italian campaign, Bonaparte's army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons, and 170 standards . The French army fought 67 actions and won 18 pitched battles through superior artillery technology and Bonaparte's tactics. Bonaparte extracted an estimated 45 million French pounds from Italy during

11880-476: The Austrians, laying siege to Mantua . The Austrians launched offensives against the French to break the siege, but Bonaparte defeated every relief effort, winning the Battle of Castiglione , the Battle of Bassano , the Battle of Arcole , and the Battle of Rivoli . The French triumph at Rivoli in January 1797 led to the collapse of the Austrian position in Italy. At Rivoli, Austria lost 43% of its soldiers dead, wounded or taken prisoner. The French then invaded

12060-421: The Corsican assembly had condemned him and his family, the Buonapartes fled to Toulon on the French mainland. Bonaparte returned to his regiment in Nice and was made captain of a coastal battery. In July 1793, he published a pamphlet, Le souper de Beaucaire (Supper at Beaucaire ), demonstrating his support for the National Convention which was now heavily influenced by the Jacobins. In September, with

12240-454: The East, the Freikorps launched a campaign of propaganda that falsely positioned themselves as protectors of Germany's territorial hegemony over Lithuania , Latvia , and Estonia as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and as defenders against Slavic and Bolshevik hordes that "raped women and butchered children" in their wake. Historian Nigel Jones highlights the Freikorps's "usual excesses" of violence and murder in Latvia which were all

12420-433: The First Coalition , scoring decisive victories and becoming a national hero. He led an invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1798 which served as a springboard to political power. In November 1799, Napoleon engineered the Coup of 18 Brumaire against the Directory , and became First Consul of the Republic. He won the Battle of Marengo in 1800, which secured France's victory in the War of the Second Coalition , and in 1803 sold

12600-412: The Fourth Coalition , Napoleon defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806, marched his Grande Armée into Eastern Europe, and defeated the Russians in 1807 at the Battle of Friedland . Seeking to extend his trade embargo against Britain , Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain in 1808, provoking the Peninsular War . In 1809,

12780-536: The Freikorps and carried a flag in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch . Rudolf Höss joined the East Prussian Volunteer Freikorps in 1919 and eventually became commander of the Auschwitz extermination camp . Ernst Röhm , eventual leader of the SA , supported various Bavarian Freikorps groups, funnelling them arms and cash. Although many high-ranking National Socialists were former Freikorps fighters, recent research shows that former Freikorps fighters were no more likely to be involved in National Socialist organisations than

12960-565: The Freikorps as a nuisance and possible threat to his consolidation of power. During the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, an internal purge of Hitler's enemies within the Nazi Party , numerous Freikorps members and leaders were targeted for killing or arrest, including Freikorps commander Hermann Ehrhardt and SA leader Ernst Röhm . In Hitler's Reichstag speech following the purge, Hitler denounced

13140-669: The Freikorps as lawless "moral degenerates...aimed at the destruction of all existing institutions" and as "pathological enemies of the state...[and] enemies of all authority," despite his previous public adoration of the movement. Numerous future members and leaders of the Nazi Party served in the Freikorps. Martin Bormann , eventual head of the Nazi party Chancellery and Private Secretary to Hitler, joined Gerhard Roßbach's Freikorps in Mecklenburg as

13320-463: The Freikorps radicalized Western and German norms of male self-control into a perpetual war against feminine-coded desires for domesticity, tenderness, and compassion amongst men. Historians Nigel Jones and Thomas Kühne note that the Freikorps' displays of violence, terror, and male aggression and solidarity established the beginnings of the fascist New Man upon which the Nazis built. The extent of

13500-482: The Freikorps' autonomy and strength steadily declined as Hans von Seeckt , commander of the Reichswehr, removed all Freikorps members from the army and restricted the movements' access to future funding and equipment from the government. Von Seeckt was successful, and by 1921 only a small yet devoted core remained, effectively drawing an end to the Freikorps until their resurgence as far-right thugs and street brawlers for

13680-510: The Freikorps' involvement and actions in Eastern Europe , where they demonstrated full autonomy and rejected orders from the Reichswehr and German government , left a negative impression with the state. By this time, the Freikorps had served Ebert's purpose of suppressing revolts and communist uprisings. After the failed Kapp-Lütwitz Putsch in March 1920 that the Freikorps participated in,

13860-520: The Freikorps' violence, Munich's undertakers were overwhelmed, resulting in bodies lying in the streets and decaying until mass graves were completed. The Freikorps also fought against communists and Bolsheviks in Eastern Europe, most notably East Prussia , Latvia , Silesia , and Poland . The Freikorps demonstrated fervent anti-Slavic racism and viewed Slavs and Bolsheviks as "sub-human" hordes of "ravening wolves". To justify their campaign in

14040-580: The French garrison in Ajaccio. In February 1793, Bonaparte took part in the failed French expedition to Sardinia . Following allegations that Paoli had sabotaged the expedition and that his regime was corrupt and incompetent, the French National Convention outlawed him. In early June, Bonaparte and 400 French troops failed to capture Ajaccio from Corsican volunteers and the island was now controlled by Paoli's supporters. When Bonaparte learned that

