There's always one, isn't there? You know, the bloke at school that everyone claims they hated once he left, or the footballer who moved on to another team, and then scored the winner against his former club in the cup final. Yes, there's always one, and when it comes to Napoleon's marshals, that one is generally Bernadotte.

All things considered, this is a perverse accomplishment, considering the calibre of rogues on hand amongst the Emperor's new nobility. His reputation has been besmirched by countless historians and writers, particularly those with a blinkered view of his former boss. Traitor. Deserter. Turncoat. All have been used against Bernadotte.

Add to this numerous allegations about his lack of drive and professional competence and it is no surprise that the future King of Sweden is the First Empire's black sheep.

But is this really the case?

Early Life

Bernadotte was born on January 26th 1763, the son of a lawyer in the town of Pau in south east France. He was the last and youngest of five children, only three of whom survived to reach puberty. It had been intended that Bernadotte might follow in his father's footsteps, but when he died in 1780, Bernadotte, then 17, decided to join the army. He enlisted in the Régiment de Brassac.

Five years later, his undoubted talents had already been discovered, and he had made sergeant. By 1788 he was sergeant major in the Régiment Royal-Marine. This was some going during a period of drastic cutbacks in the army and the lack of any really convenient wars, barring a bit of business in the New World.

Most men of significance in history get one big break. The greatest may get more. Bernadotte's first came in 1791. He was in the right place at the right time to rescue his colonel from a Marseilles mob, and was commissioned in gratitude. This came about because of the changes sweeping through France. No longer were commissions the privilege of the upper classes and nobility, and Bernadotte was more than grateful. Indeed, at this time he was a fervent republican. In May of 1792 he was transferred to the 36th Infantry Regiment.

By this time the Revolutionary Wars were well under way, providing great opportunity for those capable of taking it and lucky enough to dodge the bullets. Between 1792 and 1796 he served in the Army of the Rhine, then the North and finally in the Sambre-et-Meuse, regularly gaining rank. However 1794 was his momentous season.

Captain

Starting it as a captain, he was made chef de battalion in February and on April the 4th he was colonel commanding the 71st Demi-Brigade. Throughout this period he gained a reputation for firm discipline, and when Kléber found himself hounded by a delegation of sergeants stirred up by the Representative St Just, it was Bernadotte and the flat of his sword which knocked sense into them.

On June 26th Bernadotte performed spectacularly at Fleurus, vigorously assaulting an Austrian-held wood, and being promoted to general on the field. But still this was not the end, and in October he was made a general de division. He was only 31 and had been an officer for less than three of his fourteen years of service.

There are many who point to Bernadotte's subsequent performances and use this as evidence that he was slothful and overly cautious. However, any study of his early battles gives lie to this, and in Ney's memoirs he is described thus: 'He combined with courage…an experience seldom found at that period in the French ranks…that eagle eye, and velocity of manoeuvre, which few of his colleagues then possessed…He was enterprising, intrepid, and as ardent in action as in the expression of his opinions. His enthusiasm delighted the men under his command; his fine, soldier-like appearance, and his confidence, warmed their imaginations. There was nothing too difficult for them when led on by him - nothing they would not undertake at his bidding.' A trifle different from what we have been led to believe.

So Why Has He Been So Maligned?

His self confidence got up a few noses. Only one other general of the period exuded as much self-belief, and we all know who he was. In retrospect the two were on a crash course way before they even met. But that was all to come.

Governor

In November 1794 Bernadotte received his first administrative posting - Governor of Maastricht. He gained a strange reputation for a France general. He didn't condone looting. In fact he positively condemned it, and the citizens of that much-fought-over town were surely grateful for it.

In 1795 and 1796 Bernadotte commanded a division on the Rhine, fighting alongside the likes of Ney and Soult in the yo-yo operations which characterised the warfare in central Europe at that time. As was a regular habit for French divisions during this time, in August of 1796 Bernadotte got cut off near Ratisbon, and found himself considerably outnumbered by the Archduke Charles. Rallying his men with a fiery speech, he led the counterattack which broke them out and on his return to the army he was hailed a hero.

All was not well however, and Bernadotte became the victim of early tabloid journalism. Before being cut off, Bernadotte had occupied Altdorf and torn a strip of the local university collegiate who had presumed to make themselves immune from the usual billeting rules. With typical forcefulness he had threatened to torch the university unless they complied. A Paris newspaper now claimed that he had sacked and looted nearby Nuremberg.

This, needless to say, offended Bernadotte's honour. He went to the hub of government, the Directory, and asked for justice. Despite some limp verbal assurances, Bernadotte was not satisfied, and tendered his resignation, only being persuaded to stay by his friend and mentor, Kléber.

