A MAN OF CONTRADICTION VENERATED AND DESPISED. HE FORGED AN EMPIRE SPREADING HIS REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS AROUND THE GLOBE. HISTORY CHANNEL INTERNATIONAL EXAMINES ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES NAPOLEON BONAPARTE THE GLORY OF FRANCE NOW ON WORLD TIMELINE [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME, NAPOLEON SEEMED TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE. PERHAPS THE GREATEST MILITARY COMMANDER EVER, HE WAS ALSO A PREEMINENT HEAD OF STATE. WITH HIS BRILLIANT MIND AND AMAZING LEADERSHIP ABILITIES, HE MADE FRANCE SOAR, TAKING IT TO UNPRECEDENTED HEIGHTS OF GLORY, BUT HE ALSO BROUGHT IT TO ITS KNEES WHEN HIS GENIUS AND HIS EGO SPIRALED OUT OF CONTROL. NEARLY TWO CENTURIES LATER, THE IMPACT OF HIS ACTIONS STILL REVERBERATES AROUND THE GLOBE. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: NAPOLEON'S ROAD TO GLORY STARTED ON CORSICA, A SMALL MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND LOCATED OFF THE COAST OF FRANCE. THE BONAPARTES LIVED IN THE PORT AJACCIO. HIS FATHER, CARLO, WAS A PROMINENT ATTORNEY AND A DESCENDENT OF ITALIAN NOBILITY. HIS MOTHER, LETIZIA, ALSO OF NOBLE BIRTH, WAS CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE WOMEN ON THE ISLAND. ON AUGUST 15th, 1769, SHE WAS ATTENDING CHURCH SERVICES IN THIS CATHEDRAL WHEN SHE WENT INTO LABOUR. THE FAMILY ESTATE WAS ONLY MINUTES AWAY, SO SHE DECIDED TO MAKE HER WAY HOME. WHEN SHE REACHED THE HOUSE, SHE COULD NOT CLIMB THE STAIRS TO HER BEDROOM, BUT INSTEAD GAVE BIRTH TO NAPOLEON ON THIS SOFA IN A DOWNSTAIRS SITTING ROOM. FROM BIRTH SHE INSTILLED IN HIM A FEELING OF BEING SPECIAL. >>TIMOTHY PICKLES: SHE WAS A VERY DETERMINED WOMAN, SHE WAS A GREAT REALIST, NAPOLEON HAD A VERY GOOD SENSE OF HIS OWN IMPORTANCE, I THINK HIS MOTHER GAVE HIM THAT, HIS, HIS MOTHER, UH, ALTHOUGH BEING A REALIST WAS ALWAYS ONE THAT THOUGHT HER CHILDREN COULD DO ANYTHING. >>NARRATOR: ALTHOUGH OF NOBLE BIRTH, THE BONAPARTES WEREN'T WEALTHY. THEY LIVED IN A FINE HOUSE AND HAD A HIGH PROFILE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT MONEY WAS TIGHT. THEY BROUGHT THEIR CHILDREN UP WITH A SET OF BELIEFS THAT WERE CLOSE TO THE EARTH AND VERY CORSICAN IN NATURE. >>DANA F. LOMBARDY: HE >>DANA F. LOMBARDY: HE CERTAINLY HAD PRIDE AND A BELIEF IN FAMILY, HE HAD A SENSE OF HONOUR AND THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO CORSICANS. >>NARRATOR: IF EVER AN ISLAND COULD GIVE BIRTH TO A WARRIOR, CORSICA WAS IT. FOR CENTURIES, CORSICAN MEN HAD MADE BATTLE A WAY OF LIFE. THE YEAR NAPOLEON WAS BORN, THE ISLAND WAS ENGULFED IN WAR, AS THE CORSICANS FOUGHT WITH FRANCE FOR INDEPENDENCE. [ GUNFIRE ] >>NARRATOR: AS A BOY, NAPOLEON WAS CHARISMATIC AND GENEROUS, YET HE WAS OFTEN IN FIGHTS. THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS THOUGH, FOR THE CORSICAN VIEW OF MANHOOD ENCOURAGED IT. PRIDE, REVENGE AND HONOUR WALKED HAND IN HAND HERE. AT THE AGE OF NINE, NAPOLEON RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP TO GO TO FRANCE AND STUDY AT THE BRIENNE MILITARY ACADEMY. THE THOUGHT OF BEING A SOLDIER SEEMED TO FASCINATE HIM. WHENEVER HIS MOTHER HAD GIVEN HIM WHITE BREAD FOR SCHOOL BACK ON CORSICA, HE HAD EXCHANGED IT WITH SOLDIERS AT THE NEARBY FORT FOR ARMY RATIONS, CLAIMING HE HAD TO GET USED TO THEM SOONER OR LATER. ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING AT BRIENNE, HIS LEADERSHIP ABILITIES WERE NOTICED. >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: NAPOLEON IS IMMEDIATELY GONNA SHOW GREAT PROMISE AS A, AS A, AS A SOLDIER, HE IS GONNA ORGANIZE THE FELLOW BOYS IN SNOWBALL FIGHTS, HE IS IMMEDIATELY THE MAN IN CHARGE, SMALLER THAN THE OTHERS, HE IS STILL THE PLUCKIEST AND TAKES CHARGE OF THEM IN ORGANIZING THEIR GAMES WHENEVER HE CAN. >>NARRATOR: YET HE WAS ALWAYS THE OUTSIDER. BRIENNE WAS A SCHOOL THAT ATTRACTED BOYS FROM THE FINEST FAMILIES IN FRANCE. AS A CORSICAN, NAPOLEON WAS LOOKED DOWN UPON AS A SECOND-CLASS FRENCHMAN. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE FUELED HIS NEED TO ACHIEVE. >>DR. JAY LUVAAS: HE HAD TO WIN EVERYTHING HE DID, THAT WAS PART OF HIS MAKEUP AND A BOY AND IT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS FOR HIS SUCCESS AS A COMMANDER. PROBABLY WASN'T POPULAR OR EASY TO GET ALONG WITH. >>NARRATOR: ALTHOUGH HIS GRADES WEREN'T PERFECT, EVEN AT THIS YOUNG AGE, HE WAS BEGINNING TO SHOW SIGNS OF EXTRAORDINARY INTELLIGENCE. >>TIMOTHY PICKLES: NAPOLEON PROBABLY WAS A GENIUS. HE HAD AN AMAZING BRAIN CAPACITY. ALONG WITH HIS STUDY OF THINGS MILITARY, HE PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY AND HIS BRAIN JUST SUCKED ALL THIS UP LIKE A SPONGE AND IT WAS AS IF HE HAD A COMPUTER IN THERE THAT HE COULD JUST DRAW ON FOR ANYTHING THAT HE NEEDED, IT WAS LIKE GOING TO A, A GREAT LIBRARY AND JUST PICKING A BOOK OUT. >>NARRATOR: NOW 15 YEARS OLD, NAPOLEON NEXT MOVED TO PARIS IN 1784. HE CONTINUED HIS EDUCATION HERE AT ONE OF FRANCE'S FOREMOST MILITARY ACADEMIES, THE PRESTIGIOUS ECOLE MILITAIRE. ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE COMMENTED ON HIS ENORMOUS AMBITION. >>DANA F. LOMBARDY: IF YOU LOOKED AT HIM, YOU COULD TELL THAT THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO WAS DETERMINED, WHO HAD A FIRE IN HIS EYE AND WHEN HE TALKED TO YOU, HE LOOKED YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE AND HE WASN'T AFRAID TO TALK TO YOU EVEN THOUGH HE CAME FROM A, A POOR BACKGROUND. >>NARRATOR: HE SEEMED ALREADY TO BE FORMULATING A VISION OF GREATNESS FOR HIMSELF, A VISION WHERE SOMEDAY HE WOULD PLAY A MAJOR ROLE ON THE WORLD STAGE. VORACIOUSLY HE STUDIED THE LIVES OF GREAT MEN LIKE ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND HANNIBAL, TRYING TO UNLOCK THE SECRET OF WHAT HAD MADE THEM GREAT. THE OTHER THING HE STUDIED OBSESSIVELY WAS FIREPOWER. HE BECAME A BRILLIANT ARTILLERY MAN. INSTINCTIVELY, HE KNEW THE PROPER USE OF ARTILLERY WOULD ALLOW HIM TO DOMINATE ANY SITUATION. [ CANNON FIRE ] >>NARRATOR: HE WAS SO FOCUSED AND PROFICIENT AT HIS STUDIES THAT HE PASSED THROUGH THE TWO-YEAR PROGRAM IN ONE, BECOMING AN OFFICER AT THE AGE OF 16 YEARS, 15 DAYS. NAPOLEON SOARED TO GLORY AMIDST THE TURMOIL OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. THIS WAS A TIME WHEN A MAN COULD BE RAPIDLY PROMOTED AND NAPOLEON'S RISE WAS METEORIC. HE BELIEVED IN A FRENCH REPUBLIC AND FOUGHT AGAINST ROYALISTS WHO WANTED TO RESTORE THE RECENTLY FALLEN MONARCHY. FRANCE WAS NOT ONLY AT WAR WITH ITSELF, IT ALSO WAS BATTLING OTHER EUROPEAN POWERS ON ITS BORDERS, WHO WANTED TO SEE THE OLD MONARCHY REINSTATED. NAPOLEON RECEIVED HIS FIRST REAL TASTE OF GLORY IN 1793, AT THE FRENCH SEAPORT OF TOULON. HE MASTERMINDED A BRILLIANT ATTACK AGAINST THE PRO- ROYALIST BRITISH FLEET ANCHORED THERE. AGAINST ALL ODDS, HIS TROOPS DROVE THE BRITISH FROM A FORT AND THEIR FLEET FROM THE HARBOUR. IN COMBAT, HE LED MANY OF THE CHARGES HIMSELF. HE SEEMED ALMOST FEARLESS AND WAS A FIRM BELIEVER IN LEADING BY EXAMPLE. BY TAKING THE GREATEST RISKS HIMSELF, HOW COULD ANY OF HIS MEN REFUSE HIM? HIS ACCOMPLISHMENT HERE WAS SO ASTOUNDING THAT HE WAS MADE BRIGADIER-GENERAL AT THE AGE OF 24. YET FRANCE REMAINED IN TOTAL CHAOS. ITS POLITICAL CLIMATE WAS CHANGING SO RAPIDLY THAT A HERO ONE DAY COULD BECOME A CRIMINAL THE NEXT DAY, WHEN ANOTHER SIDE GAINED FAVOUR. NAPOLEON WAS CAUGHT FRONT AND CENTRE IN THIS MAELSTROM. LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER TOULON, HE WAS JAILED BRIEFLY BY POLITICAL ENEMIES AND THEN SPENT A DESOLATE PERIOD IN PARIS WITHOUT A COMMAND. AT ONE POINT HIS FORTUNES FELL SO LOW THAT HE EVEN CONTEMPLATED SUICIDE. IN 1795, HE WAS PULLED OUT OF THIS TAILSPIN WHEN HE WAS CALLED IN TO PROTECT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM MOBS OF ANGRY ROYALIST SUPPORTERS. FIRING HIS CANNONS THROUGH THE STREETS OF PARIS, HE DROVE THE ROYALISTS OUT AND IN SOME PEOPLE'S EYES, HAD SAVED THE REVOLUTION. THIS WAS EXACTLY THE EPIC ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT WAS NEEDED TO START HIM ON HIS WAY TO THE MOST FABLED CAREER IN MILITARY HISTORY, FOR IN RETURN FOR HIS SUCCESS, HE WAS NOW GIVEN COMMAND OF THE FRENCH ARMY IN ITALY. AT THE SAME TIME, HE MET AN ASTONISHING WOMAN WHO WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE FOREVER. JOSEPHINE. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE DE BEAUHARNAIS IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ROMANCES IN HISTORY, YET NO ONE WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS A FAIRY TALE. JOSEPHINE WAS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS A MEMBER OF PARISIAN HIGH SOCIETY. SHE HAD LOST HER HUSBAND IN THE REVOLUTION. AMBITIOUS, INTELLIGENT AND CALCULATING, SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTED AND HOW TO GET IT. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: NAPOLEON ALMOST INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WITH JOSEPHINE AND PURSUED HER WITH THE SAME DETERMINATION WITH WHICH HE WENT INTO BATTLE. FOR HER PART, ALTHOUGH SHE FOUND HIM ATTRACTIVE, IT SEEMED SHE LOOKED ON THE RELATIONSHIP IN A VERY BUSINESS-LIKE WAY. >>DR. NANCY FITCH: SHE WAS GETTING OLDER, SHE'D BEEN HAVING A LOT OF AFFAIRS WITH VERY PROMINENT PEOPLE IN PARISIAN SOCIETY, BUT AFFAIRS DON'T ALWAYS EQUAL MARRIAGE AND SHE WASN'T SURE WHAT HER PROSPECTS WOULD BE, SHE WASN'T SURE THAT THIS ARMY OFFICER WOULD AMOUNT FOR MUCH, BUT SHE DECIDED IN THE END THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD MATCH FOR HER AND HER CHILDREN. >>NARRATOR: AFTER A COURTSHIP OF LESS THAN A YEAR, THEY WERE MARRIED ON MARCH 9th, 1796. NAPOLEON WOULD ONE DAY BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL MAN ON EARTH, YET HE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO COMPLETELY CONTROL JOSEPHINE. JUST DAYS AFTER THEIR WEDDING, BONAPARTE LEFT TO TAKE COMMAND OF HIS TROOPS IN ITALY. FRANCE WAS BATTLING THERE WITH OTHER EUROPEAN POWERS WHO STILL WANTED IT TO RESTORE ITS MONARCHY. FOREMOST AMONGST THESE FOES WERE AUSTRIA AND PIEDMONT. IT WOULD TAKE A MIRACLE FOR HIM TO SUCCEED THERE. HIS ARMY WAS A RAG-TAG GROUP OF ILL-FED, UNDERPAID, POORLY EQUIPPED AND UNDERSTAFFED MEN. YET HIS CONFIDENCE WAS SO HIGH THAT NONE OF THIS SEEMED TO BOTHER HIM, HE SIMPLY WENT TO WORK. THE THOUGHT OF LOSING SEEMED NEVER TO OCCUR TO HIM. >>TIMOTHY PICKLES: NAPOLEON HAD GREAT BELIEF IN HIMSELF AND HIS OWN ABILITY. IN ITALY, HE USED THIS AND HE USED EVERY SHOT IN HIS ARSENAL OF MAN MANAGEMENT, CAJOLING, PERSUADING, BEING EXTREMELY FRIENDLY WITH PEOPLE, BEING VERY HARSH WITH PEOPLE, SCREAMING AT THEM, WHATEVER IT TOOK TO GET THE MEN TO FOLLOW HIM AND THIS MAGIC WORKED, IT WAS WHAT WE WOULD CALL TODAY PERHAPS STAR QUALITY. >>NARRATOR: AS A LIFELONG STUDENT OF WARFARE, NAPOLEON USED THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN TO PUT HIS OWN THEORIES OF BATTLE TO WORK. IN THE PROCESS, HE REVOLUTIONIZED THE ART OF WAR. >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: IT'S LIKE NOBODY HAS SEEN BEFORE. BEFORE, WAR HAD BEEN A GENTLEMEN'S GAME, TWO ARMIES LINED UP ON THE FIELD AND THEY POUND AWAY AT EACH OTHER UNTIL ONE SIDE GIVES. NOT NAPOLEON, HE'S NOT GONNA TAKE IT WHILE THE OTHER SIDE'S GIVING IT, HE'S GONNA FORCE IT ALL UPON THE ENEMY, HE DIVIDES THEIR FORCES, CRUSHES ONE WING AND THEN GOES AFTER THE OTHER. >>NARRATOR: SLOWLY BUT SURELY THE MIRACLE BEGAN TO HAPPEN. THE FRENCH STARTED TO TURN DEFEAT INTO VICTORY AND THEN VICTORY INTO CONQUEST. LEADING MANY OF THE CHARGES HIMSELF, A MYTH OF INVINCIBILITY BEGAN TO GROW AROUND BONAPARTE. >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: HE HAD LED THE ATTACK FROM THE FRONT, BULLETS WHIZZING BY LEFT AND RIGHT, ALL KINDS OF MEN FALLING, KILLED AND WOUNDED ON ALL SIDES OF HIM, HE IS UNTOUCHED, UNSCATHED. HE FEELS AT THE END OF THIS THAT HE HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY A SUPERIOR BEING, THAT SOME, SOMETHING GREAT AWAITS HIM AND MAYBE IT'S THE, THE CONQUERING OF EUROPE, IF NOT THE, NOT THE WORLD. >>NARRATOR: IN LESS THAN A YEAR, HE ACCOMPLISHED THE IMPOSSIBLE. STARTING ALMOST FROM SCRATCH, HE DEFEATED FOUR ARMIES, EACH LARGER THAN HIS OWN. YET HE WAS NOT THE CONQUERING HERO IN HIS PRIVATE LIFE. OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE, HE WAS TROUBLED BY HER LACK OF RESPONSE TO THE LETTERS HE SENT HOME. HE DIDN'T KNOW THAT BACK IN PARIS, JOSEPHINE WAS HAVING NUMEROUS AFFAIRS. NEXT HE RETURNED TO FRANCE, NOW ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S GREATEST HEROES. MANY FELT IF HE COULD WORK MIRACLES IN ITALY, HE COULD ALSO WORK THEM AGAINST FRANCE'S MORTAL ENEMY, ENGLAND. THE PLACE HE CHOSE TO CONFRONT THE BRITISH WAS UNEXPECTED AND EXOTIC. EGYPT. NAPOLEON FELT IF HE COULD CONQUER EGYPT, IT WOULD HELP DISRUPT ENGLAND'S TRADE ROUTES WITH THE MIDDLE EAST AND INDIA. A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE AT HEART, HE KNEW THERE COULD BE NO GREATER OR MORE EXOTIC BATTLE ARENA THAN THIS ANCIENT LAND. THE SCHOLAR IN HIM WAS ALREADY AWARE OF THE FABLED COUNTRY'S PAST. FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS IT HAD BEEN THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION ON EARTH. IN JULY OF 1798, HE LANDED IN EGYPT AND QUICKLY TOOK ALEXANDRIA. THEN, IN THE SPECTACULAR BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS NEAR CAIRO, HE DESTROYED ADDITIONAL EGYPTIAN FORCES. ALTHOUGH THIS WAS CLEARLY A MILITARY EXPEDITION, FOR NAPOLEON IT WAS ALSO AN INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE. HIS CURIOSITY AND REVERENCE FOR THE LAND WAS ALL- CONSUMING. >>DR. NANCY FITCH: HE ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE WERE THINGS IN EGYPT THAT THE FRENCH COULD LEARN, HE TOOK, UH, WHOLE CADRE OF SCIENTIST ALONG WITH HIM, THE IDEA WAS TO TRY TO, UM, UNDERSTAND EGYPTIAN SCIENCE, TRY TO UNDERSTAND EGYPTIAN HISTORY, UH, THEY WENT AND LOOKED AT THE PYRAMIDS, THEY DISCOVERED THE ROSETTA STONE. >>NARRATOR: THE EXCITEMENT OF THESE FABULOUS DISCOVERIES WAS SOON DAMPENED THOUGH BY WORK FROM EUROPE. NAPOLEON LEARNED THAT A NEW COALITION OF AUSTRIA, BRITAIN AND RUSSIA HAD FORMED AGAINST FRANCE. HE DECIDED TO RETURN TO PARIS. AT THE SAME TIME, HE RECEIVED WORD OF JOSEPHINE'S INFIDELITIES. THE NEWS DEVASTATED HIM. IN A LETTER FULL OF SELF-PITY AND HEARTACHE, HE POURED OUT HIS EMOTIONS TO HIS BROTHER, JOSEPH. HIS ROCKY MARRIAGE NEXT WENT FROM HEARTBREAK TO HUMILIATION WHEN BRITAIN'S ADMIRAL NELSON INTERCEPTED THE LETTER AT SEA. IT WAS PUBLISHED IN LONDON'S NEWSPAPERS AND NAPOLEON BECAME THE LAUGHINGSTOCK OF EUROPE. HEARTSICK, HE RETURNED TO FRANCE DETERMINED TO DIVORCE JOSEPHINE. THREATENED WITH THE BREAKUP OF HER MARRIAGE, JOSEPHINE