The Napoleonic Wars - OverSimplified (Part 2)

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when you shop online. (dramatic thud) After the third

and fourth Coalition wars,

Napoleon had decisively defeated all three of his main rivals on the continent,

and he was now undoubtedly the master of Europe.

After the Battle of Friedland,

his enemy sued for peace

and they all met on a raft on a river for negotiations.

They had been fighting for the past four years, but now,

Napoleon and Alexander surprisingly got along like a house on fire.

They laughed together.

They chatted long into the night.

They kissed.

The two had a lot of mutual respect,

and Napoleon even told his wife that "if Alexander were a woman,

I would make him my mistress." (air whooshes) Kind of a weird thing to

say to your wife,

Napoleon.

In the end, they came to an amicable agreement.

Russia would lose barely any land.

And in return, they'd joined France against the UK and invade Sweden.

Win-win.

On the other hand,

Frederick William III was sidelined

and Prussia lost an enormous amount of territory to French client states.

Only the UK remained as the last major threat to Napoleon.

And they continued to be a big thorn in his side,

constantly funding his enemies

and using their powerful navy to wreak havoc on French trade

and overseas colonies.

But what could Napoleon do?

The British were safe across the channel.

Well, he said, "If I can't fight you with guns,

I'll fight you with money."

Earlier in 1806, Napoleon had announced the Continental System,

a total shut off of the UK from continental trade.

No one in Europe was to trade with Britain,

and Napoleon hoped that by hitting their economy he could force them to negotiate.

The British economy did take a hit,

and they responded in their typical fashion by going to Copenhagen

and blowing a bunch of stuff up.

But in general, the British managed to stay afloat by simply increasing their trade

with other parts of the world.

Many neutral countries found themselves stuck between a rock

and a hard place

as the two European superpowers demanded they ceased trade with the enemy.

Hey America, you better not trade with the French

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Now, where were we?

Oh yeah, making peace with the Russians, a Continental Blockade, and blowing up Copenhagen.

Sick of being blown up for doing almost nothing

and under significant pressure from Napoleon,

the Danish officially sided with France.

But Napoleon's blockade had the biggest effect on continental Europe,

who were now cut off from a major trading partner.

One that controlled the seas and held a rich, growing empire.

And a lot of countries didn't fully comply.

Portugal, a traditional British ally, refused to take part.

No problem.

Napoleon sent an army and invaded.

But it wasn't just Portugal.

Many of Napoleon's allies were also suspect.

Your Majesty, it seems that Spain isn't properly enforcing your blockade.

Spain?

Why not?

Well, it appears, they've been trying to find a way out of being your

ally since they lost their fleet at Trafalgar.

What is with these people?

It's almost like everyone's only pretending to be my ally

because they know otherwise I'd beat them up.

Do I even have any real friends?

Are you my friend, Pierre?

Say yes or I'll slap you.

Napoleon had come to mistrust his ally to the south.

And in particular, Napoleon thought the Spanish royal family were an incompetent mess.

All right, Carlos, you've got to get it together.

How can I trust you when all you do is go hunting?

Meanwhile, you let this ambitious nobody who dislikes me run the country.

And you seem to be the only person in the universe who doesn't realize

he's boinking your wife.

And what's worse...

Who the heck are you?

I'm the king's son.

I just overthrew my dad, so, actually, now I'm the king.

You people are the biggest cluster of shameless,

narcissistic idiots and all around just the worst people I've ever met.

Here, have a Kids' Choice Award.

French forces, many having conveniently already entered Spain to invade Portugal,

occupied Spanish forts and Napoleon invited the Spanish royals to France to help mediate

their differences. (audience cheering) All right,

we're here with the royal family of Spain.

So, Fernando, you've been accused of plotting against your father

and vying for the Spanish throne. (audience gasps) What do you have to say

for yourself?

Well, Napoleon...

That's great.

Well, I've got the test results right here. - All right! - Fernando,

in the case of the Spanish throne, you are not the king. - Ha ha!

