III.

War With Napoleon

Alexander found himself increasingly distracted from his plans for reform by the international reverberations of the rise of Napoleon. Concerned about the imperial ambitions of France, Alexander joined the Third Coalition (with Britain, Austria, and later Prussia) against France in 1805 and was present at the crushing defeat of Russian and Austrian troops by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2, 1805). After a further defeat at Friedland in 1807, Alexander came to terms with Napoleon at Tilsit (modern Sovetsk), where he had to accept French dominance in Western and Central Europe, the creation of a Polish state under French influence, and the Continental System (which forbade European states from trading with Britain) (see Treaty of Tilsit). Accusing the Russians of violating the agreement, Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 with some 400,000 troops. Although Napoleon was not blocked at the Battle of Borodino (September 7, 1812) and entered Moscow, his military capacity was fatally weakened by the Russian campaign, which led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition, under Russia’s leadership, and to Napoleon’s final defeat. Alexander entered Paris with his army in March 1814, and Russia emerged from the Napoleonic Wars as the strongest military power on the continent and as a major diplomatic player. Alexander exerted his influence at the Congress of Vienna (held between September 1814 and June 1815) to claim Poland for the Russian Empire.