NOW REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO HER. SHE PLEADED WITH HIM FOR ANOTHER CHANCE. AT FIRST, HE REFUSED TO FORGIVE HER, BUT THE THOUGHT OF LOSING CONTACT WITH HER CHILDREN, WHOM HE NOW LOVED AS HIS OWN, CAUSED HIM TO GIVE THE RELATIONSHIP ANOTHER TRY. AT THE SAME TIME, AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY CAME HIS WAY. THE FRENCH PEOPLE WERE LOSING FAITH IN THEIR GOVERNMENT. AFTER OVER 10 YEARS OF REVOLUTION AND CIVIL UPHEAVAL, THEY LONGED FOR A STRONG LEADER, SOMEONE TO CALM THE WATERS. NAPOLEON HAD PERFORMED MIRACLES ON THE BATTLEFIELD, PERHAPS HE COULD DELIVER THEM ALSO IN GOVERNMENT. THE PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR A SABER THAT WOULD CUT THEM FREE OF THE TURMOIL. HE WAS THE OBVIOUS ONE TO WIELD IT. FORMING KEY POLITICAL ALLIANCES AND WITH THE THREAT OF FORCE, HE SEIZED CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT IN A BLOODLESS COUP ON NOVEMBER 9th, 1799, BECOMING THE FIRST CONSUL OF FRANCE, A POST THAT CARRIED WITH IT ALMOST DICTATORIAL POWERS. NOW NAPOLEON SET ABOUT MAKING FRANCE INTO SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING THAT WOULD CAUSE THE WHOLE WORLD TO TAKE NOTICE. THE GOVERNMENT WAS AN ARENA WHERE HE COULD LET HIS IDEAS BECOME REALITY. HE WAS OBSESSED WITH LIVING UP TO THIS CHALLENGE AND HE SUCCEEDED SPECTACULARLY. HE INSTIGATED A NEW CODE OF LAWS, ABOLISHED SERFDOM, ENCOURAGED RELIGIOUS TOLERATION AND MADE EDUCATION A TOP PRIORITY. >>DANA F. LOMBARDY: IT ADDS A DIMENSION TO NAPOLEON THAT MAKES HIM GREATER THAN JUST A GENERAL, MAKES HIM GREATER THAN JUST A CONQUEROR, THIS IS A MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS THE CIVILIAN SIDE, THE PEACEFUL SIDE OF LIFE AND IS ATTEMPTING TO MOULD IT IN WHAT HE BELIEVES IS RIGHT. >>NARRATOR: HE SEEMED TO HAVE MORE ENERGY THAN OTHER MEN. AT THE FONTAINEBLEAU PALACE, HE HAD HIS DESK MOVED INTO HIS BEDROOM, SO HE COULD GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND WORK. EVEN WHILE TAKING A BATH HE WOULD BE READING AND THINKING. TO THOSE AROUND HIM, HE WAS BOTH INSPIRING AND EXASPERATING. >>DANA F. LOMBARDY: PEOPLE ADORED NAPOLEON AND DESPISED HIM AND EVEN PEOPLE THAT ADORED HIM SOMETIMES DESPISED HIM, BECAUSE OF HIS INCREDIBLE WORK HABITS, HIS ABILITY TO BE BOTH COLD AND FRIENDLY AT THE SAME TIME, HE WAS NOT A SIMPLE PERSONALITY, HE WAS VERY COMPLEX. >>NARRATOR: FOR MANY, NAPOLEON BECAME A HERO. EVEN MEN LIKE BEETHOVEN LOOKED UP TO HIM. FRANCE WAS SOON THE ENVY OF THE WORLD. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE WORKING FOR HIM, EVEN HIS MARRIAGE. JOSEPHINE SEEMED BORN FOR HER ROLE AS THE MOST VISIBLE WOMAN IN FRANCE. HER TASTE WAS IMPECCABLE AND SHE HAD AN ENORMOUS INFLUENCE ON FRENCH SOCIETY. THE COUPLE LIVED A WHIRLWIND LIFESTYLE, YET DID MANAGE TO FIND SOME QUIET HOURS AT THEIR COUNTRY ESTATE OF MALMAISON. >>DR. NANCY FITCH: MALMAISON WAS JOSEPHINE'S PRIZE PROJECT. SHE REDECORATED IT AND SPARED NO AMOUNT OF COST, WHATEVER IT TOOK SHE WAS WILLING TO SPEND TO REDECORATE IT. IT WAS A COUNTRY HOME, IT WAS A MANOR, IT WAS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD GO AND RELAX AND THAT WAS PRECISELY WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE. >>NARRATOR: THE ONLY ROOM THAT TRULY SEEMED TO BE NAPOLEON'S WAS HIS STUDY. HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME HERE, RETHINKING FRANCE AND EUROPE. THEN IT WAS OFF TO PARIS TO PUT HIS PLANS INTO ACTION. BUT ALTHOUGH HE WAS HEAD OF STATE, HE NEVER REALLY CEASED TO BE A SOLDIER. HIS ACTIONS WERE EXTREMELY PARADOXICAL. HE WOULD PLAY THE PRINCE OF PEACE BUT AT THE SAME TIME BE THE GOD OF WAR. ALWAYS IN THE NAME OF PEACE, ALWAYS IN THE NAME OF THE REVOLUTION, HIS TROOPS MARCHED OUT AND DOMINATED EUROPE. WITH THE SUPPORT OF BAYONETS AND CANNONS, HE WAS DETERMINED TO ENLIGHTEN HIS NEIGHBOURS TO HIS PROGRESSIVE POLICIES. SOON MOST OF EUROPE WAS UNDER HIS CONTROL. NAPOLEON KNEW BETTER THAN MOST THE LURE OF GLORY AND HE OFFERED IT AS A PRIZE FOR ALL OF FRANCE. >>TIMOTHY PICKLES: NAPOLEON WAS LEADING THEM TO GLORY, HE, HE ACTUALLY USED THIS, THIS TERM A LOT. THE PROBLEM WITH GLORY, PARTICULARLY MILITARY GLORY, IS THAT IT'S LIKE RIDING A TIGER YOU CAN'T GET OFF. >>NARRATOR: BUT IF THE FRENCH PUBLIC WERE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE LURE OF GLORY, NO INDIVIDUAL WAS MORE IN DANGER OF FALLING PREY TO ITS TEMPTATIONS THAN NAPOLEON HIMSELF. HE MAY HAVE BEEN A GENIUS AND A MAN OF EPIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT HE WAS STILL A MAN. HIS INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR GLORY AND POWER WOULD BE HIS DOWNFALL. