Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: A semicircle of warriors, their hands on a fasces. Exergue: CONFEDERATION DU RHIN. MDCCCVI. BRENET F. DENON D.
The formation of the Confederation of the Rhine made King Friedrich realize that Prussia was in danger. The hawks in his court finally prevailed, and he issued an ultimatum to Napoleon: Get those French troops out of the Rhineland. Napoleon gleefully announced to the French people, "In accordance with the instructions of the Prussian king our troops have left the Rhineland. They are marching on Berlin."

The Prussians maneuvered to cut the French supply lines, which they imagined ran east to France. Napoleon was actually running his supply lines to the south. He swung his right wing forward and threatened the Prussian supply lines. The Battles of Jena and Auerstadt crushed the Prussian armies before their Russian allies could come to their support. Although the main part of the Prussian army was defeated by Marshal Davoust at Auerstadt, Napoleon's medals celebrate his own smaller victory at Jena.

Obverse: NEAPOLIO IMPERATOR REX. Standard bust by Andrieu.
Reverse: BORUSSI DIDICERE NUPER. The emperor on a horse prancing right, hurling a thunderbolt at a falling enemy; beneath him corpses. Signed ANDRIEU F. Exergue: EXERCITU AD JENAM DELETO. XIV OCTOB. MDCCCVI.
The Latin inscriptions may be translated: NAPOLEON, EMPEROR, KING; THE PRUSSIANS JUST LEARNED A LESSON; THEIR ARMY WAS WIPED OUT AT JENA. Like Louis XIV, Napoleon had a committee of learned men to design medals and inscriptions for him. This is the one of the few of those ever produced; the designs for the others can be seen in the records left by the committee.

In addition to engraving the special die for this medal, Andrieu produce two obverse dies for the 40 mm. medals commemorating the Prussian campaign, with the inscription NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI, Napoleon, Emperor [of the French] and King [of Italy].

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: The Emperor riding Jove's eagle, hurling a thunderbolt at a falling man below. Two men already lie dead amid rocks. Exergue: BATAILLE D`JENA. MDCCCVI. DENON D. GALLE F.
Jupiter riding an eagle is a Roman motive, revived here in accordance with the classical spirit of so many of these medals.

Obverse: NAPOLEO GALL. IMP. REX GERM. RVTH. BORVSSICVS. Diademed and laureate bust right, signed on the truncation L.M. In the field below, MEDIOLANI, MDCCCVI.
Reverse: SAXONIA LIBERATA BORVSSIS DELETIS IENAE. Jupiter riding an eagle, holding a scepter and brandishing a thunderbolt.
The Latin inscription of the obverse concludes with honorifics indicating that Napoleon had defeated the Germans, the Russians, and the Prussians. The reverse is apparently Manfredini's interpretation of the theme dictated by Denon; a comparison with the previous medal indicates that the Milan mint was not as closely controlled as the one in Paris. Perhaps the Paris version is a better design.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: THE BRANDENBURG GATE. The famous eastern entry into 18th century Berlin.
Exergue: L`EMPEREUR ENTRE A BERLIN LE XXVII OCTOBRE MDCCCVI. DENON Dt. * JALEY Ft.

Following the Battles of Jena and Auerstadt the Prussians fled in all directions, hotly pursued by the French. Berlin was abandoned to them and Napoleon entered in triumph. It was here that he issued the famous Berlin decree, banning British goods from his empire, declaring all products from British colonies subject to confiscation. (The Directorate had earlier banned the import of British goods, followed by the indignant official denials that the new robes for the legislative bodies were being made of British woolens.)

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: Four women wearing civic crowns drop keys while looking up at a sword-carrying man riding a thunderbolt-bearing eagle. Signed in the field, JEUFFROY F. DENON DIR. Exergue: CAPITULATION DE SPANDAU STETTIN MAGDEBURG ET CUSTRIN MDCCCVI.
Denon's artist (Chaudet) had problems with the sketch for this medal. Marx (Les medailleurs modernes) illustrates two preliminary sketches for this reverse, showing changes in the positions of the women, the size of the eagle, etc. I think that the design Denon finally chose still leaves much to be desired.