To Italy

Relief from Parisian ways came when General Bonaparte requested reinforcements for his Army of Italy. Unlike the central theatre, Bonaparte had been given a virtually free hand, spared the strategic guidance of the likes of Barras. The Army of Italy was akin to the Wild Bunch, and when Bernadotte's well-disciplined division arrived over the Alps, there were a few fireworks.

It was during this period that Bernadotte made his first real enemy - Berthier. Colonel Dupuy, the governor of Milan, declared that he was not obliged to obey orders from generals of the Army of the Rhine (namely Bernadotte), an assertion that got him arrested by the latter for insubordination. Dupuy was one of Berthier's minions, and that martial minnow interceded on his behalf, causing a lasting enmity.

The big meeting came in March 1797, at the castle of La Favorita near Milan. It seems that there was something in the air when the future Emperor and King met. Right now, though, each needed the other. Bernadotte was no fool and could see which way the wind was blowing, whilst to Bonaparte the young Gascon general was just the sort of fiery and capable subordinate he needed.

Nevertheless it is almost immediately clear that Bernadotte resented Bonaparte, and that the latter would willingly use up the former in prosecution of his own glory. The trouble was, Bernadotte considered himself every bit Bonaparte's equal, and probably his better.

At Gradisca Bernadotte was ordered to take or blockade the Austrian fortification. Bernadotte exploded volubly before his staff, accusing Bonaparte of envy and jealousy, suggesting that he had been placed in a no win situation to damage his reputation. He stormed it anyway, and was rebuked for failing to wait! Perhaps Bernadotte had a point.

Realising that Bernadotte was more trouble to him than he was worth, Bonaparte cleverly got rid of his potential rival by sending him back to Paris with the capture Austrian battle honours. Bernadotte was there during the September coup, avoiding involvement. Then in 1798 he was made ambassador to Vienna, against his wishes.

Nevertheless, he followed his duty, arriving before his testimonial. A suggestion that he go back and await authorisation caused Bernadotte to threaten war unless he were allowed access. He then proceeded to flout his republican feelings at every opportunity, enraging the Austrians' sensitivity, and culminating in a French tricolour being burnt by a Viennese mob. Disgusted, Bernadotte packed up and left.

Back in Paris, Bonaparte once more attempted to put the knife in. Bernadotte, he stated, had behaved without proper regard, but it was then pointed out that Bonaparte himself had suggested the appointment. It was probably just as well that the future Emperor had planned an excursion to Egypt, for it seemed that he and Bernadotte were on a crash course.

Having turned down a diplomatic post at the Hague, Bernadotte once more clashed with the Corsican clan, when he fell for and wooed Desiree Clary, a stunning 23 year old whose father had once refused Bernadotte a billet in Marseilles. Desiree had become betrothed to Joseph Bonaparte, but she had caught Napoleon's eye, and so Joseph was foisted off on her rather less impressive sister, whilst Napoleon moved in. Then he spotted Josephine de Beauharnais, and in modern parlance blew out Desiree.

However, she was soon being chased by the likes of Junot and Marmont, but she chose the dashing Bernadotte, allegedly because she believed him to be the only one who could stand up to Napoleon.

Threaten the Sword

In 1799 Bernadotte remained neutral during the coup of 30 Prairial, instigated by Barras. As a reward, when the dust settled the new powers that be made Bernadotte Minister of War. It would have greatly irked Napoleon that two of his rival's supporters were his own brothers, Joseph and Lucien. The tattoo 'Death to Tyrants' on his arm probably did not help, either. Unfortunately, Bernadotte's reign did not last long. With typical fire, he threatened the Finance Minister with his sword over lack of funds, and generally exploded over something on a regular basis. Thus, a typical Gascon. The fact that he was doing a good job did not seem to matter, and following one of his outbursts he was fired in September 1799.

In October, Bonaparte was back from Egypt, and sensing his rival to be weakened, Bernadotte struck. He attempted to have Napoleon arrested for Desertion and Evading Quarantine! Needless to say, this did not transpire. Then on November 7th, Bonaparte asked Bernadotte directly to support him in overthrowing the directory. He refused, wishing to remain neutral as usual in such matters, and it aggravated Bonaparte, who succeeded without him. It was another nail, however.

Politics being what they are, the two were soon reconciled and Bernadotte was appointed a member of the Council of State by the First Consul in January of 1800. Given command of the Army of the West to defend against a British invasion, Bernadotte began intriguing seriously, and a number of his subordinates were implicated in conspiracies against the almighty First Consul.

Bernadotte managed to keep his own nose clean, but continued references about Liberty in his speeches irked Bonaparte, who read them as implied criticisms, and actually threatened to have Bernadotte shot during the heat of a moment. Eventually Bernadotte's army was disbanded, and he and Napoleon went off speaking terms once more.