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: NAPOLEON HAD COME SO FAR SO FAST, BY 1804 HE SEEMED TO HAVE IT ALL, BUT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH. ON DECEMBER 2nd OF THAT YEAR, AT NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL, IN AN EFFORT TO CONSOLIDATE EVEN MORE POWER, HE BECAME EMPEROR OF FRANCE. FOR CENTURIES, IMPERIAL CORONATIONS HAD BEEN PRESIDED OVER BY THE POPE, BUT AT HIS CORONATION, NAPOLEON TOOK THE CROWN HIMSELF AND PLACED IT ON HIS OWN HEAD. ALTHOUGH THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND THE SENATE HAD APPROVED THIS CHANGE IN HIS STATUS, TO MANY IT SEEMED A BETRAYAL. HADN'T THE REVOLUTION BEEN FOUGHT IN PART TO OVERTHROW A MONARCHY? AND NOW HE WAS BRINGING IN ANOTHER. MANY BELIEVE THIS CORONATION WAS A MAJOR TURNING POINT. NAPOLEON'S MOVE FROM HERO OF THE COMMON MAN FROM ROYALTY WAS AN OMINOUS SIGN OF THINGS TO COME. BONAPARTE HAD OVERREACHED HIMSELF AND HIS AMBITION WOULD BE HIS UNDOING. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: NOW EVEN MORE, HIS ARMIES MARCHED OUT ACROSS EUROPE. >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: SECURING UNDER FRENCH CONTROL ITALY AND THE GERMANYS, NAPOLEON BRINGS THOSE PRECEPTS AND FREEDOMS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE PEOPLE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME HE BRINGS HIS GARRISONS OF TROOPS AND AS THE YEARS GO BY, THOSE BECOME HARDER AND HARDER TO BEAR, A TRIBUTE MUST BE PAID FOR THEIR UPKEEP, NAPOLEON DOESN'T DO ANYTHING FOR FREE AND SO AS THE YEARS GO BY, THAT BECOMES A HEAVY PRICE TO PAY AND SO MANY OF THESE NATIONS THEN ARE GONNA BE WILLING THEN, WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, TO JOIN FORCES TO OVERTHROW THE FRENCH YOKE. >>NARRATOR: HIS FRENCH EMPIRE NOW WAS THE GREATEST IN EUROPE SINCE THE ROMAN EMPIRE. BY 1809, NAPOLEON BECAME OBSESSED THAT HE HAD NO BLOOD HEIRS TO INHERIT HIS THRONE. JOSEPHINE SEEMED INCAPABLE OF HAVING ANY MORE CHILDREN. THE MATTER BECAME OF SUCH IMPORTANCE TO HIM, HE DECIDED TO ASK HER FOR A DIVORCE. >>DR. PATRICK L. HATCHER: I THINK THAT THERE WAS GRIEF ON TWO SIDES TO IT, PARTICULARLY ON HER SIDE, SHE DID NOT WANT THIS DIVORCE, SHE KNEW THAT SHE COULDN'T GIVE THE ONE HONEST THING THAT HE HAD ASKED HER FOR MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE WAS A CHILD. IT WAS A DIVORCE THAT SHE WAS FORCED TO ACCEPT AND IT WAS IN MANY WAYS HE WAS CUTTING HIMSELF OFF FROM HIS OLDEST CONFIDANTE. >>NARRATOR: IT WAS A GREAT SHOCK TO HER. THEY'D BEEN TOGETHER FOR 14 YEARS. SHE PLEADED WITH HIM TO RETHINK THE DECISION, BUT HE WAS FIRM. ON DECEMBER 15th, 1809, SHE PASSED OUT OF HIS LIFE, RETURNING ALONE TO MALMAISON. HE REPLACED HER WITH THE ARCH-DUCHESS OF AUSTRIA, MARIE LOUISE. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: IN 1811, MARIE LOUISE GAVE BIRTH TO A SON, ALSO NAMED NAPOLEON, WHO WAS GIVEN THE TITLE, "KING OF ROME". THE CORONATION, HIS DIVORCE AND THE MILITARY SUBJECTION OF HIS NEIGHBOURS WERE ALL INDICATIONS THAT HIS GENIUS WAS SLIPPING INTO MEGALOMANIA. >>DR. PATRICK L. HATCHER: ONE OF THE FLAWS IN MEN OF GENIUS IS THAT THEY BEGAN TO THINK OF THEMSELVES AS A SPECIAL RACE OF HUMANS WHO DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THESE ORDINARY HUMANS WHO GET IN THE WAY OF DOING THINGS, WHO ARE, WHO, WHO WAFFLE HERE AND THERE, WHO ARE NEVER STEADFAST, WHO SEEM TO HAVE SECOND-RATE MINDS, SO NAPOLEON IS NOW DIMINISHING EVERYONE AROUND HIM AND IN THAT PROCESS, YOU HAVE THAT SUPEREGO. IT IS THE EGO OF A GENIUS, IN TH WORDS OF THE GREAT LORD ACTIN EIGHT DECADES LATER, POWER DOES CORRUPT AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: IT SEEMS NOTHING COULD STOP NAPOLEON. FOREIGN ARMIES FELL TO HIS SWORD, LOVED ONES WERE REPLACED WHO HAD LOST THEIR USEFULNESS. HE COULD OUTWIT AND OUTFIGHT ANYONE WHO STOOD IN HIS WAY. THE ONLY PERSON WHO COULD POSSIBLY DEFEAT NAPOLEON WAS... NAPOLEON. HIS REAL UNDOING STARTED WITH A CANCEROUS MISTAKE KNOWN AS "THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM". THIS INVOLVED THE EVER- PRESENT RIVALRY AND HATRED BETWEEN FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN. BRITAIN WAS THE ONE NATION MORE THAN ANY OTHER THAT HAD CONTINUED TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFY HIM. FOR ALTHOUGH HE CONTROLLED MUCH OF THE LAND MASS OF EUROPE, THE BRITISH CONTROLLED THE SEAS. WITH THEIR HUGE EMPIRE AND MILITARY MUSCLE, THEY CHALLENGED HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. IN AN EFFORT TO PARALYZE THEIR ECONOMY, HE INTRODUCED THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. THIS BARRED BRITISH SHIPS FROM ALL PORTS UNDER FRENCH CONTROL AND ALSO BARRED NEUTRAL NATIONS FROM CARRYING BRITISH GOODS TO THE CONTINENT. HE HAD GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO BEING RIGHT SO MUCH OF THE TIME THAT HE FAILED TO REALIZE THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS BLUNDER. FOR THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM PARALYZED NOT ONLY BRITAIN'S ECONOMY, BUT ALL OF HIS EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS AS WELL. IMMEDIATELY BLOCKADE RUNNING AND