14220-608: The French who were gradually driven back. Late in the afternoon, however, a full division under Desaix arrived on the field and reversed the tide of the battle. The Austrian army fled leaving behind 14,000 casualties. The following day, the Austrians signed an armistice and agreed to abandon Northern Italy. When peace negotiations with Austria stalled, Bonaparte reopened hostilities in November. A French army under General Moreau swept through Bavaria and scored an overwhelming victory over

14400-494: The German states as well as conservatives highlighted the role the princes had played in the struggle against Napoleon, seeing a growing desire for a German national state as an attack on their royal and noble positions. Ernst Moritz Arndt , a leading liberal and nationalistic writer, called for a commemoration of the battle throughout Germany. He pronounced that the anniversary on 19 October should be marked by festivities with "burning fires, festive 'folk' clothing, oak wreaths, and

14580-485: The Germanic people of antiquity. The oaks are complemented by evergreens, symbolising feminine fecundity, and they are located in a subordinate position to the oaks. The architectural style of the monument was immediately divisive even among contemporaries. While commentators from the völkisch -nationalistic side hailed it as a major artistic achievement, people from the political left, like Social Democrats , described it as

14760-662: The Italian form "Napoleone di Buonaparte." Two days after the marriage, Bonaparte left Paris to take command of the Army of Italy. He went on the offensive, hoping to defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia in Piedmont before their Austrian allies could intervene. In a series of victories during the Montenotte campaign , he knocked the Piedmontese out of the war in two weeks. The French then focused on

14940-589: The Kingdom of Sardinia. The French army carried out Bonaparte's plan in the Second Battle of Saorgio in April 1794, and then advanced to seize Ormea in the mountains. From Ormea, it headed west to outflank the Austro-Sardinian positions around Saorge . After this campaign, Augustin Robespierre sent Bonaparte on a mission to the Republic of Genoa to determine the country's intentions towards France. After

15120-506: The Mamluks' Egyptian cavalry. Twenty-nine French and approximately 2,000 Egyptians were killed. The victory boosted the French army's morale. On 1 August 1798, the British fleet under Sir Horatio Nelson captured or destroyed all but two vessels of the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile , preventing Bonaparte from strengthening the French position in the Mediterranean. His army had succeeded in

15300-499: The Nazis as thugs to engage in street brawls with communists and to break up anarchist, communist and socialist meetings alongside the SA to gain a political edge. Moreover, the Nazis elevated the Freikorps as a symbol of pure German nationalism, anti-communism, and militarized masculinity to co-opt the lingering social and political support of the movement. Eventually, Adolf Hitler came to view

15480-688: The Royal Navy. From 1794, Bonaparte was in a romantic relationship with Désirée Clary whose sister Julie Clary had married Bonaparte's elder brother Joseph. In April 1795, Bonaparte was assigned to the Army of the West , which was engaged in the War in the Vendée —a civil war and royalist counter-revolution in the Vendée region. As an infantry command, it was a demotion from artillery general and he pleaded poor health to avoid

15660-587: The Swiss Alps into Italy, aiming to surprise the Austrian armies that had reoccupied the peninsula when Bonaparte was still in Egypt. After a difficult crossing over the Alps, the French captured Milan on 2 June. The French confronted an Austrian army under Michael von Melas at Marengo on 14 June. The Austrians fielded about 30,000 soldiers while Bonaparte commanded 24,000 troops. The Austrians' initial attack surprised

15840-536: The U.S. 5th Army . They fought alongside the British 139th Brigade at Kassarine and Sidi Nasr , where they famously conducted a heroic bayonet charge, facing two to one odds, against the Italian 34th Battalion of the 10th Bersaglieri near the mountain of Kef Zilia on the road to Bizerte , taking 380 prisoners, killing the Italian battalion commander, and capturing the plans for Operation Ausladung . They participated in

16020-577: The Vendée campaign. He sought a transfer to Constantinople to offer his services to Sultan Selim III . The request was eventually granted, but he never took up the post. On 3 October, royalists in Paris declared a rebellion against the National Convention. Paul Barras , a leader of the Thermidorian Reaction , knew of Bonaparte's military exploits at Toulon and made him second in command of

16200-611: The Wars of Liberation was erected in Berlin in 1821. Designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel , it was a miniature of a gothic church tower situated on top of the Kreuzberg , bearing the names of twelve battles fought against the French. Its inscription, "From the king to the people who, at his call, nobly sacrificed their blood and chattels to the Fatherland", highlighted the role of the monarch over that of

16380-680: The Western Allies in West Germany was likened to the Confederation of the Rhine 's "betrayal" of Germany during the Napoleonic Era. In May 1952, East German leader Walter Ulbricht declared that "the victory over Napoleon was made possible [...] 1. through the organisation of a people's army [...] 2. through German-Russian alliance in arms", thereby drawing a connection to East Germany's alignment with

16560-625: The aftermath of World War I and during the German Revolution of 1918–19 , Freikorps , consisting partially of World War I veterans, were raised as paramilitary militias. They were ostensibly mustered to fight on behalf of the government against the German communists attempting to overthrow the Weimar Republic . However, many Freikorps also largely despised the Republic and were involved in assassinations of its supporters, later aiding

