France. Napoleon I Bonaparte, medal commemorating the alliance with Saxony, 1806
- KOD: 4605224RMA
France. Napoleon I Bonaparte, medal commemorating the alliance with Saxony, 1806, by Andrieu for Denon, Bramsen 551, Bronze 40 mm, weight 34,88 g., Condition XF, nice brown patina.
A beautiful commemorative medal and a true gem in the collection of any enthusiast of the French Emperor.
The Elector of Saxony did not join the Rhine Union at the time of the dissolution of the Reich by Emperor Francis II in early July 1806. Yielding to pressure of a stronger neighbor, he entered into a defensive alliance with Prussia, which declared war on France on October 9, 1806. In a hopeless situation, Saxony, Saxony-Weimar and Hannover as allies of Prussia, plunged into the events of the war. They shared the defeat at Saalfeld on October 10 and the disaster of the Old Prussian state at Jena and Auerstadt on October 14, 1806. Napoleon announced a manifesto to the "peoples of Saxony." His army occupied Saxony at the same time that he declared it a neutral territory. On December 11 of that year, Grand Duke Frederick Augustus made peace with Napoleon near Poznań and joined the Union of the Rhine as King Frederick Augustus 1.The kingdom was proclaimed on December 20, 1806. The full-fledged royals were the "Grand Dukes Electors of Saxony," and the siblings, nephews and nephews of the com of the king were given the title "Royal Highnesses" on February 7, 1807. (Source: Saxony during the Napoleonic Wars, Volker Ruhland)