SMUGGLING BECAME A WAY OF LIFE IN EUROPE, AS EVERYONE TRIED TO MANEUVER AROUND NAPOLEON'S EDICT. FORTUNES WERE WON AND LOST DAILY IN THIS HIGH-STAKES GAME. WITH SO MUCH MONEY ON THE LINE, ALLIES SOON BECAME FOES. FINALLY WAR BROKE OUT, AS PORTUGAL AND SPAIN JOINED FORCES WITH SPAIN IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEFY HIM. FOR OVER A DECADE HE HAD HARDLY PUT A FOOT WRONG, BUT NOW A SERIES OF MISTAKES WOULD LEAD HIM TO DEATH'S DOOR. >>DR. PATRICK L. HATCHER: HE IS GOING TO STUMBLE, HE IS GOING TO FALL ACROSS THAT SWORD OF NATIONALISM WHICH WILL RISE UP IN SPAIN AND ELSEWHERE AND COME TO DESTROY HIS EMPIRE. >>NARRATOR: BRITAIN BROUGHT IN THE BRILLIANT ARTHUR WELLESLEY, FUTURE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, TO LEAD THE TROOPS AGAINST FRANCE ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA. NAPOLEON, PREOCCUPIED WITH RUNNING HIS EMPIRE IN PARIS, NEVER FOUGHT WELLINGTON IN SPAIN, BUT INSTEAD LEFT THAT TASK TO HIS MARSHALS. THIS WAS ANOTHER BLUNDER, FOR THE CAGEY WELLINGTON GOT THE BEST OF THE FRENCH AT ALMOST EVERY TURN WITHOUT NAPOLEON LEADING THEM. BONAPARTE FURTHER COMPOUNDED HIS MISERIES WHEN HE MADE THE CATASTROPHIC MISTAKE OF INVADING RUSSIA IN 1812. IT WAS HERE THE FATES REALLY BEGAN TO DESERT HIM. THE RUSSIANS TOOK A PAGE FROM HIS WAR MANUAL AND DECIDED NOT TO PLAY BY THE RULES. INSTEAD THEY LURED HIS ARMY INTO THEIR VAST EXPANSE OF LANDS AND THEN LET THE BRUTAL RUSSIAN WINTER CLOSE IN. HE TRIED TO RETREAT BACK TO EUROPE, BUT WAS ENGULFED BY COLD, SNOW, STARVATION AND MARAUDING COSSACK WARRIORS. OF THE 600,000 MEN HE HAD COME WITH, 500,000 DIED, DESERTED OR WERE CAPTURED. BACK IN EUROPE, HE MET WITH MORE DISASTER. AT THE BATTLE OF LEIPZIG, IN OCTOBER OF 1813, HIS ENEMIES TORE INTO HIS WEAKENED ARMY AND PUT HIM ON THE RUN BACK TO PARIS. NAPOLEON HAD NEVER KNOWN THIS MAGNITUDE OF FAILURE BEFORE. NOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT WAS A DAILY COMPANION. WITHOUT ALLIED TROOPS CONVERGING ON PARIS, HE RETREATED TO FONTAINEBLEAU PALACE AND CONTEMPLATED A WARRIOR'S WAY OUT OF HIS DEFEATS. >>DR. PATRICK L. HATCHER: IN 1812, NAPOLEON HAD A POTION MADE UP OF POISON IN CASE THE WORST POSSIBLE FATE, YOU KNOW, BEFELL HIM AND GENERALLY, THE WORST POSSIBLE FATE DID BEFALL HIM, SO HE GOES NOW TO THIS OLD POISON AND HE TAKES IT. WHAT HAS HAPPENED, THE POISON HAS LOST ITS POTENCY AND INSTEAD HE'S JUST VIOLENTLY SICK, BUT LIVES. >>NARRATOR: HIS ONLY RECOURSE NOW WAS TO ABDICATE THE THRONE AND PLACE HIMSELF AT THE MERCY OF HIS ENEMIES. ON APRIL 11th, 1814, HE STEPPED DOWN AS LEADER OF FRANCE AND WAS IMMEDIATELY REPLACED BY KING LOUIS XVIII. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION HAD NOW COME FULL CIRCLE, WITH A KING OF THE BOURBON FAMILY BACK IN POWER. HERE AT FONTAINEBLEAU, NAPOLEON MADE A TEARFUL FAREWELL TO HIS TROOPS AND THEN SET OFF FOR EXILE ON THE ISLAND OF ELBA IN A REMOTE CORNER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. YET HE STILL HAD SOME FIGHT LEFT IN HIM. LEGEND HAS IT HE SAID HE WOULD RETURN TO FRANCE WHEN THE VIOLETS BLOOMED. ONCE HE GOT TO ELBA, HE WASN'T SO SURE. HIS BRAVADO VANISHED WHEN HE ARRIVED. LOCATED OFF THE COAST OF ITALY, THE ISLAND WAS A TINY, FLY-INFESTED, POVERTY- STRICKEN PIECE OF ROCK JUST 18 MILES LONG AND 12 MILES WIDE. IF HIS EUROPEAN ENEMIES HAD THEIR WAY, NAPOLEON WOULD BE ISOLATED HERE FOREVER. THE TERMS OF HIS EXILE ALLOWED HIM TO KEEP 1,000 MEN UNDER HIS COMMAND AND MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE ISLAND'S ECONOMY, YET THIS AUTONOMY WAS MOSTLY CEREMONIAL, FOR HE WAS CONSTANTLY UNDER THE SCRUTINY OF A BRITISH COMMISSIONER. FEW MEN HAVE FALLEN FURTHER IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. THERE WAS ONE RAY OF GOOD NEWS FOR HIM THOUGH, BACK IN FRANCE THE REIGN OF LOUIS XVIII SOON PROVED TO BE A FAILURE. THE FRENCH PEOPLE HAD GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO THE REFORMS OF THE REVOLUTION NAPOLEON HAD PUT IT PLACE. UNDER LOUIS, MANY OF THESE REFORMS WERE BEING REPEALED. THE CLOCK SEEMED TO BE SPINNING BACKWARDS TOWARDS A PRE-REVOLUTIONARY STATE. OLD HATREDS WERE REVIVED, CONSPIRACIES HATCHED AND RESISTANCE ORGANIZED. NAPOLEON FELT IF HE COULD GET BACK TO PARIS, HE MAY BE ABLE TO EXPLOIT THE SITUATION. LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER BEING EXILED ON ELBA, HE SAW HIS CHANCE TO ESCAPE COME WHEN THE BRITISH COMMISSIONER LEFT ON A BRIEF TRIP TO ITALY. WITH HIS BAND OF 1,000 MEN, NAPOLEON COMMANDEERED SEVEN SMALL SHIPS AND SET SAIL FOR FRANCE. TRUE TO HIS WORD, THE VIOLETS WERE BLOOMING IN THE HOMELAND AGAIN. IN MANY WAYS THIS ADVENTURE SEEMED LIKE A THROWBACK TO HIS EARLIER DAYS. HE WAS LIVING LIKE A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE AGAIN. STILL HE HAD MANY DOUBTS ABOUT HIS ACCEPTANCE BACK IN FRANCE AND HIS ABILITY TO CONFRONT LOUIS. HE LANDED ON THE COAST OF FRANCE ON