Napoleon commanded armies.
The Battle of Friedland ( June 14 , 1807 ) was a major confrontation of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen . Napoleon . Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution , he rapidly rose through the ranks of the military , becoming a general at age 24 . The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents .