The Battle of Waterloo
In legendary battle, Napoleon was defeated, ending his dream of an empire in Europe.
Napoleon's rise,fall,and return
When the French republic was collapsing ten years after the 1789 revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte,a successful general,took control of the government. less than five years later,he crowned himself emperor.
Conquest and defeat.not content with ruling France, Napoleon used his army to extend his empire to Italy, Spain, and parts of Germany and Poland. In 1812, he attacked Russia, advancing as far as Moscow before a defeat and a bitter winter forced him to retreat. Then a new alliance of Great Britain, Russia, and Prussia formed.After months of fighting, they finally beat Napoleon's army. They forced him to leave his throne. In the spring of 1814 he was exiled to the tiny Mediterranean island of Elba. A king from the former French ruling family was put back on the French throne.
The Hundred Days - During Napoleon's exile, diplomats and princes began a meeting called the Congress of Vienna to decide how to reshape Europe. New borders had to be drawn. But more than that was at stake. Napoleon had aroused people's desires for their own nations. Many, too, wanted to see the end of domination by kings. The Congress was meant to help the kings who had allied against Napoleon reassert their control.
Remembering the achievements of the 1789 revolution, a great many French wanted no part of the king they had been given. Restless on his small island, Napoleon saw his chance to regain power. Less than a year after being sent to Elba, he returned to France. Peasants and troops rallied to him. The king left Paris in a panic. Napoleon formed a new army. But his new regime would last only one hundred days.
Alarmed, the allies in Vienna raised their own armies. British and Prussian troops were already in Belgium. Austrian and Russian soldiers were on the way. Napoleon's only hope was to defeat the force in Belgium before the others arrived. He marched off with 124,000 men.