(audience laughing) - And Carlos,

you are also not the king. (audience laughing) (air whooshes) I'm the king. (audience

cheering) Actually,

Napoleon made his brother the king, but for all intents and purposes,

Spain was now his puppet.

He expected the Spanish people to be over the moon at the removal of

their unpopular royal family.

Imagine his surprise when it turned out

that people don't really like to be subjugated by a foreign power,

least of all one who had previously attacked the Catholic church.

And so the people of Spain revolted.

Brutal fighting broke out

as bands of armed Spaniards ambushed French troops across the kingdom

and vicious atrocities were committed on both sides.

In addition to fighting the regular Spanish and Portuguese forces,

the French had to contend with tens of thousands of guerrilla fighters throughout the

Spanish countryside.

The British even took the opportunity to land an army led by the future

Duke of Wellington.

And now British forces were defeating French ones on land.

Napoleon briefly went to Spain in person,

and he did drive back the allied armies, but before long,

his attention was needed elsewhere.

The whole thing became a nightmare for the emperor.

He excelled at traditional warfare, but this was something more akin to Napoleon's Vietnam.

The whole conflict would keep hundreds of thousands of French soldiers

and resources bogged down for years.

Napoleon was never able to break the will of the Spanish people.

And this problem weakened his position in Europe. (narrator humming) Hey, Francis,

wanna go to war with Napoleon again?

Oh, I don't know Britain.

He's already whomped me three times.

I'll give you a bazillion pounds.

Well, okay.

Seeing that Napoleon was now caught up in Spain, and with some British funding,

Austria decided maybe, just maybe this time they'd have a chance.

So did they?

No.

Napoleon defeated them in just four months.

It was quick, but it wasn't exactly easy.

The Austrians had been watching Napoleon and learning, and they had made some reforms,

while Napoleon, after years of war, was increasingly having to rely on inexperienced conscripts.

So this time the Austrians gave him a run for his money.

The Fifth Coalition saw some of the bloodiest battles to date,

including Napoleon's first major defeat.

And when he did finally defeat the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram,

it was a very costly victory.

Still, Napoleon had yet again kicked Francis' butt,

and as part of the peace terms, Austria lost a bunch more land.

Not long after, however, Napoleon and Francis came to another agreement.

It was decided that Napoleon would marry Francis' young daughter.

But wait, doesn't Napoleon already have a wife?

Well, yes, he did.

Josephine and Napoleon had become quite fond of one another.

But now that Napoleon was playing the monarch game,

he needed a male heir and his aging wife wasn't giving him one.

So it was out with the old and in with the new.

At least he didn't behead anyone.

For Austria, they felt that if Napoleon was going to keep on winning,

they may as well be on his side.

So through the marriage,

Napoleon got an alliance with Austria and a beautiful baby potato.

Between them failing blockade against Britain, the ongoing war in Spain,

and now his recent struggles in Austria,

cracks in Napoleon's invincibility were beginning to show.

But still, look at this map.

So blue, so beautiful.

Even Sweden, after being pulverized by Russia, overthrew their king,

and after an interesting chain of events,

ended up putting one of Napoleon's own marshals in charge.

Marshall Bernadotte took the name Karl Johan and became crown prince of Sweden.

After agreeing to join Napoleon's Continental System, for now, Sweden was team France.

Napoleon was on top of the world.

He had won an endless string of victories.

All he had to do now was sit back

and not make any major miscalculations

that could completely turn the tide of war.

So let's see what comes next. (dramatic music) (air whooshes) France's alliance with Russia

was a terrifying prospect.

Together, the two could've been unstoppable, but unfortunately, the alliance didn't last.

The Russians felt they weren't getting a fair deal.

Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw right on their doorstep was a bit of an insult.

And then their economy began to tank because of Napoleon's British blockade.

And eventually, they began to open up trade.

Your Majesty, it seems Alexander is no longer abiding by the Continental System

and has begun trading with the British.

Alexander?

But he kissed me.

He kissed you?

You wouldn't get it, Pierre.

No one would ever kiss you. (narrator bawling) The security of Napoleon's empire depended

on removing the British threat

and he wasn't happy with Russia's backdoor shenanigans.

And so in 1812, Napoleon decided to go to war.

He gathered together the most massive army Europe had ever seen,

made up of troops from every corner of his empire,

and he prepared to invade.

Okay, it looks like Napoleon's coming for us.

Generals, I need ideas.

We could stand and fight.

No that's stupid.

You're stupid.

We could run away.

You, you're a star.

You remember Napoleon's tactics relied on astonishing speed to outmaneuver his enemy

and force a quick,

decisive battle.

Well, I've got two words for you.

Scorched earth.

If his opponent retreated while scorching the earth,

his men couldn't live off the land.

And if his men couldn't live off the land, he needed his supply trains.

And if he needed his supply trains, he couldn't move quickly.

And if he couldn't move quickly, he couldn't outmaneuver his enemy.

And if he couldn't outmaneuver his enemy, I think you get the point.

Napoleon launched his invasion and hoped for a quick battle,

but all he could do was try to catch the retreating Russians

while moving deeper and deeper into hostile territory.

As he went, the horribly hot summer devastated his army.

His men died of heat, exhaustion, and disease.

Supplies began to run out and his men began to starve.

Many deserted, and still the Russians continued to retreat.

Numerous times, Napoleon considered turning back.

But that little voice in his head kept on telling him, "Keep going,

just a little further, and don't worry.

You're definitely average height for the time."

He nearly caught the Russians at Smolensk,

but it was his birthday so he had a party instead.

When he finally reached Moscow,

he predicted the Russians wouldn't be willing to give up such a historic

and holy city without a fight.

And he was right.

The Russians finally turned to face him for the single deadliest day of the

Napoleonic Wars,

the Battle of Borodino.

The Russians fought valiantly.

And as he got older,

Napoleon's battle tactics seemed to become a little less refined

and a little more run straight at the enemy,

try not to die.

He launched a full frontal assault at the Russian defenses.

And as a result, the death toll was colossal.

The Russians eventually decided to retreat, leaving Moscow to fall into Napoleon's hands.

Quick, the French are taking the city.

Release all these prisoners immediately and tell them to burn it to the ground.

Well, well, Jimmy the arsonist, you are not gonna believe your luck.

Moscow went up in flames, and as Napoleon entered,

it became very clear his army wouldn't be able to stay there very long.

But he had just defeated the Russian army and taken their most beloved city.

In his mind, he had won, so he sent Tsar Alexander in St.

Petersburg a letter.

Your Imperial Majesty, Napoleon requests your surrender.

How shall I respond?

You shan't, Dimitri.

Ever?

Ever.

But your majesty, it will be winter soon.

The French forces are stuck 500 miles into Russian territory with dwindling supplies.

If we don't say anything, well, then they'll all die.

Oh!

After waiting for a response for about a month,

the first snow of winter began to fall,

and Napoleon sensed the catastrophe that was about to unfold.

He decided their only choice now was to get out.

And that's when it happened.

It got cold, stupid cold.

His glorious invasion had just become a race for survival.

As the Russians realized the French were fleeing for their lives,

they began to close in on their supply line.

Men froze to death, their horses as well.

There was starvation and disease.

The injured and dying could only be left by the side of the road,

as it was too slow to try to carry them.

And all along the way, the dreaded Russian Cossacks stalked the bleeding French army,

and every now and then swept in for a quick attack.

Napoleon, fearing capture, kept a vial of poison around his neck.

At one point, the Russian armies nearly trapped him against the Berezina River,

but a little Napoleon cleverness gave him the old Jeffrey juke,

tricking them into thinking he was going south,

and then escaping across rapidly-built pontoon bridges to the north.

When the Russians realized where he was and began to close in,

the French burned the bridges before everyone could cross.

Hundreds drowned and thousands were captured.

At this point, Napoleon got wind of plots against him forming in Paris,

so he abandoned his men and went back to France.

The remaining French stragglers made it across the border.

It's been estimated over 600,000 men went into Russia.

Less than 100,000 returned.