MARCH 1st, 1815 AND IMMEDIATELY STARTED MARCHING TOWARDS PARIS. THE ROUTE HE CHOSE WAS THROUGH THE ALPS. THIS WOULD ALLOW HIM TO SIDESTEP PROVENCE, WHICH HE BELIEVED TO HAVE ROYALIST SENTIMENTS. WHAT HAPPENED ON THIS MARCH ALMOST DEFIES DESCRIPTION. IF THE FATES HAD DESERTED NAPOLEON IN RUSSIA, IT APPEARS THEY HAD NOW RETURNED TO BLESS HIM WITH ONE OF THE GREAT MOMENTS IN HISTORY. EVEN ON HIS MOST EGOTISTICAL DAY, HE COULD NOT HAVE CONJURED UP THE EVENTS THAT WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: IT WAS SPRING IN THE ALPS AS NAPOLEON MARCHED TOWARDS TO PARIS. ALL ALONG HIS PATH, JUBILANT PEOPLE TURNED BEGAN TO TURN UP. SOON MEN STARTED VOLUNTEERING TO MARCH WITH HIM. >>DR. PATRICK L. HATCHER: IT'S NOSTALGIA IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. IT'S THE, THE FRANCE OF THE TRI- COULEURS, THE FRANCE OF THE MARSEILLES, IT'S THE FRANCE MARCHING AGAIN FOR LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND FRATERNITY. >>NARRATOR: IN PARIS, LOUIS WAS STUNNED TO HEAR THAT BONAPARTE HAD RETURNED. HE THOUGHT AT FIRST NAPOLEON HAD GONE MAD. NEVERTHELESS, HE SENT TROOPS OUT TO CONFRONT HIM. YET, NAPOLEON WAS RAPIDLY GAINING MOMENTUM, AS HE CLIMBED HIGHER AND HIGHER INTO THE MOUNTAINS, MORE SOLDIERS VOLUNTEERED. DEEP IN THE ALPS, ON THE ROOF OF EUROPE, HE FINALLY MET THE FIRST TROOPS LOUIS HAD SENT OUT TO STOP HIM. IN A SCENE WORTHY OF SHAKESPEARE, HE NOW DELIVERED THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE OF HIS LIFE. UNARMED, HE WALKED OUT IN FRONT OF THE KING'S ARMY AND ADDRESSED THEM. >>CAPTAIN BRAIN DE TOY: SOLDIERS WHO HAVE, UH, WHO WERE SENT TO OPPOSE HIM CANNOT WITHSTAND HIS PERSONALITY, HE STANDS IN FRONT OF THEM, ALONE, EXPOSES HIS BREAST AND SAYS, "IF YOU WILL SHOOT YOUR EMPEROR, GO AHEAD." NONE OF THEM DO, NO ONE EVEN THINKS ABOUT IT. THEY SWARM TO HIS COLOURS, HIS NUMBERS GROW, ANYONE SENT TO OPPOSE HIM FALLS UNDER HIS SWAY. >>NARRATOR: HE CONTINUED ON TOWARDS PARIS, LOUIS SENT MORE TROOPS AND THESE GREAT ARMIES ALSO FELL UNDER THE SPELL OF BONAPARTE'S MAGIC. LOUIS WISELY GAVE INTO THE INEVITABLE AND FLED THE COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. ON MARCH 20th, NAPOLEON MARCHED INTO PARIS, ONCE AGAIN, RULER OF FRANCE. IN THE STREETS, JUBILANT CROWDS MOBBED HIM. TO SOME, IT WAS AS IF HE HAD RETURNED FROM THE DEAD. A MIRACLE HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. HE HAD RECAPTURED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WITHOUT A DROP OF FRENCH BLOOD BEING SPILLED. IMMEDIATELY UPON HIS RETURN, HE MADE GESTURES OF PEACE TO HIS EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS. THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM. ALL OVER THE EUROPE THE CALL WENT OUT FOR AN ALLIED ARMY OF 1,000,000 MEN TO MARCH ON FRANCE AND ELIMINATE NAPOLEON BONAPARTE FOREVER. THIS MADE NAPOLEON'S NEXT COURSE OF ACTION CLEAR. HIS ONLY HOPE WAS TO RAISE HIS OWN ARMY FASTER THAN THEY AND SCORE A DECISIVE VICTORY BEFORE THEY COULD GET ORGANIZED. LUCK WAS STILL WITH HIM. IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS, HE PERFORMED THE MIRACLE OF RAISING A STANDING ARMY WHILE THE ALLIES WERE STILL GETTING ORGANIZED. SINCE RETURNING FROM ELBA, HE HAD SPENT ALMOST WAKING HOUR PREPARING FOR THE CLASH THAT WOULD PIT FRANCE AGAINST THE WORLD. ONE OF THE FEW THINGS HE DID OF A PERSONAL NATURE WAS TO RETURN TO MALMAISON. WHILE HE WAS ON ELBA, JOSEPHINE HAD DIED, A VICTIM OF DIPHTHERIA. NAPOLEON WALKED THE GROUNDS AND RETIRED TO HER BEDROOM, WHERE HE SAT ALONE, REMEMBERING. THEN IT WAS OFF TO WAR. NAPOLEON'S SPIES REPORTED THAT IN NEXT-DOOR BELGIUM, ARMIES OF BRITAIN, PRUSSIA AND BELGIUM WERE GATHERING FOR THE FORTHCOMING INVASION OF FRANCE. THIS WAS HIS CHANCE. IF HE COULD DECISIVELY DEFEAT THESE MAJOR POWERS, IT MIGHT CAUSE THE REST OF EUROPE TO RETHINK THEIR INVASION PLANS. BUT HE WOULD HAVE TO ACT IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE THEY COULD GAIN ANY MORE STRENGTH. WITH LIGHTNING SPEED, HIS TROOPS MARCHED INTO BELGIUM UNDER A CLOAK OF SECRECY AND DARKNESS. THE BRITISH ARMY IN BELGIUM WAS 100,000 STRONG AND THE PRUSSIAN ARMY 110,000. COMBINED, THEY COULD EASILY DEFEAT NAPOLEON'S 125,000 TROOPS. BUT AT THE TIME, THE TWO ALLIED ARMIES WERE DIVIDED BY DOZENS OF MILES. BONAPARTE FELT CONFIDENT HE COULD ATTACK ONE ARMY AND DEFEAT IT AND THEN SWING AROUND AND DEFEAT THE SECOND ARMY SEPARATELY. [ SOLDIERS SHOUTING ] >>NARRATOR: ON JUNE 16th, HIS TROOPS ATTACKED AND BADLY MAULED THE PRUSSIANS. ON JUNE 17th, HE TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO THE BRITISH, WHO WERE UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE BRILLIANT DUKE OF WELLINGTON. THE CAUTIOUS WELLINGTON DID NOT WANT TO FIGHT THE FRENCH WITHOUT PRUSSIAN SUPPORT, SO HE BEGAN WITHDRAWING FROM THE AREA. NAPOLEON AND HIS ARMY HEADED OFF AFTER THEM. HAD THE FRENCH CAUGHT THE BRITISH ON THE 17th, IT IS LIKEL THEY WOULD HAVE DEFEATED THEM, BUT A GREAT STROKE OF LUCK CAME WELLINGTON'S WAY, WHEN THE HEAVENS OPENED UP, DELIVERING ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS RAINSTORMS IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE. THE DOWNPOUR IMMEDIATELY RENDERED ALL ROADS IMPASSABLE DUE TO MUD AND FORCED THE BATTLE TO THE 18th. MORE IMPORTANT, IT BOUGHT WELLINGTON TIME TO MOVE BACK TO A PIECE OF GROUND HE THOUGHT HE COULD MAKE A STAND ON. THE BATTLEFIELD HE HAD IN MIND WAS NEAR A TOWN CALLED WATERLOO. