Napoleonic Wars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Napoleonic Wars - Essay Example By the end of 1813 that mythology of invincibility had disappeared, mainly due to the disastrous campaign in Russia. The background to this campaign was the simplification of national borders and the increase of nationalist sentiments that had at least been catalyzed by French ideas that had developed since the French Revolution. Thus Napoleon's own use of nationalistic sentiment was causing resentment against French domination within other countries (Schom, 1998). This was perhaps not the best time to launch a campaign against a formidable enemy that would take Napoleon far from those countries that were starting to stir against French imperialism. But as with many military commanders both before and since, Napoleon had started to believe in his own legend, and it would eventually lead to his downfall (Gengembre, 2003). In the spring of 1812 Napoleon began to mass his troops in Poland, that was currently under French rule. This was clearly an attempt to intimidate Alexander, who had been showing an increasing tendency not to trust he official alliance between France and Russia. By the summer of 1812 about 453,000 men, probably the largest armed force ever gathered in one place up until that time, had been brought together in Poland. Napoleon called it his Grande Armee, and its message to the Russians was quite clear. The Russians, perhaps aware that the hu... 130 years later to Hitler, Napoleon appeared to be advancing with miraculous speed, but in fact the Russians were adopting a "scorched earth policy" in which they destroyed anything of value before retreating in front of the French forces. This meant that the French could not gather together provisions and supplies that would be needed in the coming winter. Drawn to the centre of Russia, with the supposed prize of Moscow, as a moth is to a light, Napoleon advanced through the country until he met the Russian forces at the Battle of Borodino on September 7th, 1812. This was a bloody, violent battle, but was inconclusive as to its result. Even though neither side had gained a clear victory, Napoleon carried on advancing and entered Moscow on about September 14th. The Russians had deserted the city, Alexander would not meet with Napoleon to discuss terms for the Russian "surrender" and much of the city burned down within days of Napoleon's arrival.Napoleon had won perhaps the most Pyrrhic victory of all time: he was faced with a stalemate in which he had taken Moscow, but could not sustain it because his supply lines were desperately strained and he needed to retreat before the full onset of winter. One of the great mistakes that Napoleon had made was having neither enough nor the correct quality horses. In the retreat many of the cavalry had to kill their horses in order to eat them. Many others died of cold, disease and starvation. This meant that Napoleon's forces could receive neither food supplies nor reinforcements nor supplied for their weapons. The French lost about 200,000 horses in the campaign, as well as 1,000 artillery pieces. These were large losses that Napoleon could not really afford considering the various campaigns that were to come. He had also

Wk6 (22) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wk6 (22) - Essay Example These techniques are used to help them in their daily lives. Emphasis is placed on self-control and the client being able to "initiate, conduct and evaluate their own therapy" (Corey, p. 233). The role of the counselor in behavior therapy is to help the client develop goals and to help them find more choices and new conditions for learning as they move through the therapeutic process. The counselor will initially interview the client to find the specific behaviors to address. Behavior therapist also are "active and directive" and they are problem solvers. The individual who is most prominently known as the one who began behavior therapy is B.F. Skinner, however, the history of this type of therapy goes back to 1950s and was equally introduced in the United States, South Africa and Great Britain at the same time. According to the textbook, there are many studies that use behavioral techniques to assist in many mental disorders. Some critics think that this therapy does not go far enough in helping clients because it does not provide insights for the client and it ignores the relationship between the client and the therapist. Behaviorists also put emphasis on ethical accountability. In contrast rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) expands upon what the behavior therapists does by bringing in a cognitive component. The basic premise of this therapy is that an individual is very capable of healing themselves because they are naturally inclined to do "self-talking, self-evaluating and self-sustaining" (Corey, p. 273). This theory grew out of work by Albert Ellis. REBT sees that humans have the capacity to think rationally and irrationally at the same time. They can be loving, happy and have strong relationships or they can be self-destructive, procrastinate and repeat the same problems over and over. Individuals learn irrational beliefs through significant people around them, and they create