What were napoleon's chances of invading england between 1803 and 1805 ?

Depends what you mean by invasion. Landing some troops that quickly lose when their supply lines get cut? Pretty small because Napoleon wasn't an idiot. Having a serious invasion that could have taken Britain? Virtually zero.
 
Depends what you mean by invasion. Landing some troops that quickly lose when their supply lines get cut? Pretty small because Napoleon wasn't an idiot. Having a serious invasion that could have taken Britain? Virtually zero.
lol, supply lines, as if Napoleon would give a shit about them if his army was marching across unspoiled territory, some of the richest in Europe besides. If Napoleon gets the complete army to England, the campaign is essentially won; the problem is getting good transport and control of the channel for the couple days required to move the army.
 
lol, supply lines, as if Napoleon would give a shit about them if his army was marching across unspoiled territory, some of the richest in Europe besides. If Napoleon gets the complete army to England, the campaign is essentially won; the problem is getting good transport and control of the channel for the couple days required to move the army.

He would have to have got a huge army to not be worried about needing reinforcements.
 
Ammo consumption wasn't what it is now; generally the supply carried with the army was sufficient for most of the campaign in the Napoleonic Wars.

Stores carried with the army would be enough for a battle, even a major one, but not a campaign - while consumption was certainly less, and artillery ammunition weighed a lot less, Boney didn't have any DROPS wagons to carry his ammunition, and even if he pulls off the miracle of getting across the Channel, he won't be able to rely on regular resupply with a pissed off Channel Fleet in his rear.

This, of course, all assumes he's able to get across the Channel. Obnoxious Little Corporal Mk1's preparations sometimes make Obnoxious Little Corporal Mk2 look like a naval and logistical genius.
 
Wasn't there an elaborate plan to lure away the RN to the Caribbean, so that the French could cross, that almost worked?
 
What if, assuming he engineers a distraction, he invades Eire rather than England? The Irish will certainly welcome him with open arms, and Eire has enough food at least to provide a base of supply. From there, can he invade into the Lowlands or Wales and trust the length of the Irish and French coasts combined to make it difficult for the RN to cut off all supplies?

Also, from Eire he can probably recruit new troops. Many Irish priests at the time spoke French, so if they could be persuaded to serve as interpreters or even just teach new recruits French that's the language barrier solved.
 
Wasn't there an elaborate plan to lure away the RN to the Caribbean so that the French could cross

There was - the Trafalgar Campaign. Guess who won.

that almost worked?

Not even close. The reason Nelson was outnumbered at Trafalgar, despite the RN being substantially stronger than the French and Spanish navies combined, was because the Channel and North Sea Fleets were always kept strong enough to withstand any conceivable attack, even if that meant secondary theatres (i.e. everywhere else) had to get by on a shoestring.
 
Top