16740-691: The aftermath of the Napoleonic era , Freikorps were set up with varying degrees of success. During the March 1848 riots, student Freikorps were set up in Munich. In First Schleswig War of 1848 the Freikorps of von der Tann , Zastrow and others distinguished themselves. In 1864 in Mexico, the French formed the so-called Contreguerrillas under former Prussian hussar officer, Milson. In Italy , Giuseppe Garibaldi formed his famous Freischars , notably

16920-730: The annual celebration surrounding the anniversary on the Battle of Leipzig, in October 1925, the monument hosted the first German Reichskriegertag (Imperial Day of the Warrior), celebrating German veterans and the fallen soldiers of the World War. The last big event during the Weimar years came from 18 to 20 September 1932, when the Gustav-Adolf-Verein , a society under the Evangelical Church in Germany , celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary with participation of right-wing organisations such as

17100-400: The annual celebrations became smaller and more muted. On Christmas Day 1943, the monument was for the first time used to mourn civilian deaths, as the citizens of Leipzig gathered to remember the victims of the bombing of the city on 4 December 1943 . In 1944, the celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig was called off altogether, as the Allied forces advanced on Germany. During

17280-529: The average male population in Germany. During World War II , there existed certain armed groups loyal to Germany that went under the name "Freikorps". These include: In France , a similar group (but unrelated to the Freikorps) were the "Corps Franc". Starting in October 1939, the French Army raised a number of Corps Franc units with the mission of carrying out ambush, raid, and harassing operations forward of

17460-659: The battle, the cross was removed by the winter of the same year, following the division of the Kingdom of Saxony at the Congress of Vienna . In 1817, a monument to Józef Poniatowski , a Marshal of the French Empire who had died in the battle, was placed by his sister and Polish veterans near the battle site. After the establishment of the "Association for the Celebration of October 19", more small monuments started to be built. The family of Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg also placed

17640-646: The battles of Krasnoi and the Berezina . Freikorps in the modern sense emerged in Germany during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. They fought not so much for money but for patriotic reasons, seeking to shake off the French Confederation of the Rhine . After the French under Emperor Napoleon had either conquered the German states or forced them to collaborate, remnants of the defeated armies continued to fight on in this fashion. Famous formations included

17820-502: The best examples of Wilhelmine architecture. The monument is said to stand on the spot of some of the bloodiest fighting, from where Napoleon ordered the retreat of his army. It was also the scene of fighting in World War II, when Nazi forces in Leipzig made their last stand against U.S. troops. Following the French Revolution , France had waged a number of wars against its European neighbours. Napoleon Bonaparte had taken control of

18000-422: The birthday of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg . As the war neared its end, the focus of events shifted more towards the monument's original intention. Instead of remembrance for the fallen of a battle one hundred years prior, it now became a site for grieving of the recent dead on the battlefield, such as during a large church service for remembrance of the fallen on 24 June 1918. During the interwar period of

18180-501: The brutal and deadly beatings of suspected communists and particularly communist women. Freikorps ranks were composed primarily of former World War I soldiers who, upon demobilization , were unable to reintegrate into civilian society having been brutalized by the violence of the war physically and mentally. Combined with the government's poor support of veterans, who were dismissed as hysterical when suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder , many German veterans found comfort and

18360-490: The building site in 1904. At the front side of the monument, a 19 m (21 yd) high and 60 m (66 yd) wide relief depicts a battle scene. The centre piece of the relief is a sculpture of the Archangel Saint Michael, symbolising the personification of God's support for the German soldiers. Above Michael, an engraving reads " Gott mit uns " ["God with us"]. To either side of the archangel, furies carry

18540-452: The campaign, another 12 million pounds in precious metals and jewels, and more than 300 paintings and sculptures. During the campaign, Bonaparte became increasingly influential in French politics. He founded two newspapers: one for the troops in his army and one for circulation in France. The royalists attacked him for looting Italy and warned that he might become a dictator. Bonaparte sent General Pierre Augereau to Paris to support

18720-699: The capture of Bizerte in May 1943. For its actions, the Corps Franc d'Afrique was awarded the Croix de Guerre . The CFA formally was dissolved on 9 July 1943, with its members and equipment forming the corps of the newly created African Commando Group (GCA) on 13 July 1943 in Dupleix , Algeria , today seen as a forebear to the postwar Parachutist Shock Battalions and the modern day 13th RDP . The GCA went on to fight at Pianosa , Elba , Salerno , Provence , Belfort , Giromagny , Alsace , Cernay , Guebwiller , Buhl , and

18900-531: The city of Leipzig erected a monument to the German unification in its centre in 1888. Steffen Poser, head of the Museum of the Monument for the Battle of the Nations, wrote: "[T]he foundation of the German Empire deprived the monument project of what had been its basis for legitimacy so far—namely, the desire for German unification, the leitmotif , which had been missing at the time." In 1894, Clemens Thieme ( de ),

19080-619: The civil rights of women and children in France, reintroduced a hereditary monarchy and nobility, and violently repressed popular uprisings against his rule. Napoleon's family was of Italian origin. His paternal ancestors, the Buonapartes, descended from a minor Tuscan noble family who emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century and his maternal ancestors, the Ramolinos, descended from a noble family from Lombardy . Napoleon's parents, Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino , lived in

19260-408: The conflict as well as events focused on the territorial losses suffered by Germany with the Treaty of Versailles . The Association thereby closely associated the monument with nationalistic tendencies within the Republic. On 27 April 1924 for instance, the Association of German Patriots hosted a celebration for the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the now lost German overseas colonies . Alongside

