Napoleon in the Navy

Kidblast

Why did Napoleon not pursue a naval career? I know at one point in his life he thought seriously about joining the Navy. Why did he not do it?
 

Kidblast

Napoleon Bonaparte: The Corsican Corsair

Napoleon had once been interested in a Naval Career. What if he had joined the French Navy instead?

1786: Napoleon joins the Navy.

1789: Napoleon becomes a Midshipman of the ship, La Belle. During this time he does not see much action, but helps keeps the ship is good order despite trouble in Paris.

1791: Taking a leave of absense, he sails to Corsica, where he secretly helps Paoli in his fight for Corsican Independence. He is almost caught however, and returns to France the following year.

1792:He becomes the Lt. Commander of La Belle

1793: La Belle is part of a force to break the siege of Toulon. During the fierce fighting, the Captian is killed, and Napoleon is now commander. Due to a daring tactical move, he cripples the Flagship, with the help of artillery above the harbor. The British fleet is forced to withdraw, and he is proclaimed a hero.

1794-1796: He is given a Letter of Marque by the National Convention. Napoleon then goes on to become the "Lord of the Ligurian" crushing British shipping in the region. He has his base in Corsica, and thus protects all of Provence.
 

tinfoil

Kidblast said:
Napoleon had once been interested in a Naval Career. What if he had joined the French Navy instead?

1786: Napoleon joins the Navy.

1789: Napoleon becomes a Midshipman of the ship, La Belle. During this time he does not see much action, but helps keeps the ship is good order despite trouble in Paris.

1791: Taking a leave of absense, he sails to Corsica, where he secretly helps Paoli in his fight for Corsican Independence. He is almost caught however, and returns to France the following year.

1792:He becomes the Lt. Commander of La Belle

1793: La Belle is part of a force to break the siege of Toulon. During the fierce fighting, the Captian is killed, and Napoleon is now commander. Due to a daring tactical move, he cripples the Flagship, with the help of artillery above the harbor. The British fleet is forced to withdraw, and he is proclaimed a hero.

1794-1796: He is given a Letter of Marque by the National Convention. Napoleon then goes on to become the "Lord of the Ligurian" crushing British shipping in the region. He has his base in Corsica, and thus protects all of Provence.
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Napolean is an acknowledged genious wrt army tactics and doctrine. However, there's no reason to expect that he would have been extraordinarily innovative in the naval realm. Even if he were, RIGID doctrine in the Navy would likely have squashed his ambitions.

Besides, the RN just had too much of a lead to allow Nappy to dominate at sea.
 

Fellatio Nelson

Would also require the French:

i) to not dismiss its cadre of professional naval officers during the 1790s.

ii) train, equip and maintain their navy to the same standard as the British.

iii) France was primarily a land-power and could not afford to lavish resources on their Navy, as could the British. The British could afford - and had the necessary will and resources - to outbuild them.
 

Kidblast

Actually, I am counting on the French being fairly weak. I'm hoping to build a timeline where Napoleon never rules France, but instead rules a Pirate Kingdom in Corsica like the Barbary Corsairs.

I don't actually want France to

a) Be strong enough to expel Napoleon

b) Pose a threat to Britain

@Fellatio

Why did the French dismiss their Naval Officers. This could be a reason why Napoleon would turn to piracy instead of remaining a subject of the French Crown.
 

fhaessig

Kidblast said:
Why did the French dismiss their Naval Officers. This could be a reason why Napoleon would turn to piracy instead of remaining a subject of the French Crown.
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For the same reasons they dismissed most of their army officers. Most were Nobles.
 

Arachnid

Despite Nelson et al 18th century naval battles were a lot less dependant on the commander. There is no Naval equivelent to Wellingtons taking personal command of Guards at Waterloo or Nappy changing a battle by his mere presence. Sure a bad naval commander could royally fuck his fleet but on the whole naval battles quickly degenerated into a free for all, while there were times when the two fleets stayed in their lines and sailed past each other blasting away it was far more normal for it to turn into Chaos, see Trafalger.

Also Nappy as a great naval commander would have had a lot less effect than his presence on land. Even if France had had a Nelson, or Nappy like naval commander they had no hope of beatng the RN. Throughout the period the UK was spending between 2 and 4 times the amount France did and that counts for a lot. Also the UK fleet could draw upon a larger supply of tained manpower and due to its post Seven Years War dominance was a lot more experienced.
 

Kidblast

1796 - Meanwhile, 13 Vendémiaire occurs. The Royalist Army commanded by the Comte d'Artois marches on the capital. The Army after much fighting in the streets captures Paris. The next week, Paris is retaken by Barras, but only after tremendous loss of life. The National Convention is soon replaced by the 5 man directory, but faces a divided nation. The Vendee has risen up in revolt again, and the Provence is menaced by the armies of Archduke Charles.
 

fhaessig

Kidblast said:
1796 - Meanwhile, 13 Vendémiaire occurs. The Royalist Army commanded by the Comte d'Artois marches on the capital. .
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Artois????

LoL.

I guess the PoD is before his conception, then, because having OTL artois take army command is really ASB level.

NB, make it Enghein and it would be plausible.
 

Kidblast

fhaessig said:
Artois????

LoL.

I guess the PoD is before his conception, then, because having OTL artois take army command is really ASB level.

NB, make it Enghein and it would be plausible.
Click to expand...

Hmm, Good point! Stupid Wikipedia led me astray! I should get a book next time I go to the library.
 

Kidblast

1796 - Meanwhile, 13 Vendémiaire occurs. The Royalist Army commanded by the François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie marches on the capital. The Army after much fighting in the streets captures Paris. The next week, Paris is retaken by Barras, but only after tremendous loss of life. The National Convention is soon replaced by the 5 man directory, but faces a divided nation. The Vendee has risen up in revolt again, and the Provence is menaced by the armies of Archduke Charles.
 

Kidblast

1797 - The demoralised Armee d'Italie manages to barely beat back the Austrians, but Counter-Revolutionaries in the Vendee with Britain's help win a decisive victory at Nantes, and beat back the Republican Army. The Directory is forced to sue for peace three months later.

Napoleon Bounaparte upon hearing of the unrest in France makes a daring move. He contacts the British, and makes a deal. In return for the British supporting Corsican Independence, (Corsica had been proclaimed independent in 1793) the Privateer Napoleon would attack French shipping, and the Southern ports.

Napoleon already called the Corsair of Corsica, and his effective fleet, (as well as Royal Navy Muscle) protected Corsica's independence. Paoli was proclaimed the President of the Republic of Corsica, the the young Napoleon Bounaparte is procliamed High Admiral, and Generalissimo.
 

Kidblast

1797: The Kingdom of Anjou is proclaimed by the victorious rebels, and the new king Louis I of Anjou, or Louis the XVIII of France. The new Kingdom attracted many of the Emigres fleeing from France, and had it's captial at Bordeaux.
 

Alcuin

Banned
Kidblast said:
Why did Napoleon not pursue a naval career? I know at one point in his life he thought seriously about joining the Navy. Why did he not do it?
Click to expand...

Napoleon did actually apply for a cadetship (ie entry as a midshipman) not in the French but the British navy in 1783. For some unknown reason, we rejected him and he later joined the French army instead.

Now THAT's an interesting what if.

Another arises from the fact that around 1750, Napoleon's parents considered emigrating to British North America. How about Napoleon Bonaparte as an American General, and perhaps later President?
 
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