Obverse: NAPOLEON EMP. CHARLEMAGNE EMP. Accolate heads right, that of Napoleon signed on the truncation, ANDRIEU F. In the field below, DENON DIR. 1806.
Reverse: VITIKIND. R. S. FREDERIC. AUG. R. S. Signatures as on the obverse.
In one of those historical parallels so loved by Napoleon, his action in raising the present Elector of Saxony to the rank of king is compared to Charlemagne's recognition of Witikind a thousand years earlier. The action was designed to gain Saxon support for France, separating Saxony from Prussia. The portraits of Charles the Great and Witikind are, of course, imaginary. "On 11 December, 1806, the Elector of Saxony accepted the French alliance, entered the Confederation of the Rhine, and received the title of King." (Rose, The life of Napoleon, vol.2, p. 99)

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: OCCUPATION D'HAMBOURG. A seated woman full front, a rudder in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left; behind, a ship. Exergue: MDCCCVI. DENON DIRECT. GEORGE F.
The free city of Hamburg was one of the principal ports through which British goods arrived on the continent, so it had to be occupied by the French to put a stop to that pernicious traffic. Napoleon gave his friend Bourrienne a chance to redeem himself by putting him in charge of affairs in Hamburg; Bourrienne repaid him by issuing licenses to smugglers and misappropriating funds. Disgraced a second time, Bourrienne got his revenge years later by publishing his imaginative memoirs, a mixture of truth and lies ghost written by a couple of journalists which was rebutted by a book titled Bourrienne et ses Erreurs volontaires.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: A nude river goddess despondently reclining on a rocky river bank and holding a ship's rudder, behind and above her a French eagle standard. Signed in the margin of the field at the left, DENON D.; above the exergual line on the left, BRENET F. Exergue: SIGNIS VLTRA VISTVLAM CONSTITVTIS MDCCCVII.
The drawing of the figure is quite poor, suggesting a Petty or Varga girl or a Barbie with her impossible anatomy. The date is a year off, as is shown by Napoleon's proclamation to the army, 2 December 1806 (Corres. 11352):
"Soldiers! It was a year ago today, at this very hour, that you were on the memorable field of Austerlitz; the Russian battalions, terror-stricken, fled in disorder or, surrounded, gave up their arms to their conquerors. The next day they spoke words of peace, but they were deceitful; when they had hardly escaped from the disasters of the Third Coalition, the result of a generosity which was perhaps culpable, they were plotting the Fourth. But the ally upon whom they based their principal hope no longer exists. Their strongholds, their capitals, their magazines, their arsenals, two hundred eighty standards, seven hundred battle pieces, five great fortresses are in our power. The Oder, the Warta, the deserts of Poland, the bad weather of the season have not been able to stop us for a moment. You have braved everything, surmounted everything; all fled at your approach. In vain the Russians have wanted to defend the capital of this ancient and illustrious Poland; the French eagle flies upon the Vistula."

Note: Six years later a brief note in the "Mercure de France" stated, "The Emperor left Saint Cloud on the 9th of May, crossed the Rhine on the 13th, the Elbe on the 29th, and the Vistula on the 6th of June." The Russian campaign was beginning. In 1806, however, Napoleon needed a Russian alliance, so he delayed crossing the Vistula for the present.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: VICTORIAE MANENTI. A heroic nude seated on a pile of battle spoils, a sword in his right hand and a Victory in his left. In the left field, DENON D.; beneath the trophies, BRENET. Exergue: BATAILLE DE PREUSS EYLAU VIII. FEVRIER MDCCCVII.
The Battle of Eylau was another in which both sides lost, although both sides claimed the victory and issued medals to prove it. It was fought in a blizzard in mid-winter after both armies had settled down to wait for spring but had been awakened from their hibernation when Napoleon's Marshal Ney extended his men northward in an attempt against Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), where the Prussian king had taken refuge. Bennigsen's Russians tried to break through the weakened French lines to relieve besieged Danzig (Gdansk), leading to the struggle for Eylau between two armies of seventy five thousand men. Casualties on each side amounted to twenty five thousand, counting dead, wounded, and stragglers.