19440-405: The construction. A first competition to find an architectural design was started in August 1895, with prizes for the best handed out. During the first round, only 32 design were handed in, with first prize going to Karl Doflein from Berlin. However, the Patriotenbund was unhappy with the results on the grounds that they were not innovative enough and none was eventually chosen for the monument. In

19620-627: The country, first as Consul from 1799, and reigned as Emperor of the French under the title Napoleon I since 1804. Over the course of the hostilities, the Holy Roman Empire had ceased to exist following the abdication of Emperor Francis II , bowing to Napoleon's pressure, including the foundation of the Confederation of the Rhine from various former members of the Empire. The War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 had ended with another defeat for

19800-400: The defeat in World War I. Of the numerous Weimar paramilitary groups active during that time, the Freikorps were, and remain, the most notable. While numbers are difficult to determine, historians agree that some 500,000 men were formal Freikorps members with another 1.5 million men participating informally. Amongst the social, political, and economic upheavals that marked the early years of

19980-522: The design of a bigger monument was also started for the anniversary, without success. However, the Unification of Germany and the subsequent foundation of the German Empire temporarily halted plans for a monument, since public conscience turned towards the more recent military victories. The commemoration of the Battle of Leipzig as a decisive one in German history was replaced by the Battle of Sedan and

20160-432: The development of nation states . However, he is controversial due to his role in wars which devastated Europe, his looting of conquered territories, and his mixed record on civil rights. He abolished the free press, ended directly elected representative government, exiled and jailed critics of his regime, reinstated slavery in France's colonies except for Haiti , banned the entry of blacks and mulattos into France, reduced

20340-504: The dome roof, stand twelve warrior statues, each composed of 47 granite blocks and 13 m (14 yd) tall, meant to remind of the Germans' will to defend themselves. In the inaugural text about the monument, these statues were described as "guardians of freedom and pillars of justice". In the circle-shaped crypt on the first floor, sixteen statues of warriors ( Totenwächter ) are present, symbolically standing guard, two each in front of

20520-461: The economy recovering, Bonaparte became increasingly popular, both domestically and abroad. In May 1802, the Council of State recommended a new plebiscite asking the French people to make "Napoleon Bonaparte" Consul for life. (It was the first time his first name was officially used by the regime.) About 3.6 million voted "yes" and 8,374 "no." 40%-60% of eligible Frenchmen voted, the highest turnout for

20700-528: The ethnic origin was often described imprecisely in the regimental lists. Slavs (Croats, Serbs) were often referred to as "Hungarians" or just "Croats", and Muslim recruits (Albanians, Bosnians, Tatars) as "Turks". Inspired by the Slavic troops in Austrian service, France, the Dutch Republic and other nations began employing "Free Troops", usually consisting of infantry and cavalry units. The Dutch Republic employed

20880-437: The event, however, only the anniversaries in 1838 and 1863 were "forcefully expressed". In 1863, for the battle's 50th anniversary, the city of Leipzig put up large festivities, inviting representatives from 200 German cities and several hundred veterans. The celebrations included nationalistic songs and the reading of poems, with between 25,000 and 30,000 people in attendance. Shortly after the Battle of Leipzig, Arndt called for

21060-421: The factors of cost and higher creative freedom ultimately led to the use of concrete. Work on the foundations alone took five years. In total, 26,500 granite blocks and 120,000 cubic metres (160,000 cu yd) of concrete were used for the entire structure. Due to the use of state-of-the-art machineries, such as traction engines, lifts, a concrete mixer, and a cable railway for transporting gravel, construction

21240-434: The façade was gradually removed. The pavement in front of the monument was relaid, while a large shell hole dating from World War II was patched up. Not all war damage was removed however, deliberately leaving open some signs of bullets and shell splinters as a reminder. A new drainage system was integrated into the structure to safeguard the building from future water damage. The monument was also made wheel-chair accessible for

21420-405: The firebrand of war, while two eagles symbolise the "newly won freedom". On both sides of the relief, lateral staircases with 136 steps lead to the second story and the entrance of the crypt. The staircases are decorated with large heads of Frederick I, reminding of the myth of a sleeping emperor and "as expressions of the people's hopes for better times". At the top of the monument, of the outside of

21600-587: The first so-called Freikorps ("free regiments", Freie Regimenter ) were formed in the 18th century from native volunteers, enemy renegades, and deserters . These sometimes exotically equipped units served as infantry and cavalry (or, more rarely, as artillery); sometimes in just company strength and sometimes in formations of up to several thousand strong. There were also various mixed formations or legions. The Prussian von Kleist Freikorps included infantry, jäger , dragoons and hussars . The French Volontaires de Saxe combined uhlans and dragoons. In

21780-459: The first time through the addition of a lift. While some work could not be finished until 2013, the work on the exterior reflection pool was finished in 2018. Some more restoration is still set to be completed as of 2019. Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte ; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I , was a French military officer and statesman who rose to prominence during

21960-475: The focus of the event, attended by around 100,000 people, was on the horrors of war and the need for peace. Following the Peaceful Revolution and German reunification in 1989 and 1990, the monument has largely lost its character as a site for political and historic events and now serves mainly as a tourist attraction. Within a year of the monument's completion, it became apparent that water penetrating

