In September 1812, Napoleon led an attack on Russia and reached Moscow. But the Russian Emperor
Alexander I refused to surrender, and with the city ablaze with arson fires, Napoleon retreated a month
later. The rare military failure resulted in the Prussian break with France; they joined Russia, Britain,
Sweden, and (later) Austria in the Sixth Colaition in 1813 and defeated the French army in the Battle of
Nations at Leipzig in October. Napoleon retreated to Paris, and fought off various allied attacks on Paris,
but the city finally fell in March 1814. The Bourbon dynasty was restored, and Napoleon was exiled to
the island of Elba, where he retained some political but no military authority.
He returned triumphantly in March 1815 and drove Louis XVIII into exile, occupying Paris at the
beginning of a period known as the Hundred Days. His foreign enemies again joined to attack him, and
he fell to the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blucher on 18 June at the Battle of Waterloo in June
of that year. On 23 June He was again exiled, this time to the island of St. Helena, where he spent the rest
of his life. He died in 1821.
Contexts:
Politics
Illustrations:
Two Paintings of Napoleon