Napoleon went all out to prove he had won the battle:

"Three plates giving a clear idea of the Battle of Eylau must be sent to the War Department in Paris. See to it that within three days these three plates are etched and spread through Paris. You can also order that a pamphlet be made up of the bulletins which describe that battle and the account of it by a French officer, with these three plates. You will send it to Milan, to Prince Eugene, who will have it translated into Italian, and to the king of Holland [Napoleon's brother Louis], who will have it translated into Dutch." Corres. 12160, 25 March 1807

Obverse: NAPOLEON AT OSTERODE. Standard bust by Andrieu.
Reverse: FABIUS CUNCTATOR. Bust left. In field below, DENON D.
After the Battle of Eylau both armies spent considerable time licking their wounds; Denon characterized this time by comparing Napoleon's inaction to that of the Roman dictator, Fabius the delayer (drawn by Jouannin), who defeated Hannibal by using delaying tactics. But Napoleon was quite active at this period, negotiating with the Sultan of Turkey and the Shah of Persia, as well as shacking up with the wife of Count Walewska, by whom he later had a son. To Josephine, who knew what was going on and begged in vain to be allowed to come join him, he wrote, "You must allow me my fancies."

Standard obverse by Andrieu. Reverse: The robed, laureate Emperor places a civic crown on the head of a kneeling woman; behind her is a caduceus and behind him an akrostolion. Signed in the field, ANDRIEU F. and DENON DIR. Exergue: LIBERTAS DANTISCO RESTITUTA. MDCCCVII.
The meaning of the reverse, drawn by Meynier, is clear. The snaky winged staff of Mercury represents commerce here, although Mercury is also the patron god of thieves and the AMA. The akrostolion is the ornament placed on the stem of an ancient Greek ship, thus symbolizes sea trade.

The capitulation of Danzig, which took place on May 24th, was announced in Paris by the firing of cannon on June 5th and a notice in "Le Moniteur" of that day. A couple of weeks later "Le Moniteur" published an article supposedly reprinted from the British press:
"The taking of Danzig, which had been doubted at first but which is unfortunately only too true, has brought new delays to our great expedition. Most of the ministers and generals lean toward an attack on Holland. Whatever the destination of this army may be, it will be commanded by Lord Cathcart, famous for his numerous defeats in Brabant and Holland in the years 1794 and 95." "Le Moniteur", 17 June 1807

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: A standing nude warrior sheathes his sword. Corpses are stacked up behind him; on the right is an olive tree, on the left an extinguished torch, inverted and still smoking. Signed in the right field, GALLE F. Exergue: BATAILLE DE FRIEDLAND XIV JUIN MDCCCVII.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: A winged victory inscribing a shield: XIV. JUIN MARINGO FRIEDLAND. In the right field, a laurel branch.
Exergue: BRENET F. DENON D.
Just as the Battle of Marengo ended the second Italian campaign, so the Battle of Friedland ended the Prussian campaign. Napoleon's General Lannes was pursuing the Russian army with a twenty five thousand man force; the Russians turned and crossed the River Alle to attack him. Lannes fought doggedly and kept the Russians engaged until Napoleon could bring up overpowering reinforcements. The Russians were trapped on the wrong side of the river and slaughtered. This strategic victory gave Napoleon the opportunity to settle affairs with Prussia and led to his alliance with Russia.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: BERLIN WARSAW KOENIGSBERG. Three standing women wearing civic crowns, each holding a key in her hand. Signed DENON DIR. GEORGE F.
Exergue: CAMPAGNES DE MDCCCVI ET MDCCCVII.
The design of this reverse is related to that of Bramsen 548, above. Berlin was the capital of Friedrich as Elector of Brandenburg, Koenigsberg as King of Prussia, and Warsaw as ruler of the Prussian part of Poland.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: Victory, seated left, writes on a shield. Peace, behind her, stops her from writing. Behind, on the left, is a tower made up of civic crowns labelled GLATZ, KOSEL, NEISSE, SCHWEIDNITZ, BRIEG, GLOGAU. On the ground lies an eighth crown, SILBERBERG. Exergue: CONQUEST OF SILESIA MMMDCCCVII.
The reverse was drawn by Meynier. The cities are those conquered by the French in the Prussian part of Silesia. Peace is stopping Victory from writing until Silberberg can be added to the tower. This seems to be a new twist on the Victory-writing-on-a-shield type of classical times.