22140-570: The forces defending the convention in the Tuileries Palace . Bonaparte had seen the massacre of the King's Swiss Guard during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792 there three years earlier and realized that artillery would be the key to its defence. He ordered a young cavalry officer, Joachim Murat , to seize cannons and Bonaparte deployed them in key positions. On 5 October 1795— 13 Vendémiaire An IV in

22320-527: The free infantry which consisted of various military branches (such as infantry, hussars, dragoons, jäger ) and were used in combination. They were often used to ward off Maria Theresa 's Pandurs. In the era of linear tactics , light troops had been seen necessary for outpost, reinforcement and reconnaissance duties . During the war, eight such volunteer corps were set up: Because, some exceptions, they were seen as undisciplined and less battleworthy, they were used for less onerous guard and garrison duties. In

22500-411: The garrison and some 1,500–5,000 prisoners to be executed by bayonet or drowning. Men, women, and children were robbed and murdered for three days. Bonaparte began with an army of 13,000 men. 1,500 were reported missing, 1,200 died in combat, and thousands perished from disease—mostly bubonic plague . He failed to reduce the fortress of Acre , so he marched his army back to Egypt in May. Bonaparte

22680-830: The government. On 9 November 1799 ( 18 Brumaire according to the revolutionary calendar), the conspirators launched a coup, and the following day, backed by grenadiers with fixed bayonets, forced the Council of Five Hundred to dissolve the Directory and appoint Bonaparte, Sieyès and Ducos provisional consuls. On 15 December, Bonaparte introduced the Constitution of the Year VIII , under which three consuls were appointed for 10 years. Real power lay with Bonaparte as First Consul, and his preferred candidates Cambacérès and Charles-François Lebrun were appointed as second and third consuls who only had an advisory role. The constitution also established

22860-570: The heartlands of the House of Habsburg . French forces in Southern Germany had been defeated by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen in 1796, but Charles withdrew his forces to protect Vienna after learning of Bonaparte's assault. In their first encounter, Bonaparte pushed Charles back and advanced deep into Austrian territory after winning the Battle of Tarvis in March 1797. Alarmed by the French thrust that reached Leoben , about 100 km from Vienna,

23040-423: The help of his fellow Corsican Antoine Christophe Saliceti , Bonaparte was appointed artillery commander of the republican forces sent to recapture the port of Toulon which was occupied by British and allied forces. He quickly increased the available artillery and proposed a plan to capture a hill fort where republican guns could dominate the city's harbour and force the British to evacuate. The successful assault on

23220-413: The hussar Denis Davydov , a warrior-poet , formed volunteer partisan detachments functioning as Freikorps during the French retreat from Moscow . These irregular units operated in conjunction with Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov 's regular Russian Imperial Army and Ataman Matvei Platov 's Cossack detachments, harassing the French supply lines and inflicting defeats on the retreating Grande Armée in

23400-597: The immediate interwar era . Although World War I ended in Germany's surrender, many men in the Freikorps nonetheless viewed themselves as soldiers still engaged in active warfare with enemies of the traditional German Empire such as communists and Bolsheviks , Jews, socialists , and pacifists . Prominent Freikorps member Ernst von Salomon described his troops as "full of wild demand for revenge and action and adventure...a band of fighter...full of lust, exultant in anger." In 1977, German sociologist Klaus Theweleit published Male Fantasies, in which he argues that men in

23580-432: The inner hall. From the crypt, 364 steps lead visitors to the observation platform on top of the monument. Schmitz also planned to create an accompanying complex for ceremonies that would include a court, a stadium and parade grounds. However, only a reflecting pool and two processional avenues were ultimately completed. Surrounding the monument are oaks, considered to have been a symbol of masculine strength and endurance to

23760-529: The joint forces of the Austrian Empire , United Kingdom , Spain , and Portugal against the French and their German allies. Following Napoleon's unsuccessful invasion of Russia in 1812, Prussia joined the countries already at war with France to begin the War of the Sixth Coalition in March 1813. During the early part of the campaign, the allied forces against Napoleon suffered defeats at Großgörschen (2 May) and Bautzen (20–21 May), being driven back to

23940-410: The joints between the natural stone ashlars and the concrete core was a problem. Some stone pieces had moved significantly by ice and frost, while water entering the core had no way to escape, as dampening technology was not available for decades after the construction had finished. As an effect, stairs and pathways became crooked. Moreover, shelling by U.S. troops at the end of the war had left damages to

24120-463: The latter of whom suggested a 31 m (102 ft) tall Roman column with an Iron Cross on top, symbolising the victory of Germany against France, the "modern Rome". The architect Friedrich Weinbrenner proposed a fortress to be built outside Leipzig, at the top of which a pyramid was to be placed, with the quadriga that Napoleon had taken from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin situated on it. On

24300-455: The left bank of the Rhine annexed by France, as well as troops from his German allies of the Confederation of the Rhine . The structure is 91 metres (299 ft) tall. It contains over 500 steps to a viewing platform at the top, from which there are views across the city and environs. The structure makes extensive use of concrete , and the facings are of granite . It is widely regarded as one of