Napoleon was now in a very precarious situation.

His army had just been obliterated, and the other European leaders smelled blood.

Here was an opportunity to take advantage of a weakened Napoleon,

regain territory and influence, and liberate Europe from his dirty French paws.

And so they began to turn.

Prussia soon broke their Alliance and switched sides, while Austria declared neutrality.

Even Sweden, led by one of Napoleon's old marshals, joined the allies,

partly due to Napoleon's earlier invasion of Swedish Pomerania.

The War of the Sixth Coalition had begun.

The Coalition forces had been reforming their armies and they were now much better.

And the UK had also significantly amped up its financial aid to its continental

allies.

Their armies quickly advanced through Poland and into Germany.

In Paris, Napoleon was understandably freaking out.

He needed to put together a new army fast,

and he called up over 100,000 new conscripts, mostly teenagers.

He also put his factories into overdrive, and he was like, "You,

make more rifles!

You, build new cannons!

You, make more horses!"

I don't make horses.

Then who makes horses?

Horses make horses.

Explain how.

Well, when a daddy horse and a mommy horse love each other very much...

Yes.

Go on.

Well, then the daddy horse...

I'm sorry, Napoleon, you're 43, I thought you'd know this stuff.

Don't touch me.

I'm gonna be sick.

As it turned out,

Napoleon's lack of horses would take the biggest toll on his army since his

tactics relied on speed,

maneuverability, and destruction.

When he took the fight to the allies in 1813,

he did defeat them and sent them running, but lacking cavalry,

he was unable to effectively pursue and destroy.

He needed horses.

For the allies, being defeated in battle by a man whose army was now

full of an experienced conscripts was concerning,

so both we're like, "Hold up, time out."

The allies were somewhat cornered, and had Napoleon kept going,

it's possible he could've won.

But instead he agreed to a brief truce with the Austrians mediating between the

two sides.

When Austria demanded Napoleon make major concessions, Napoleon told them to shove it.

Having had their terms rejected, Austria felt now they were justified in saying, "Well,

we tried." and they joined the Coalition.

Okay everyone, look at us.

The boys are back together, but Napoleon is still dangerous,

so we need a plan.

Any ideas?

Hmm.

Oh, I know!

Ah, no forget it.

That's stupid.

Ah!

Ah no, no, no, no.

I've got it!

When he approaches, we run away!

Genius.

He's a genius.

The plan was as follows: wherever Napoleon advanced,

whoever he advanced on would avoid battle,

allowing the others to sweep in from the sides

and attack the French marshals guarding his flanks.

Essentially, the plan was don't try to fight Napoleon.

And this plan worked tremendously.

The allies scored a number of victories

that saw Napoleon move back to the city of Leipzig,

where he would make one last major stand

as the allied armies converged in on him from all sides.

The stage was set for the biggest and bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars,

the Battle of Leipzig.

Almost half a million troops from over a dozen nations stretched across the battlefield.

The French found themselves fighting on all sides for four days against the Austrians,

Prussians, Swedes, and Russians.

It's no wonder this battle is also sometimes referred to

as the Battle of the Nations.

The French fought ferociously, but ultimately,

were no match for the coordinated efforts of the Coalition.

At one point in the midst of battle,

Saxon troops allied with the French had a team huddle, and we're like,

"Hey guys.

I'm pretty sure the French are losing.

Let's switch sides."

And so they did.

When it became clear that Napoleon couldn't win,

he ordered a retreat across the only bridge over the river.

The allies swarmed into the city and desperate fighting raged in the streets.

Okay corporal, after everyone has crossed the river,

I need you to blow up the bridge.

Okay?

Not before everyone's crossed.

After.

You got that?

Yes, Colonel.

I'm not five, I can comprehend time.

Good.

Wait, did he say before or after?

Well, fortune favors the bold. (bridge explodes) The bridge was blown early

and 30,000 French troops were stranded

and captured.

A disaster.

And with that, the dominoes were beginning to come crashing down on Napoleon.

In the south, an army under the British Duke of Wellington had been pushing

the French out of Spain for the past few years

and were now crossing into France.

