Napoleon’s Continental System might have worked in theory, but in practice, it was far from perfect. For one, it was almost impossible to maintain. Sure, some nations might have promised to stop trading with Britain, but that didn’t mean they actually would. And many were bitter that France had tried to interfere with their economic affairs.
The Russians hated the system especially. They undermined it at every chance, much to the annoyance of the French. The goodwill between the two nations began to erode. Then, in 1810, things finally came to a head. The Tsar broke with France and joined forces with Britain. Once again, Napoleon went to war.
The campaign began in June of 1812. Tsar Alexander’s army fell back deep into Russian territory, while Napoleon’s army of 600,000 men marched right after them. But the deeper they marched into Russia, the more dangerous things became.
Over the next few months, 140,000 French soldiers lost their lives to typhus or dysentery. By the time the armies clashed at the Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812, Napoleon’s forces numbered just 103,000. During the battle alone, the French suffered another 28,000 casualties while the Russians lost 43,000 men.
Still, despite the massive losses, Napoleon pushed on. He eventually reached Moscow only to find that the Russians had abandoned their capital city. What’s more, they’d set it ablaze before they’d left. Faced with a burning city, and dwindling supplies, Napoleon had little choice but to turn back and attempt to get home before the vicious Russian winter arrived.
This French retreat out of Russia was hell for Napoleon and his forces. Countless men starved. And the Russians closely tracked them as they retreated, capturing those weakened by the freezing weather. These captured soldiers often suffered a grisly fate.
In all, Napoleon lost around 524,000 men in Russia.
Napoleon never truly recovered from the devastation of his Russian campaign.
His army was weak and vulnerable, and his enemies knew it. They pushed Napoleon back into France, and there was little he could do to stop them.
On March 30, 1813, 60,000 Allied soldiers marched into Paris. And, at long last, Napoleon was defeated.
The royal family were brought back, and Louis XVIII was put in charge of France. Napoleon, too important to be executed, was instead exiled to the small island of Elba.
Napoleon spent about nine months in exile on Elba. He kept himself busy by making improvements around the island. He developed its iron mines and introduced modern agricultural techniques.
While confined, Napoleon was kept under the watchful eye of a British colonel, Sir Neil Campbell. The two men got along quite well and Campbell admired Napoleon’s intelligence as well as his charm.
Even in exile, Napoleon followed European affairs closely. He was dismayed to see that the monarchy was dragging his beloved France back to its backward pre-revolutionary ways. He had also heard rumors they might transfer his exile to the remote penal colony of St. Helena.
Rather than leave it to chance, Napoleon hatched a plan to retake the throne. He bided his time until Campbell left Elba on a short trip. Then, when the moment was right, he sprung into action. On February 26, 1815, with three generals and 607 men, the emperor escaped his island prison and set sail for France.
A few days later, on March 1, 1815, Napoleon landed on the southern coast of France and commenced a northward march. This famous campaign, now known as the Route Napoleon, would take him over mountains and through villages, covering 190 miles in just six days. In the course of this journey, he encountered band after band of pro-Bonapartist soldiers who gladly joined his advance.
When he and his army arrived in Paris on March 20, they met no resistance from Louis XVIII. Rather than try to fight the famous general, the lazy king had his guards carry him to his carriage in order to flee the country. France was once again under Napoleon’s rule.
The very next day, the restored emperor went back to work. He drafted a new constitution that would make it even more difficult for royalist families to seize power again. He abolished all forms of slavery, ended censorship, divided power between the emperor and the legislature, and renounced all ambitions of empire.
Napoleon’s return to power may have been swift, but it came to an end just as quickly. On May 15, 1815, the Coalition Forces declared war on France once again.
To face this new threat, Napoleon managed to put together an army of 280,000 men. He quickly left Paris to meet his foes for the final time. On June 18, 1815, the two armies faced off against each other on the fields of Waterloo in Belgium.
The battle ended with a total defeat. Between 25,000 and 31,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded, with the loss of 26 generals.
The Coalition was once again victorious. The defeated Napoleon attempted to escape and regroup, but the British Navy was one step ahead of him. On July 15, the great general was taken into custody. He would once again be exiled, this time to the isolated island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic.
Napoleon lived out his final years on the remote island. Here, his living conditions were poor. He lived in a small, rotting house and was provided with insufficient food and even fewer luxuries. Still, Napoleon worked. He compiled his memoirs and even wrote a book on Julius Caesar.
On May 5, 1821, after years of painful stomach ailments, Napoleon died in his bed. He was only 51 years old.
On December 2, 1840, on the anniversary of his glorious victory at the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon was given a proper funeral in Paris. When he was finally laid to rest, a million people came to celebrate the life of this heroic leader.
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