24480-429: The loss of only three men. Bonaparte and his expedition eluded pursuit by the Royal Navy and landed at Alexandria on 1 July. He fought the Battle of Shubra Khit against the Mamluks , Egypt's ruling military caste. This helped the French practise their defensive tactic for the Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July, about 24 km (15 mi) from the pyramids . Bonaparte's forces of 25,000 roughly equalled those of

24660-409: The main celebration was organised by the Turner movement, gymnastic clubs led by nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn . Taking place at the Hasenheide , a park outside Berlin, the event was attended by several tens of thousands of people. Similar celebrations were held the following years. These included the Wartburg Festival in 1817, a nationalistic event commemorating both Martin Luther 's stay at

24840-417: The monument served as the site of a service attended by around 50,000 Christians, who under the lead of Ludwig Müller , Reichsbischof (bishop of the Reich ), pledged allegiance to the Nazi movement. The annual celebrations of the Battle of Leipzig continued under Nazi rule, now accompanied by representation of the army, police, and the SA. This included a large event for the 125th anniversary in 1938, which

25020-421: The more unrestrained since they were fighting in a foreign land versus their own country. Hundreds were murdered in the Freikorps' Eastern campaigns, such as the massacre of 500 Latvian civilians suspected of harbouring Bolshevik sympathies or the capture of Riga which saw the Freikorps slaughter some 3,000 people. Summary executions via firing squads were most common, but several Freikorps members recorded

25200-456: The most famous soldier-poets from the Freikorps. Their lyrics were for the most part patriotic, republican, anti-monarchical and anti-French. In Russia, the leader of the guerrilla army, Davydov, invented the genre of hussar poetry, characterised by hedonism and bravado. He used events from his own life to illustrate such poetry. Later, when Mikhail Lermontov was a junker ( cadet ) in the Russian Imperial Army, he also wrote such poetry. Even in

25380-473: The original cornerstone from 1863 was moved to the new location. The foundation slab, 70 m (77 yd) times 80 m (87 yd) in area and 2 m (2.2 yd) thick, was constructed from concrete , as was a total of about 90 per cent of the entire monument. Concrete, a relatively new material at the time, was used for the first time in such a large structure. Proponents in expert literature argued for an iron construction as granting more stability, but

25560-411: The other side of the political spectrum, the nobleman Adolph von Seckendorff put forward the plan for a simple monument to the Saxon government, which would bear an inscription reading "To the liberation of a strong land, Alexander , Franz , and Friedrich Wilhelm ", honouring the three monarchs who led the fight against Napoleon. While none of the proposals for Leipzig gained any support, a monument for

25740-412: The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, but spent long periods of leave in Corsica which fed his Corsican nationalism. In September 1789, he returned to Corsica and promoted the French revolutionary cause. Paoli returned to the island in July 1790, but he had no sympathy for Bonaparte, as he deemed his father a traitor for having deserted the cause of Corsican independence. Bonaparte plunged into

25920-415: The people. On the first anniversary of the battle, in 1814, a 18 m (59 ft) tall wooden cross was placed as a monument on the village green close to the burned out church in Probstheida. Attached to it was a collection box for donations in order to rebuild the church. Originally envisioned by both the citizens of Leipzig as well as the Russian military command as the place for annual celebration of

26100-419: The position on 16–17 December led to the capture of the city. Toulon brought Bonaparte to the attention of powerful men including Augustin Robespierre , the younger brother of Maximilien Robespierre , a leading Jacobin. He was promoted to brigadier general and put in charge of defences on the Mediterranean coast. In February 1794, he was made artillery commander of the Army of Italy and devised plans to attack

26280-399: The posting. During this period, he wrote the romantic novella Clisson et Eugénie , about a soldier and his lover, in a clear parallel to Bonaparte's own relationship with Clary. In August, he obtained a position with the Bureau of Topography where he worked on military planning. On 15 September, Bonaparte was removed from the list of generals in regular service for refusing to serve in

26460-460: The premise of cutting costs, worked together with the Art Nouveau sculptors Christian Behrens and his apprentice Franz Metzner . Following Behrens' death in 1905, Metzner completed the work, mainly on the sculptures on the inside and top of the monument. When Behrens died, the sculpture of Archangel Saint Michael , the relief of the battle scene and the heads of Emperor Frederick I , better known as Barbarossa , had been completed and delivered to

26640-437: The propaganda value of the monument and the Battle of Leipzig for a German-Russian alliance. Additional events were held at the monument, such as a celebration of the October Revolution on 15 October 1967, attended by around 60,000 people. For the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig in 1973, the exhibition housed within the monument was amended, now emphasising the aspect of German-Russian collaboration even further. Around

26820-431: The rear side of the monument not addressed during the time of Communist rule. In addition, the effects of nature and pollution had blackened the outside of the structure significantly. Until the 1990s, no significant efforts were made to renovate the monument. In 2003, with funding available, such measures finally started, with a target completion end date of 2013, the 200th anniversary of the battle. The black discolouring of

27000-453: The remainder of the campaign. For Prussia, the Pandurs , who were made up of Croats and Serbs , were a clear model for the organization of such "free" troops. On 15 July 1759, Frederick the Great ordered the creation of a squadron of volunteer hussars to be attached to the 1st Hussar Regiment (von Kleist's Own). He entrusted the creation and command of this new unit to Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Kleist. This first squadron (80 men)