Austrian armies had pushed into Italy, while Napoleon's old, flamboyant cavalry commander, Murat,

who Napoleon had made King of Naples, decided to switch sides.

German states, many resentful after years under Napoleon's thumb,

turned against him and the Confederation of the Rhine collapsed.

Bernadotte invaded Denmark and they were forced to join the Coalition,

while the Netherlands were liberated.

You'd think Napoleon might've seen the writing on the wall, but he was Napoleon.

And so instead, he prepared to keep fighting.

As attitudes in Paris were already beginning to turn against him,

he called up more conscripts to defend the exhausted nation.

As for the allies, they weren't sure exactly what they were aiming for here.

A few peace offers were floated that may have let Napoleon keep his position,

but the British kept throwing around even more money.

And eventually, they all agreed

that the ultimate aim was the deposition of Napoleon entirely.

And so Napoleon embarked on one of his most famous campaigns to defend the

homeland.

He was completely outnumbered, but the allied armies had split up and spread out.

His army was so small that he could move at lightning speed.

And he used this to his advantage.

In the famous Six Days' Campaign against Prussian General Blucher,

he attacked from all directions and defeated Blucher's forces four times,

only suffering a tenth of the casualties he inflicted.

Even with his back completely to the wall, Napoleon was still Napoleon.

Then he turned south to take on Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia

and enjoyed even more victories.

However, Napoleon's problem was that he couldn't be everywhere at once.

And wherever he wasn't, the allies continued to push towards Paris.

He made one last ditch attempt at moving in behind the enemy lines

and cutting off their communications,

but Paris was in disarray and the people were sick of war.

One ambitious and slightly treacherous politician sent the allied armies a letter basically saying,

"Hey guys, come on in."

And so they did.

The city's defenders surrendered, and as the allied leaders entered Paris,

the people cheered them as bringers of peace.

Paris had fallen.

Quick, marshals, gather your men.

We're gonna launch an assault on Paris.

Where are my marshals?

They all left and told me to give you this note.

Napoleon's marshals had realized what he hadn't.

It was over.

And they insisted all that was left now, for the good of France,

was for him to abdicate.

And without the support of his army, Napoleon had no choice.

He hoped his son could take his place,

but it was decided instead to restore the old Bourbon monarchy.

Old King Louis XVI's brother would become the King of France.

It was almost like the French Revolution had never even happened.

But what will we do with Napoleon?

We can't have a hyperactive,

44-year-old menace running around reigniting revolutionary ideals and plotting his return.

Well, why don't we send him, mm, I don't know, there.

The location chosen for Napoleon's exile was the small island of Elba,

just off the coast of Italy.

Napoleon was to rule over the island

and even got to keep the title Emperor of Elba.

The allies must have been in stitches when they came up with that.

When he learned what his fate was to be,

he drank the poison he'd been keeping around his neck,

but it had gone out of date.

So instead of a quick and painless death,

he got a painful stummy wummy instead.

Before he left France, he addressed his oldest and closest guard one last time,

making an emotional speech that ended with him kissing their flag,

and off he went to exile.

The deal that was given to him was actually quite generous.

His family were given titles, he was to receive a state pension from France,

and he was able to receive many distinguished visitors,

all eager to come and meet the famed emperor.

And he ruled over Elba well,

improving infrastructure and introducing many legal

and social reforms aimed at improving life on the island.

Hey, Napoleon, just coming in to check on how it's all going.

Holy smokes.

But it wasn't all good.

For one thing, he learned of the death of his first wife Josephine

and was deeply saddened.

He was forbidden from seeing his son and current wife, and in Austria,

Emperor Francis had ordered a local count to seduce her

so she would forget about Napoleon.

Then, the new King Louis XVIII refused to give Napoleon his agreed pension.

He was under constant threat of assassination

and there were even rumors

that the allies were thinking of relocating him somewhere even more remote.

But the biggest problem was that Napoleon was once the master of Europe.

He had lived at three really life of adventure, fame, and glory.