Obverse: NAPOLEON ALEXANDER I WILHELM III, the right-facing superimposed profiles of the three rulers.
Reverse: A reclining river god, holding in his out-stretched right hand a building on a raft, his urn labelled NIEMEN. Exergue: PAIX DE TILSIT M.DCCC.VII. signed by DROZ and DENON.

In a magnificent stage setting, Napoleon had a tent erected on a raft floating in the Niemen River, where the two emperors met in private. The French army was on the left bank, the Russian on the right. No authentic account is possible of what the two emperors said to each other, but Napoleon wrote to Josephine about his meeting with the emperor of Russia:
"I have met the Emperor Alexander; I am very satisfied with him; he is a very handsome, good, and young emperor; he has more spirit than is commonly thought." Corres. 12825
The editors of the official publication of Napoleon's letters were careful to censor everything which might be found objectionable. Herold, in his Age of Napoleon, restored part of the quoted sentence: "and he must be satisfied with me. If he were a woman, I think I would make him my mistress."
The agreement reached between Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit was to have far-reaching consequences. France and Russia became allies against Great Britain, and Prussia was reduced to a second-rate power by taking half her territory and population from her. The following two medals will show two results of the spoliation of Prussia. Other results of the agreement were that Russia occupied Finland and recognized France's right to Sicily and various other lands.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: PRISCA DECORA RESTITUTA. A throne on which rests a crown; in left field a sword, in the right a scepter. Signed BRENET and DENON. Exergue: OTTO III. BOLESLAO. AMI. NEAPOLEO. FRIDERICO AUG. A. MDCCCVII.
Again Denon has recourse to trappings from the theater to illustrate an event. The Polish lands taken from Prussia were made into the Duchy of Warsaw and given to Friedrich Augustus of Saxony, the comparison being made to a donation centuries earlier by the then emperor of Germany to the Saxon ruler of that time.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: INJECIT TANDEM FRENA VAGANTI. A nude male stopping a free-running horse.
Exergue: ERECTION DU ROYAUME DE WESTPHALIA MDCCCVII. Signed BRENET and DENON.
A French catalog compares the type to the Monte Cavallo statues in Rome, but I don't see much resemblance. The wild horse was often used on the coins of Hannover and Braunschweig. Hannover and the western part of Prussia were made into a kingdom for Napoleon's younger brother, Jerome. Napoleon married Jerome to Catherine, daughter of the King of Wurtemberg. Bramsen 661 (not illustrated) is apparently a rejected design to celebrate that wedding; it is a copy of Bramsen 522 (the marriage of the prince of Baden to Stephanie Beauharnais) with the names changed. The following medal replaced it.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: Two putti, one with a quiver, standing by a basket of roses and handing one to the other, seated, weaving a garland of roses, behind him a torch. On the exergual bar, ANDRIEU F. and DENON D. Exergue: J. NAPOLEON C. DE WURTEMBERG. The letter N in a glory. MDCCCVII.
The rather pleasant design for this medal was created by Prudhon, to be engraved by Andrieu. Cupid is identified by his quiver; the other putto represents Hymen, the nuptial god, identified by the torch, symbol of weddings at least since Roman times.
Jerome already had one life behind him. Napoleon had planned to make him an admiral. After training as a midshipman Jerome had sailed to the West Indies as an officer on a French warship. The British navy was active in the area of the French colonies and the ship had retreated to New York, where Jerome jumped ship. Welcomed by Baltimore society, Jerome fell in love with Elizabeth Patterson, the heiress of a wealthy merchant there, and married her. The couple made the obligatory trip to Niagara Falls, while the French consul sent the news to the First Consul in France. Bonaparte was furious. He sent a warship from the French West Indies to retrieve Jerome, but it was captured by the British. Orders were issued to every port in Europe under French control that if the couple should turn up there Miss Patterson must not be allowed to disembark; Jerome was to be sent directly to Paris. Consequently, when Jerome and his pregnant wife attempted to land in Lisbon (April 1805) Betsy had to remain on the ship and took refuge in England. Jerome became an officer in Napoleon's army, docilely accepted the annulment of his marriage, and was rewarded with the Kingdom of Westfalia and the daughter of the King of Wurtemberg. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte gave birth to a son in England and then returned to Baltimore. This son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, had two sons by his American wife, the younger of which was Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt and later Attorney General. The American line of Bonapartes is now extinct.