AHC: Napoleonic Invasion of Britain

Napoleon had essentially given up on invading even before Trafalgar. Plus even after that Britain made sure to neutralize the navies of smaller nations to keep from Napoleon's control. Russia may have contributed, if Napoleon could defeat them, but Austria and Prussia did not have any type of navy beyond river patrol or coastal defense
 
I meant Napoleon would build a secret mega fleet with the vanquished forced to supply and pay for it.

And in the mean time he's going to be twirling his mustache eating frogs legs on his secret volcano lair island right?

That's just not possible. You can't build a fleet in secret and to rebuild his from the ground up without an officer corps or trained sailors would mean that anything he put to see would be shot full of holes in no time by veteran RN units. And the cost of building both a major war fleet and keeping one of the largest armies of the era would bankrupt him.
 
And in the mean time he's going to be twirling his mustache eating frogs legs on his secret volcano lair island right?

That's just not possible. You can't build a fleet in secret and to rebuild his from the ground up without an officer corps or trained sailors would mean that anything he put to see would be shot full of holes in no time by veteran RN units. And the cost of building both a major war fleet and keeping one of the largest armies of the era would bankrupt him.

But his vanquished enemies would if they lost one of the wars.
 
But his vanquished enemies would if they lost one of the wars.

No.

Considering they lost quite a few wars and were forced to sign some humiliating treaties which compelled them (with considerable British cash) to simply not do what he asked or rise up in arms against him, an attempt to bankrupt Europe by taking all its sailors and gold would cause a fairly quick war to come about.
 
I meant Napoleon would build a secret mega fleet with the vanquished forced to supply and pay for it.

But you'd need access to open water in order to train your sailors and officers properly. Also, ports and harbours are limited in how many ships they can hold, so any mega fleet would have to be scattered across Europe, making it possible for the British to defeat it in detail as it tried to assemble.

For a realistic Napoleonic invasion of Britain, you'd probably need a POD quite early in the French Revolution, in order to stop the new government from purging the Navy of all its royalist-sympathising officers. The Royal Navy was probably slightly better even before this, but the difference didn't really become decisive until the French fleet was stripped of most of its experienced officers.

Alternatively, have the French invent some kind of naval super-weapon which can compensate for their lack of expertise at sea, kind of like the corvus did for the Romans in the First Punic War. I've no idea what sort of weapon might be suitable, though.
 
Would it take internal factors in Britain to make them lose against Napoleon? A stronger Luddite rebellion maybe?

Too late really.

If Napoleon is to have a chance at invading Britain then it can't alienate the second largest naval power on the continent (Spain). That would also give him the (land) forces to launch such an invasion.

My take would be that you'd need to have mutinies in the British fleet, either instigated by the French or happening with their knowledge and support. It happened in 1797 - have it happen later (say 1798 instead of Egypt campaign or 1805 Trafalgar) and it's possible that Napoleon could conduct a "Hail Mary" campaign looking to bring the British to the table. The objective would be to land a moderate size force on British soil and conduct a short campaign aiming at London.

Only problem is that it carries a very high personal risk - if Britian does not fold then the chance of Napoleon getting off the island safely is low. which is probably why he never risked it.
 
Too late really.

If Napoleon is to have a chance at invading Britain then it can't alienate the second largest naval power on the continent (Spain). That would also give him the (land) forces to launch such an invasion.

My take would be that you'd need to have mutinies in the British fleet, either instigated by the French or happening with their knowledge and support. It happened in 1797 - have it happen later (say 1798 instead of Egypt campaign or 1805 Trafalgar) and it's possible that Napoleon could conduct a "Hail Mary" campaign looking to bring the British to the table. The objective would be to land a moderate size force on British soil and conduct a short campaign aiming at London.

Only problem is that it carries a very high personal risk - if Britian does not fold then the chance of Napoleon getting off the island safely is low. which is probably why he never risked it.

Or Luddites?

But then how did the Spanish lose Trafalgar then?
 
Or Luddites?

But then how did the Spanish lose Trafalgar then?

Luddites didn't really take hold until 1811.

France and Spain gives Napoleon a shot assuming half the British fleet is mutinous. But it's only a chance - and not a good one.

French and Spanish sailors were just not as good as British crews. Mostly because the British crews spent most of their time sailing around the coast of Europe attempting to blockade the French and Spanish fleets. Whilst the French and Spanish crews spent most of their time drinking wine in port being blockaded by the British.
 
France and Spain gives Napoleon a shot assuming half the British fleet is mutinous. But it's only a chance - and not a good one.
You'd need them to be so mutinous that they think installing a French dictatorship can't be any worse than the current British regime, though. At Spithead and the Nore, the mutineers still pledged to go out and fight the French if required.

I've no idea what sort of weapon might be suitable, though.
Shell gun? Never really demonstrated a compelling superiority over cannonballs, though.
 
You'd need them to be so mutinous that they think installing a French dictatorship can't be any worse than the current British regime, though. At Spithead and the Nore, the mutineers still pledged to go out and fight the French if required.


Shell gun? Never really demonstrated a compelling superiority over cannonballs, though.

Some sort of incendiary weapon might work, I suppose. Perhaps one of Napoleon's underlings reinvents/rediscovers Greek Fire? :D
 
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