Weird History

How Napoleon Lost at Waterloo (2020x83)

: 05, 2020

When Napoleon Bonaparte returned to France in 1815, he brought with him a Hundred Days campaign to recapture his power and glory. Napoleon emerged from the French Revolution as a military hero and, during the last decade of the 18th century, seized control of the French government. He consolidated his authority in France while embarking on military campaigns throughout Europe, establishing himself as consul for life in 1802 and emperor two years later. By 1812, Napoleon fought against nearly every European country, attempting to take over lands from Britain to Russia. A series of losses, including a failed campaign into Russia, led to his downfall and, when a coalition of Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish troops marched into Paris in 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate. As a condition of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he went into exile on the Isle of Elba in the Mediterranean. He retreated to the small parcel of land, only to return to Europe in early 1815.