Now, he found himself on a tiny island in the Mediterranean

and he was bored.

Wouldn't it be nice

if he could somehow return to France

and reclaim his throne?

Hey, Napoleon, wanna go back to France and reclaim your throne?

I would, Pierre, but how?

Well, I was thinking we could just take this boat.

Will that work?

Surprisingly, yes.

Pierre, remember when I told you no one would ever kiss you?

Yes, sire.

Well, pucker up, boyo!

Yay!

When Napoleon left Elba, it wasn't really the daring escape you might think.

He basically had kind of a leaving ceremony, hopped on a ship,

and sailed back to France.

He brought with him an army of about 1,000 men

and he began his journey to Paris.

However, in Paris, there was now a new king.

And at first, the people largely accepted him

because the last few years of war under Napoleon had brought immense death

and economic suffering.

That's right!

The king is back, baby!

Divine right to rule!

Don't worry, everyone.

I know the economy is caput,

but I and my courtiers will withdraw into this palace

and we will definitely work

as hard as we can to fix everything. (air whooshes) (crowd cheering) (energetic music)

- Huh?

(glass shatters) (partiers laughing) - Oh yeah, that's why we got rid of the king.

As the Bourbon monarchy began to look more

and more like a return to the past,

and the returning nobility seemed hell-bent on regaining their lost privileges,

the people weren't too happy.

And so Napoleon hoped that his glorious return would be met with jubilation.

In the end, the reaction was a little mixed,

but many were happy to see their old emperor.

Your Majesty, it seems

that Napoleon is back

and marching this way with 1,000 men.

That guy?

No problem.

I have hundreds of thousands of men.

Send them to arrest him.

Ugh, Your Majesty, it seems the thousands of men we sent to arrest Napoleon

have all joined his side.

Well, I'm off to Belgium.

If you ever need a king again, be sure to let me know.

As Napoleon continued his journey,

the king had sent battalions of men to stop him,

but they largely comprised of Napoleon's old soldiers,

many unhappy with King Louis' military reforms.

And so when ordered to arrest him, they simply couldn't do it.

In one famous incident, the troops began to cry out, "Long live the emperor!"

When Napoleon reached Paris, with King Louis having fled,

he entered unopposed to reclaim his throne.

Napoleon was back from the dead.

Okay, everyone.

Now that we've finally gotten rid of that guy,

let's try to make sure something like this can never happen again. (air whooshes)

What's that doing there?

Hey, fellow monarchs. (all screaming) I pooed my pants again!

Ah!

This time Napoleon promised he would be a mucho,

mucho good boy and not start any wars,

but the allied leaders were having none of it.

They declared Napoleon an outlaw and the illegitimate ruler of France.

Then, they declared war, not on France, but on Napoleon himself.

And when you have multiple empires declaring war on you as an individual,

that's how you know you're a very naughty boy.

The allied powers began making plans to combine their forces

and once again invade France.

The most immediate threat to Napoleon were the British

and Prussians hanging out in nearby Belgium.

If Napoleon could knock them out quickly,

maybe he could force the allies to negotiate

and maybe he could hold on to his power.

Together, the two armies to the north outnumbered him,

so he made a plan to divide them and take them on separately.

Historians debate how much of a chance Napoleon had here,

but this same strategy of dividing and conquering had worked for him multiple times.

He marched north with 125,000 men

and took on the allies in a number of initial engagements,

defeating the Prussians before turning to take on the British.

But to Napoleon's dismay,

miscommunication and hesitation among his marshals allowed both enemy armies to retreat and crucially,

rather than fleeing east,

the Prussians moved north where they could remain in contact with the British.

Napoleon sent a force to hold off the Prussians

as he moved in on the British,

now holding a defensive position at Waterloo.

Prussian General Blucher sent word

that he would come to Wellington's aid

if he could just hold off the French for long enough.

Napoleon had to defeat Wellington before the Prussian Army could arrive in force.

And it was close.

The British held the high ground

and a number of key defensive buildings across the battlefield.

After waiting some hours he didn't have for the ground to dry,

Napoleon sent men to assault the Hougoumont farm.