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: ON THE MORNING OF THE 18th, NAPOLEON CONFIDENTLY RODE OUT ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD. IN HIS OWN MIND AND IN THE EYES OF HIS TROOPS, HE WAS STILL THE GREATEST COMMANDER SINCE ALEXANDER THE GREAT, PERHAPS EVEN GREATER. HE TOLD HIS OFFICERS HE EXPECTED THE BATTLE TO BE A PICNIC. NAPOLEON'S CONFIDENCE AND FEELING OF INVINCIBILITY WAS BORNE OF THE FACT THAT HE THOUGHT THE PRUSSIANS WERE TOTALLY OUT OF THE PICTURE AND THAT THE BRITISH WOULD BE THE ONLY FOE FOR THE DAY. HE WAS UNAWARE THAT THE PRUSSIANS HAD REGROUPED 10 MILES AWAY AND WERE NOW MARCHING TOWARDS THE BATTLEFIELD. ONCE THE CONFRONTATION BEGAN, HE REALIZED HE HAD SEVERELY MISJUDGED WELLINGTON AND THE BRITISH. WELLINGTON HAD NEVER LOST A MAJOR CAMPAIGN AND HERE AT WATERLOO, NAPOLEON FOR THE FIRST TIME MET A MILITARY GENIUS OF HIS OWN CALIBER. OVER THE YEARS, WELLINGTON HAD OBSESSIVELY STUDIED NAPOLEONIC WARFARE. LIKE SOME GREAT CHESS MASTER, HE COULD ACCURATELY PREDICT ALMOST EVERY MOVE NAPOLEON WAS GOING TO MAKE. HE KNEW THE FRENCH WANTED TO DIVIDE HIS TROOPS AND CONQUER. HE WOULD NOT DIVIDE. TIME WAS GETTING TIGHT FOR NAPOLEON, FOR HE NOW LEARNED THAT THE PRUSSIANS WERE NEARING THE BATTLEFIELD. IF THEY JOINED WITH THE BRITISH, THERE WOULD BE NO WAY HE COULD DEFEAT THEIR COMBINED ARMIES. IN AN EFFORT TO SOMEHOW DISPOSE OF THE BRITISH FASTER, HE BROUGHT FORTH HIS UNDEFEATED IMPERIAL GUARD. THIS WAS HIS LAST CHANCE. >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: THE IMPERIAL GUARD, ESPECIALLY THE OLD GUARD, ARE MEN WHO HAVE SERVED EXTREMELY VALIANTLY, THEY'VE ALL WON AWARDS FOR, FOR VALOUR IN THEIR PREVIOUS FIGHTS, THEY'VE NEVER BEEN DEFEATED. ON EVERY BATTLEFIELD WHEN NAPOLEON'S HAD TO ADMINISTER THE COUP DE GRACE, IT'S THE OLD GUARD THAT'S DONE IT FOR HIM. >>NARRATOR: AT 7:00 p.m. HE LED THE GUARD OUT HIMSELF FOR A LAST STAND. >>TIMOTHY PICKLES: HE LED THEM IN PERSON UNTIL HIS STAFF PERSUADED HIM THAT NO, HE MUST NOT PUT HIMSELF IN JEOPARDY, THAT EVEN IF THEY WON THE BATTLE, IF HE WERE KILLED THEN EVERYTHING THEY'D BEEN FIGHTING FOR WOULD BE AT AN END. >>NARRATOR: SO NAPOLEON TURNED THEM OVER TO HIS FIELD COMMANDER AND THEY MARCHED FORWARD TOWARDS THE BRITISH. THE FUTURE OF FRANCE WAS ON THE LINE HERE AND THE FATE OF EUROPE FOR THE NEXT 100 YEAR. WELLINGTON HAD CLEVERLY HIDDEN PART OF HIS ARMY BEHIND THE REVERSE SLOPE OF A HILL. HE TOOK A PLACE THERE ALONG WITH THEM. THE MIGHTY FRENCH IMPERIAL GUARD MARCHED RIGHT TOWARDS THEM. WHEN THE GUARD GOT IN RANGE, WELLINGTON GAVE THE ORDER TO STAND AND FIRE. [ SHOUTING ORDERS ] [ GUNFIRE ] >>CAPTAIN BRIAN DE TOY: THE GUARD CAN'T TAKE IT, THEY TAKE THE POUNDING INITIALLY, THEY MOVE FORWARD, UH, MEN STEP FORWARD IN RANKS, THE DISCIPLINE IS INCREDIBLE, THESE ARE NAPOLEON'S BEST TROOPS, BUT THE POUNDING IS JUST TOO MUCH. >>NARRATOR: THE GUARD BEGAN TO RETREAT. IMMEDIATELY PANIC HIT THE RANKS OF ALL THE OTHER FRENCH SOLDIERS ON THE FIELD. MORALE COLLAPSED AND THE ENTIRE ARMY BEGAN TO DISINTEGRATE. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A BRITISH INFANTRY CHARGE. NAPOLEON'S MAGIC TOUCH HAD FINALLY DISAPPEARED. OUTMANEUVERED, OUTGUNNED, AND OUT-GENERALED, THE FRENCH BROKE RANKS AND RAN. AT THE SAME TIME, THE PRUSSIAN ARMY ARRIVED AND FLOODED THE FIELD. NAPOLEON REALIZED IT WAS HOPELESS. UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE GUARD, HE ABANDONED THE BATTLEFIELD AND HEADED BACK TO PARIS. [ ♪♪♪ ] >>NARRATOR: ON JUNE 22nd, 1815, NAPOLEON ABDICATED THE THRONE AGAIN AND WAS BANISHED TO THE TINY ISLAND OF ST. HELENA IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC. HE SPENT SIX DESPERATE, DESOLATE YEARS HERE BEFORE HIS DEATH ON MAY 5th, 1821. ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES OF HIS WILL, IN 1840, HIS BODY WAS BROUGHT TO PARIS FROM ST. HELENA. AS FRANCE'S GREATEST HERO, HE IS BURIED TODAY IN A SETTING OF SPECTACULAR GLORY AT THE CHURCH OF THE DOME IN HOTEL LES INVALIDES. HE REMAINS ONE OF HISTORY'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL FIGURES. DURING HIS LIFE, HE HAD ALREADY BECOME A LEGEND. IN DEATH, HE SLIPPED INTO THE REALM OF MYTH. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] CLOSED CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY: BROADCAST CAPTIONING AND CONSULTING SERVICES INC. WWW.CLOSEDCAPTIONING.COM