27180-424: The ringing of bells". The first anniversary of the battle consequently was marked by celebrations across the German countries, including bonfires. However, in some territories such as Baden and Württemberg , such celebrations were prohibited, while in the Kingdom of Hanover , they were incorporated into the festivities around George III 's jubilee on 23 October. In Berlin , the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia ,

27360-406: The river Elbe . However, due to lack of training in his newly recruited soldiers, Napoleon was unable to take full advantage of his victories, allowing his enemies to regroup. Following a ceasefire , Austria rejoined the Coalition on 17 August. The French advantage in numbers was now reversed, with the Coalition forces counting 490,000 soldiers to Napoleon's 440,000. Between 16 and 19 October 1813,

27540-399: The same time, the aspect of German unity lost importance, as a two-state solution was preferred under the new leadership of Erich Honecker . Towards the end of the 1980s, the monument more and more lost its character as a political site, as more entertainment-focused events were held, such as athletic competitions and concerts. During the last major anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig in 1988,

27720-414: The same year, on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, city officials also funded the restoration of the monument they had erected in 1845. During the same festivities, a cornerstone for a future grand monument was placed by Leipig's mayor Karl Wilhelm Otto Koch, and 23 cities from all around Germany, including Vienna , Hanover , and Dresden , pledged money for its construction. A competition for

27900-536: The school is that he led junior students to victory against senior students in a snowball fight, which allegedly showed his leadership abilities. But the story was only told after Napoleon had become famous. In his later years at Brienne, Napoleon became an outspoken Corsican nationalist and admirer of Paoli. In September 1784, Napoleon was admitted to the École militaire in Paris where he trained to become an artillery officer. He excelled at mathematics, and read widely in geography, history and literature. However, he

28080-422: The second round of the competition, which started in August 1896, participation was much larger, with 71 drafts submitted. The jury met to discuss on 21 and 22 December of the same year, with first prize this time going to Wilhelm Kreis . Bruno Schmitz , an architect from Berlin who had earlier designed both the Kyffhäuser Monument in Thuringia as well as the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz , won fourth prize with

28260-505: The so-called "petty wars", the Freikorps interdicted enemy supply lines with guerrilla warfare . In the case of capture, their members were at risk of being executed as irregular fighters. In Prussia the Freikorps , which Frederick the Great had despised as "vermin", were disbanded. Their soldiers were given no entitlement to pensions or invalidity payments. In France, many corps continued to exist until 1776. They were attached to regular dragoon regiments as jäger squadrons . During

28440-413: The support of his fellow masons. Later that same year, he founded the Deutsche Patriotenbund (Association of German Patriots) which raised, by means of donations and a lottery, the funds necessary to construct the monument for the 100th anniversary. The projected cost was set at ℳ 6,000,000 (€32,904,393 in 2024). The following year, the city of Leipzig donated a 40,000-square-metre (9.9-acre) site for

28620-478: The temporary departure of British ships from French coastal ports and set sail for France, despite the fact that he had received no explicit orders from Paris. The army was left in the charge of Jean-Baptiste Kléber . Unknown to Bonaparte, the Directory had sent him orders to return from Egypt with his army to ward off a possible invasion of France, but these messages never arrived. By the time that he reached Paris in October, France's situation had been improved by

28800-399: The territory of Louisiana to the United States . In December 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French, further expanding his power. The breakdown of the Treaty of Amiens led to the War of the Third Coalition by 1805. Napoleon shattered the coalition with a decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz , which led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire . In the War of

28980-402: The time of its opening in 1913, the Patriotic Association declared in a publication that the monument symbolized a connection from the Wars of Liberation to " Sedan and Versailles ", meaning the foundation of the German Empire in 1870/71. During World War I , the monument was used by the Association to host events supporting the war effort, such as rallies to raise war bonds or celebrations of

29160-410: The top of the building, were made in the followings years. A ground-breaking ceremony was held prior to the start of construction on 18 October 1898, the 85th anniversary of the battle. A total of 82,000 cubic metres (107,000 cu yd) of earth were moved in the following two years until suitable subsoil for the foundation was found. Construction then commenced in mid-September 1900, at which time

29340-570: The treaty, Britain agreed to withdraw from most of the colonies it had recently captured from France and her allies, and France agreed to evacuate Naples. In April, Bonaparte publicly celebrated the peace and his controversial Concordat of 1801 with Pope Pius VII under which the Pope recognized Bonaparte's regime and the regime recognized Catholicism as the majority religion of France. In a further step towards national reconciliation (known as "fusion"), Bonaparte offered an amnesty to most émigrés who wished to return to France. With Europe at peace and

29520-423: The trenches, spawned by war" and its process of brutalization, historians argue that Freikorps men idealized a militarized masculinity of aggression, physical domination, the absence of emotion (hardness). They were to be as "swift as greyhounds, tough as leather, [and] hard as Krupp steel" so as to defend what remained of German conservatism in times of social chaos, confusion, and revolution that came to define

29700-423: The war, 14 " free infantry " ( Frei-Infanterie ) units were created, mainly between 1756 and 1758, which were intended to be attractive to those soldiers who wanted military "adventure", but did not want to have to do military drill. A distinction should be made between the Freikorps formed up to 1759 for the final years of the war, which operated independently and disrupted the enemy with surprise attacks, and