The Clary sisters persisted in pleading for Bernadotte's restoration, and in 1803 Napoleon relented, making Bernadotte governor general of Louisiana. A damned good posting to get someone out of the way. Unfortunately, this posting was scuppered when the territory was sold to the United States, and for a year Bernadotte was unemployed.

Events of 1804

Then in May of 1804, Napoleon began his greatest scheme, and determining that he needed Bernadotte on-side, approached his rival. This time Bernadotte knew that the game was up, and that it would be Empire and not Republic. He guaranteed his loyalty, and was rewarded with a marshalate, seventh in seniority, and the governorship of Hanover, a good posting.

Bernadotte's time in Hanover was well spent, and he became quite popular, doing his best to alleviate the financial hardships of the region. In 1805 his troops became the I Corps of Napoleon's Grand Army. However it is suddenly now that Bernadotte developed a tendency towards sluggishness which merits close scrutiny. Napoleon accused him of crossing the Danube a day late on the road to Austerlitz, and it was commented upon that at the briefing before the great battle the Emperor was particularly imperious towards his distant brother in law. Despite assisting Soult in the decisive assault, Bernadotte was once more criticised - by the fanatically loyal Davout - of mishandling the pursuit.

With peace came another posting. This time as governor of the freshly-ceded Ansbach. In June of 1806 he was made a prince by Napoleon as part of the Emperor's grand scheme of a new nobility, behind Berthier but ahead of all others, including a disgusted Davout. However, the 1806 campaign against the Prussians nearly brought the house down around Bernadotte's ears.

Having failed to be engaged at either Jena or Auerstadt, Bernadotte was officially censured by his old enemy Berthier for disobeying imperial orders. Angered, Bernadotte stormed Halle against superior numbers, as if to prove a point, and he pursued them to Lubeck, where the second big break of his life occurred, although at the time he did not know it. Amongst the prisoners were a Swedish division, and Bernadotte's correct treatment and courtesy to the Swedish officers was not forgotten.

In 1807 he missed Eylau when Berthier's orders failed to arrive. Napoleon's implied criticism that the presence of another corps would have saved lives was countered by pointing out that Berthier was using inexperienced subalterns to deliver crucial despatches. It was another nail, though. To compound the situation, it transpired that Davout had been intercepting and reading Bernadotte's letters, an act which caused much animosity along with an unveiled threat to give the Iron Marshal a good horsewhipping.

In June at Spanden Bernadotte was shot in the neck, and as rehabilitation he was appointed governor of Lubeck, Bremen and Hamburg. He held this position until 1809, when the Austrians were on the warpath once more.

1809

This time, Bernadotte was given foreign troops to command. IX Corps, composed of Saxons. They got savaged at Wagram, and Bernadotte and Berthier clashed viciously, the former accusing the latter of holding back his supports. On the second day of the great battle IX Corps took another beating, and this time Napoleon and Bernadotte traded insults freely on the field, the general accusing the Emperor of being part of a plan to discredit him. He offered to resign.

This was not accepted, so Bernadotte issued a proclamation to his corps praising their performance before handing over his command and heading for Paris. Napoleon went ballistic, publishing an official rebuke which was highly critical of just about every aspect of Bernadotte's character and behaviour. It looked like his number was most assuredly up. Until the British inadvertently arrived on the scene.

Sent to counter the landing at Walcheren, all that Bernadotte had to do was watch the redcoats die of disease before his eyes. After they had withdrawn from the fiasco Bernadotte issued another of his proclamations informing his troops that they could have smashed the British within 10 days if they had needed to. Things were coming to a head. Napoleon was convinced that Bernadotte was conspiring against him, and he was probably right. He openly said that the Prince of Ponte Corvo could no longer be trusted. Bernadotte knew that time was running out for him. What he needed was a spot of divine intervention.

In the same year as Bernadotte was getting hammered at Wagram, a coup in Sweden had deposed King Gustavus IV, replacing him with his elderly uncle, Charles XIII. Charles had no heirs, and his adopted one died in June of 1810, leaving something of a dilemma. A new successor was needed. The king had a Danish prince in mind, but this was heavily opposed as Denmark was a traditional enemy. Charles appealed to that arbiter of free accession, Napoleon. The whole business suddenly snowballed, and from seeking a spot of advice a request was forwarded for an heir to be supplied. Either a member of the Imperial family, or a marshal.

To Sweden

Why Napoleon thought that Bernadotte would be subsequently loyal and grateful ranks alongside debates like why Ney got a whole wing in 1815. In retrospect it was a bad move. Bernadotte measured up for the job, of course. Perhaps the Emperor felt that if he elevated his greatest rival to a higher position then peace between the two would at last be reached.

At any rate the Swedes loved the idea. Bernadotte came with a reputation for fairness and honesty, plus he was a bit hard. Although not their first choice, the Swedish delegates were impressed that Bernadotte was willing to change his religion, as they required. Remember, in those days this was no casual thing. On August 21st, 1810, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was unanimously elected Crown Prince of Sweden, and Napoleon officially released him from all oaths and his French nationality. What he failed to get was a promise not to bear arms against France.

