The Collapse of Empire

The Russian disaster and Spanish ulcer created a crisis of confidence that affected the entire Napoleonic system. The emperor who had seemed invincible was revealed as mortal, while the empire that had dominated Europe for a decade suddenly appeared vulnerable. The psychological impact of failure proved as devastating as the military losses.

The German uprising of 1813, beginning with Prussia's defection from the French alliance, applied lessons learned from Spanish and Russian resistance. The combination of regular armies, popular mobilization, and guerrilla warfare created problems that French forces, depleted by previous disasters, could not solve. The Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 was Napoleon's decisive defeat, but the campaign's outcome was determined by the accumulated effects of previous failures.

The abdication of Napoleon in April 1814 ended the first empire, but the Spanish war continued until Ferdinand VII's restoration. This delay revealed the war's independent dynamic and the depth of Spanish resistance to foreign domination. The conflict that had begun as a tactical move to enforce the Continental System had become a national liberation struggle that transcended the broader European war.