29880-419: The war, an anti-aircraft gun ( Flak ) position was established on top of the monument. When the US Army captured Leipzig on April 18, 1945, the monument was the last stronghold in the city to surrender. 300 soldiers, men of the Volkssturm and boys of the Hitler Youth under the command of Oberst Hans von Poncet, were holding out in the monument, but after a direct artillery hit inside the structure, von Poncet

30060-410: The weather. On the 18th of October 1913 the Völkerschlachtdenkmal was inaugurated in the presence of about 100,000 people including the Emperor, and all the reigning sovereign rulers of the German states. At the time of completion, it was the tallest monument in Europe. Schmitz constructed the monument over an artificial hill and selected a pyramidal shape for a clear view of the surroundings. The base

30240-451: Was a short-lived and unrecognized socialist-communist state from 12 April – 3 May 1919 in Bavaria during the German Revolution of 1918–19 . Following a series of political revolts and takeovers from German socialists and then Russian-backed Bolsheviks, Noske responded from Berlin by sending various Freikorps brigades to Bavaria in late April totalling some 30,000 men. The brigades included Hermann Ehrhardt's second Marine Brigade Freikorps,

30420-429: Was advertised with a weeks-long advertisement campaign that drew a direct line between the Napoleonic Wars and National Socialism . One pamphlet read: "What fatefully began with the victory at Leipzig, ended in a bitter tragedy for the German People, over which the curtain was only drawn on 30 January 1933". Following the outbreak of World War II and in particular after the German war effort turned towards defeat in 1943,

30600-421: Was alleged to have ordered plague-stricken men to be poisoned with opium to speed the retreat. Back in Egypt on 25 July, Bonaparte defeated an Ottoman amphibious invasion at Abukir . Bonaparte stayed informed of European affairs. He learned that France had suffered a series of defeats in the War of the Second Coalition . On 24 August 1799, fearing that the Republic's future was in doubt, he took advantage of

30780-450: Was appointed head of the Army of Italy. Within weeks of the Vendémiaire uprising , Bonaparte was romantically involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais , the former mistress of Barras. Josephine had been born in the French colonies in the Lesser Antilles , and her family owned slaves on sugar plantations The couple married on 9 March 1796 in a civil ceremony. Bonaparte now habitually styled himself "Napoleon Bonaparte" rather than using

30960-423: Was born one year after the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France. His father fought alongside Pasquale Paoli during the Corsican war of independence against France. After the Corsican defeat at the Battle of Ponte Novu in 1769 and Paoli's exile in Britain, Carlo became friends with the French governor Charles Louis de Marbeuf , who became his patron and godfather to Napoleon. With Mabeuf's support, Carlo

31140-409: Was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Revolution in 1789, and promoted its cause in Corsica. He rose rapidly through the ranks after winning the siege of Toulon in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris on 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. In 1796, Napoleon commanded a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in the War of

31320-462: Was convinced to surrender following long negotiations. After World War II during the time of the separation of Germany, Leipzig was part of the Socialist German Democratic Republic , or East Germany. The ruling party, the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED), quickly moved to change the monument's symbolism: the East German state was pictured as the continuation of a free, unified Germany while Konrad Adenauer 's policy of alignment with

31500-435: Was finished on schedule, in time for the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1913. The financing, which had originally been thought to rely solely on donations and a lottery, ran out, leading the city of Leipzig to subsidise the remaining costs. The keystone was laid on 13 May 1912 by Thieme. Final works were done over the remaining year, including a late decision to add glass windows around the Ruhmeshalle to safeguard it from

31680-470: Was named Corsican representative to the court of Louis XVI and Napoleon obtained a royal bursary to a military academy in France. The dominant influence of Napoleon's childhood was his mother, whose firm discipline restrained a rambunctious child. Later in life, Napoleon said, "The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother." Napoleon's noble, moderately affluent background afforded him greater opportunities to study than were available to

31860-467: Was poor at French and German. His father's death in February 1785 cut the family income and forced him to complete the two-year course in one year. In September he was examined by the famed scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace and became the first Corsican to graduate from the École militaire . Upon graduating in September 1785, Bonaparte was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment . He served in Valence and Auxonne until after

32040-544: Was raised in Dresden and consisted mainly of Hungarian deserters. This squadron was placed under the command of Lieutenant Johann Michael von Kovacs. At the end of 1759, the first four squadrons of dragoons (also called horse grenadiers) of the Freikorps were organised. They initially consisted of Prussian volunteers from Berlin, Magdeburg, Mecklenburg and Leipzig, but later recruited deserters. The Freikorps were regarded as unreliable by regular armies, so they were used mainly as sentries and for minor duties. . During

32220-430: Was reintroduced there on 16 July. Freikorps Freikorps ( German: [ˈfʁaɪˌkoːɐ̯] , "Free Corps " or "Volunteer Corps " ) were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies , regardless of their own nationality. In German-speaking countries ,

32400-410: Was routinely bullied by his peers for his accent, birthplace, short stature, mannerisms, and poor French. He became reserved and melancholic, applying himself to reading. An examiner observed that Napoleon "has always been distinguished for his application in mathematics. He is fairly well acquainted with history and geography ... This boy would make an excellent sailor". One story of Napoleon at

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