But the British-German garrison there held up.

French Marshall Ney launched a number of miscalculated cavalry charges at the British lines.

The British formed defensive square formations, and they tore the French cavalry to shreds,

while one guy chose the absolute worst time to go on a bender.

The French did manage to capture a farmhouse directly in front of the British

line.

And from there, they unleashed artillery hellfire on the British square formations.

And as Napoleon sent his Imperial Guard in to finish the British off,

a nervous Wellington knew his lines were at breaking point.

But the Prussians had earlier begun to arrive,

and now they were arriving in large numbers.

And after the British held out and sent the French Imperial Guard running,

the French lines panicked, fearing they had been encircled, and they began to flee.

The Battle of Waterloo was an allied victory.

And with that, Napoleon's hopes of returning to glory were vanquished.

He knew he was defeated.

He went to the British and said,

"Can I please have a house near London?"

And the British replied, "No."

Instead, to make sure Napoleon was put away once and for all,

they sent him to one of the most isolated

and remote places they could think of.

A tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean, Saint Helena.

Here, a deeply isolated

and depressed Emperor Napoleon would live the remaining years of his life.

His house was a wooden bungalow, not exactly on par with the Tuileries Palace.

Much to his frustration, his captains referred to him as general,

rather than calling him emperor.

His mail was censored.

His visitors were vetted.

There was almost no way he could escape such an isolated island,

but just to be sure,

he was guarded by 2,000 British soldiers

and two ships that circled the island 24 hours a day.

He had once been the most powerful man alive,

and images of the victorious Napoleon depict a strong leader, hand firmly in jacket.

Depictions of Napoleon on Saint Helena show a disheveled, old man,

hand firmly in pants.

He had lost everything.

And by the way, he was only 46.

So maybe it's about time you...

You know what?

You're doing all right kid.

Napoleon fought one last battle while on the island.

The battle for his reputation.

He spent hours writing his memoirs, espousing his achievements, recording his greatness,

and turning himself and his story into a phenomenal legend.

And in this battle, he certainly succeeded.

His mark on history can not be denied.

After his defeat, the European monarchs had got to work restoring Europe to its

traditional balance and reasserting their dominance.

But after Napoleon had spread the influence of the French Revolution,

these returning monarchs would have a difficult time regaining their absolute control.

France returned to the rule of the Bourbons,

but it would go on to stage another revolution, and then another one.

Reaction to Napoleon's rule in places like Germany

and Italy propelled forward the ideas

and feelings of modern unity

and nationalism,

and his "Napoleonic Code" still remains the basis of law in various modern countries.

The modern world owes a lot to Napoleon's legacy.

He remains, statistically, possibly the greatest military general in history

and his revolutionary military tactics changed the face of warfare.

He was the last truly great leader to both lead his armies in battle

while retaining total political control over a vast empire.

There's still hope for Joe Biden.

But the man remained somewhat of an enigma,

and we still aren't sure exactly what to make of him in some regards.

Was he the champion of the French Revolution,

spreading equality wherever he went

or did betray it by making himself an absolute Monarch

and restricting certain liberties?

Was he an ambitious

and aggressive conqueror hell-bent on bringing Europe to its knees

or was he simply defending himself against an aggressive Europe hell-bent on reducing his

power?

Some things will continue to be debated.

Napoleon died at the age of 51, officially of stomach cancer,

but some believe he may have been poisoned.

The British buried him in a tin coffin inside a mahogany coffin inside a

lead coffin inside another mahogany coffin.

I guess this time they wanted to make sure he stayed where they put

him.

In 1840, his remains were moved to Paris where they now rest under the

Dome of Les Invalides.

The man from humble origins, with huge ambition, ruthless determination,

immaculate skill on the battlefield,

and a hefty dose of luck who was determined to make his mark on

history did just that.

"There is no immortality," he said,

"but the memory that is left in the minds of men."

And in that sense, Napoleon knew he would live on forever.

Oh, and to reiterate, he was definitely average height for the time. (upbeat music)