Bernadotte had got out, just in time, but he had the good sense to part on at least faked good terms.

In Sweden, Bernadotte adopted the name Charles John, and was quickly all things to all people. Great Warrior, loving adopted son, you name it. He promptly became most popular. Then came the future.

Having come to terms with the loss of Finland to Russia, Charles John decided to replace it with Norway. A slight hitch in this otherwise commendable plan was that Norway belonged to someone else. Namely the King of Denmark, Napoleon's ally. The Emperor was definitely not up for this, and he pointed out his plans for Sweden.

Firstly, to join the trade embargo - the Continental System - designed to shut out Britain, then to actually declare war on Britain. At this stage, Charles John had little option to comply, although his practical attitude towards Britain failed to change, and an enraged Napoleon occupied Swedish Pomerania in January 1811, using Charles John's old enemy, Davout.

The Crown Princess was also proving to be something of a problem. She stuck it out in Sweden for a year before returning to Paris, where she remained until 1823, leaving their 12 year old son, Oscar, with the future king.

Diplomacy with Russia

Things were not all bleak though. The Czar, never one to miss an opportunity, made tentative approaches to Charles John and they signed a treaty in 1812. Respecting each other's territories, Charles John extracted a promise of military support against Norway. Then in June Sweden breached the Continental System, opening her ports. Within seven days Napoleon had entered Russia. Charles John made the right noises to keep the Czar happy, but leaving enough room to placate the Emperor if things went awry. They didn't.

With the disaster in Russia, it became apparent that Napoleon had finally bitten off more than he could chew, and the Crown Prince decided to firmly step off the fence once and for all. A treaty with Britain provided 30,000 troops (paid for by Whitehall) to deploy in Northern Germany, and in return Britain removed any objections over the future of Norway.

He then wrote to Napoleon, stating that he was not acting against France, but for Sweden. This is clearly a narrow margin, but he backed it up citing Davout's invasion of Pomerania.

The 1813 campaign began badly for the allies. Beaten at Gross-Gorschen, the Czar wrote to Charles John urging him to forget Norway, as the allies now wanted the support of Denmark against Napoleon. The Bernadotte of old suddenly appeared. He tore into the Czar and the King of Prussia, accusing them of betraying him. Only the English, he said, could be relied upon and it was only their presence that kept him in the alliance. It stunned the allied monarchs, who until then had casually assumed that Charles John was of minor importance. They now realised that he was a Player.

The King of Denmark sided with Napoleon, leaving the path open to a meeting in July between the Allied leaders. Here Charles John described the French style of war, highlighting the weaknesses amongst the marshalate, and how they could be turned to the Allies' advantage. He recommended delaying tactics to wear down Napoleon It worked and the result at Leipzig was never in doubt.

During the campaign, a number of allied generals were critical of Charles John's slow movements, and this has, I suggest, contributed to his reputation, tied in with his dithering as a marshal. However, closer examination buries this theory. Almost certainly, Bernadotte was working to his own agenda under the First Empire, and I believe that it was none other than to replace Napoleon with himself.

To do that Napoleon must lose a few times, and Bernadotte did his damnedest to arrange as much, at the same time making sure that he was not damaging himself in the process. However, his delays in 1813 are quite different. Sweden was short of manpower, and the new Crown Prince had no intention of bleeding his adopted country dry so that the central European powers could get the best pickings. Far better to let the Prussians and Russians do the dying for you. That was his motto. And it worked.

1814

In 1814, having wrested back Swedish Pomerania from the French, he traded it for Norway. Almost certainly he still nurtured ideas of French kingship, but he had mistaken the feeling of France. To them he was now a traitor, and the door was slammed shut.

He remained adamantly neutral in 1815. His days of soldiering were at an end.

Charles John became king of Sweden and Norway on February 7th, 1818 becoming Charles XIV John. The country prospered, and despite the usual rises and drops in public popularity, he handled the post well. He finally died on March 8th, 1844, aged 80. He had been king for 26 years and he was openly mourned.

That Bernadotte was a good soldier is without doubt true. That he was far more than that is also true. Throughout his life his naked ambition burned bright enough to light Versailles up, and all his actions must be examined with this taken into account. Of the whole age, only his ambition came close to Napoleon's. There was never going to be room in France for both of them. What is more, he succeeded where Napoleon failed, establishing a lasting dynasty. Because Napoleon was Napoleon, Bernadotte will always suffer. After all, it is the Napoleonic period we study. He is thus always going to come in for the kind of unreasonable criticism fired off by those either too narrow minded or too foolish to see the big picture.

But then again, isn't that so often the case?

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