Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
— Napoleon Bonaparte-
Category Archives: Historical Timeline Details
War of the Seventh Coalition
The Hundred Days, also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France’s return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged chabrol, coalition, coalition force, comte de, elba, emperor napoleon, french army, gaspard, german states, hundred days, king louis xviii, line troops, napoleon, napoleon i, new men, overwhelming numbers, prefect, prussia, return from exile, seventh, standing army, waterloo campaign
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Returning Home – 1840
It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well. – Testament of Napoleon, 2d Clause. In 1840, Louis Philippe I obtained … Continue reading
Death of Napoleon
His preparations for death were methodical and complete. During the last fortnight of April all his strength was spent in dictating to Montholon his last wishes. He even dictated, ten days before the end, the note which he wished sent … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, Other Private & Affairs of State
Tagged augereau, burial place, chinese laborers, death, deathbed, enghien, final word, fortnight, french courts, french people, invasion of france, longwood, marie louise, marmont, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, oligarchy, posterity, roman religion, st helena, talleyrand, unfortunate results
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Second Abdication
On arriving at Paris, three days after Waterloo, Napoleon still clung to the hope of concerting national resistance; but the temper of the chambers and of the public generally forbade any such attempt. Napoleon and his brother Lucien Bonaparte were … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged 22 june, charles bonaparte, destinies, formality, hms, hms bellerophon, intimation, louis xviii, lucien bonaparte, maitland, minister of war, national resistance, provisional government, prussians, rochefort, royal navy warships, second, talleyrand, waterloo napoleon, westwards
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Battle of Waterloo
The Battlefield at Waterloo is small, only 3 miles east/west and 1 1/2 miles deep on which massed nearly 70,000 allies and 71,000 French troops. Wellington had chosen his ground carefully since he had seen the battlefield previously. He deployed … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged allied forces, artillery fire, attrition, battle of waterloo, blucher, brother jerome, coalition, domon, farm houses, french army, french attack, french emperor, french forces, french troops, frontal assaults, imperial guard, la haye, manoeuvres, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, prussian army, prussian general, prussians, reinforcements, seventh, strong points, waterloo
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Battle of Wavre
In the afternoon of 18 June 1815, while Napoleon Bonaparte was fighting his last battle on the fields of Waterloo, Marshal Grouchy fought Thielmann’s Prussian army corps near the village of Wavre. The victory was his, but it meant nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged 19 june, anglo dutch, army corps, davout, dutch army, field marshal, french army, french force, french troops, french victory, great disaster, grouchy, hundred days, military action, napoleon bonaparte, napoleonic wars, prussian army, prussians, thielmann, waterloo
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Battle of Quatre Bras (June 16, 1815)
The crossroads of Quatre-Bras was of strategic importance because the side which controlled it could move south-eastward along the Nivelles-Namur road towards the French and Prussian armies at the Battle of Ligny. If Wellington’s Anglo-allied army could combine with the … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged allied army, allied troops, battle of ligny, british reinforcements, cannons, duke of wellington, french commander, french emperor, french unit, general reille, late afternoon, left flank, marshal ney, napoleon bonaparte, political victory, prussian armies, prussians, quatre bras, skirmish, strong points
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Battle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny (16 June 1815) was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon’s command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged battle of ligny, battle of waterloo, blind courage, bonaparte, cavalry charge, field marshal, flank attack, french troops, frontal assault, gebhard, imperial guard, initial stages, michel ney, military career, nearby villages, pivotal role, prussian army, prussians, quatre bras
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The Hundred Days
The restored monarchy had offended and alarmed so many Frenchmen in so many ways that they looked upon Napoleon as a deliverer and an avenger. Courtiers and ministers protested loyalty to the King – but took steps to make themselves … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Timeline Details, The Hundred Days, War of the Seventh Coalition
Tagged aristocrats, coalition, constitutional monarch, constitutions, courtiers, deliverer, emperor louis, free institutions, frenchmen, ghent, liberal principles, louis xviii, marmont, marshals, metternich, napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, peacefulness, posterity, seventh, sovereigns, talleyrand, treaty of paris, tuileries
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Exile on St. Helena
The most serious concern Napoleon felt in facing his new life was that he would have no occupation. He saw at once that St. Helena would not be an Elba. He sought conversation, studied English, played games, began to dictate his … Continue reading →