Politics during Napoleon's 100 days. "One Hundred Days"

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One hundred days is the time of the secondary reign of Emperor Napoleon I in France (March 20 - June 22, 1815) after his flight from the island of Elba. Napoleon, as you know, was exiled to the island of Elba, which was given to him in full possession. Tracking the events that took place in France, he realized that the whole country was beginning to hate the Bourbons. One fine day, having put the battalion on a ship, he sailed the short distance that separates France from the Elbe and landed on the shore.

On February 26, 1815, at the head of a detachment of 1,100 people, he fled from the Elbe and landed in France on March 1. In triumph, he crossed the entire country and entered Paris on March 20. All along the way he was met by crowds of thousands who chanted: “Long live the Emperor! Death to the royalists!” The garrisons went over to his side one after another. Louis XVIII barely had time to flee to Belgium. Without firing a shot or fighting, Napoleon overthrew the Bourbons and restored the empire. This is how Napoleon's famous "hundred days" began.

Napoleon's residence became the Tuileries Palace, from which Louis XVIII fled to Ghent the evening of the previous day. On March 13, while in Lyon, Napoleon gave the order to dissolve the legislative assembly and convene the Champs de May - a general people's assembly, which was tasked with changing the constitution of the Napoleonic empire. According to contemporaries, in a conversation with the classic of French liberalism Benjamin Constant, he said: “I am getting old. I may be satisfied with the serene rule of a constitutional monarchy. And it will certainly suit my son.”

The work on the new Law was carried out by Benjamin Constant and agreed with the Emperor. Its result was an addition to the imperial constitution, according to which the House of Peers and the House of Representatives were formed. The amended constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and expanded the voting rights of citizens. An amended version of the French constitution was adopted following a plebiscite held on June 1, 1815. Soon after arriving in Paris, Bonaparte began forming a government. This task turned out to be quite difficult, as representatives of the middle class chose to exercise caution, fearing further upheaval. Taking into account the fact that the leadership of the anti-Napoleonic coalition was in Vienna at that time, quick retaliatory measures could be expected from the emperor's opponents.

The command of the Allied forces met in Vienna a week after Napoleon's arrival in Paris to develop a program of joint action in the current situation. According to Napoleon, he was ready to conclude a peace treaty if the other side so desired, but the allies did not trust him and wanted to remove him from power once and for all. Just six days before his triumphant arrival in Paris, Napoleon was declared an outlaw. A decision was made to jointly invade France. Despite hasty preparations, the Allies were able to prepare for the invasion only in May 1815.

This delay gave Napoleon the opportunity to prepare his own troops. To achieve this, all measures were taken to increase and strengthen the French armies. The troops were replenished with National Guard units and militias. However, the emperor did not want to carry out a new conscription, fearing protests among large sections of the population. By the end of May, the Northern Army (L'Armée du Nord) was formed, which was to take part in the Battle of Waterloo. Despite all efforts, the armed forces numbered approximately 300,000 people. They were opposed by a million-strong Allied army.

Bonaparte faced a choice between two strategies. He could position troops around Paris and Lyon and organize the defense of these cities, hoping to wear down the allied troops, or, on the contrary, attack superior enemy forces and try to break them into several parts. The Emperor preferred the second strategy. By organizing the defense of Paris and Lyon, most of the French territory would have been captured by the enemy almost unhindered, which, in turn, would have led to the loss of the confidence of the population on which Napoleon relied. According to the attack plan developed by the emperor, it was planned to strike the troops of the best commanders of the coalition located along the northern border of France and in the Netherlands, in particular, the army of Wellington, who took a direct part in the final defeat of Napoleonic troops.

They managed to take the allied army by surprise. The Prussian troops stationed around Charleroi began a disorderly retreat, and although Napoleon's army failed to complete its task as planned, the results were quite satisfactory.

The next day, Napoleon again advanced deep into enemy territory. He ordered several brigades to destroy the remnants of the Prussian army or cut them off from Wellington's main forces, located north of Waterloo near Brussels. The remaining French troops began the march to Quatre Bras, the strategic crossroads of the Brussels-Charleroi and Nivelles-Namur roads. About 20,000 French troops took part in the Battle of Quatre Bras, which took place on June 16th. During the battle, Napoleon faced many problems. For the most part, these were difficulties in the information transmission system: orders were lost or arrived late. For this reason, in the battle of Quatre Bras he failed to solve many strategic problems. Thus, most of the Prussian troops managed to avoid defeat. Many allied units that fought at Quatre Bras also survived. Reformed, they joined Wellington's army at the Battle of Waterloo. Due to difficulties in transmitting orders, some brigades and formations of the Napoleonic army never took part in the battles.

The victory at the Battle of Ligny was the last victory in Napoleon's military career. In this battle, Napoleon's 68,000-strong army was opposed by an 84,000-strong army under the command of Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wallstadt. The numerical superiority of the Prussian army hardly indicated the real balance of forces. The French forces included many experienced military leaders who won dozens of battles under the leadership of Napoleon, while the Prussian army of 1815, according to researchers, was the worst army formed by Prussia in the entire history of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic years. Defeat at the Battle of Ligny prevented Wellington from holding his position at Quatre Bras. On June 17, his troops retreated north.

Napoleon, who joined Marshal Ney on the same day, ordered an offensive in the afternoon, but by this time the enemy had already abandoned their positions. The French army began pursuing Wellington's retreating troops, but this step did not bring the desired result. The pursuit of the Prussian army retreating after the defeat at Ligny also ended in failure: it unhinderedly entered the village of Wavre, providing itself with the opportunity to join Wellington’s troops, which had taken up positions at Waterloo.

The Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18, 1815, was the decisive battle of the last of Napoleonic campaigns. Under the command of Napoleon there were about 72,000 soldiers and officers. His army was armed with 246 artillery pieces. The Allied forces numbered 118,000 troops. The start of the battle was delayed for several hours: Napoleon waited for the ground to dry out after heavy rain that had fallen during the night (wet soil made it impossible to deploy artillery). Napoleon intended to defeat the enemy troops with a powerful blow. The troops of the Seventh Coalition had been retreating for the previous two days, and Bonaparte was planning their final defeat.

By order of the emperor, the French army attacked Wellington's troops, who had taken positions on the Mont Saint-Jean plateau. The Allies managed to repel several attacks. Among the circumstances that ultimately contributed to the French defeat were difficulties in transmitting orders and lack of awareness of enemy actions. The chief of staff of the Army of the North, Emmanuel Grouchy, approached the village and engaged the third corps of the Prussian army, believing that he was attacking the rearguard of a disorderly retreating enemy. At this time, the three remaining corps of Prussian troops were reorganized and marched unhindered in the direction of Waterloo to help Wellington. Thus, Bonaparte’s intention to split the troops of the Seventh Anti-Napoleonic Coalition was not realized. With a joint onslaught, the allies drove back his troops.

After the defeat at Waterloo, the victory at Wavre did not bring significant results. The troops under Grouchy's command began an orderly retreat, creating the basis for the unification of other French units. The troops of Wellington and Blucher followed. In the last battle of the Napoleonic Wars, which took place near Issy-les-Moulineaux, Blucher's army defeated the troops of Marshal Davout. On June 22, 1815, Napoleon abdicated the throne. The defeat at Issy-les-Moulineaux prevented French troops from holding Paris and ended all hopes of maintaining Napoleonic power in France. Napoleon hastily left Paris and tried to flee to North America, but the British command foresaw this development of events, and ships of the Royal Navy blocked French ports.

On July 15, Napoleon was taken aboard the English ship Bellerophon. Over the next few months, some French fortresses continued to hold out. The campaign ended with the surrender of Longwy on September 13th. Under the terms of the treaty signed in Paris on November 20, 1815, Louis XVIII returned to the French throne, the Allies were allowed to occupy France for a period of five to seven years, and the Bonapartes were prohibited from ascending to the French throne. Napoleon went into exile on the island of St. Helena. On the initiative of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, the Holy Alliance was formed, which included Russia, Prussia and Austria. The Holy Alliance was intended, among other things, to fight revolutionary and national liberation movements in Europe. Napoleon died on Saint Helena in 1821.

Short description

On May 30, 1814, a peace treaty was signed in Paris between France and the coalition powers, under the terms of which France was deprived of all the territories it had conquered at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries and was reduced to pre-revolutionary borders. The first government of Louis XVIII was headed by Talleyrand, and Marshal Soult became Minister of War. Most of Napoleonic marshals and generals retained command posts in the army; they recognized the new government, following the well-known principle “the army does not serve the government, the army serves the Fatherland.”

Louis XVIII, at the insistence of his allies, refused to restore the absolute monarchy, since this could cause a new revolution, and was forced to declare a constitution, called the Charter of 1814. It limited the power of the king to a parliament of two chambers: the Chamber of Peers and the Chamber of Deputies. The Bourbons, restored to the throne thanks to the efforts of the coalition, could no longer return to absolutism. However, as Talleyrand ironically remarked, “The Bourbons have learned nothing and forgotten nothing from the past.” Together with them, thousands of emigrants returned to France and began to seek the return of their estates. Napoleonic police minister Fouche at one time had a list of 150 thousand emigrants. Some of them returned to France after the amnesty declared by Napoleon in 1801 and entered the service of the Empire. The most irreconcilable were now returning and demanding compensation for the losses they had suffered. The higher clergy demanded the restoration of church tithes and the return of property taken from the church.

The payment of pensions, the distribution of positions and orders to former emigrants, the return of remaining unsold lands to them, caused discontent among various sections of French society. Part of the bourgeoisie was dissatisfied with the flow of cheap English goods into the country. There were persistent rumors among the peasants that the lands they had bought during the revolution from the confiscated estates would still be taken away from them. Strong discontent arose in the army due to the massive dismissal of officers promoted during the revolution and the Empire. The sons of nobles who served in the armies of the interventionists were appointed to their positions.

Information from France began to reach Napoleon on Elba about growing dissatisfaction with the Bourbon policies in wide circles of the population. He decided to try his luck again and regain power in the country. On March 1, 1815, on one ship with a thousand soldiers and six cannons, he left the island of Elba, landed in Juan Bay on the southern coast of France and moved towards Paris. His small detachment went along the inaccessible paths of the Alpine foothills to the north of the country. Bonaparte decided to conquer France without firing a shot. He did not want to fight the French, even if they acted under the white banner of the Bourbons, so he ordered the soldiers of his detachment not to open fire or resort to weapons under any circumstances. When it became known in Paris that Napoleon had left Elba and was on French territory, troops in the south under the command of General Miolisse were sent to cross him with orders to stop and disarm Bonaparte’s detachment. However, either Napoleon's detachment moved very quickly, or General Miolisse, who had served under the emperor for a long time, walked too slowly, but they did not meet on the way. Napoleon and his soldiers reached Grenoble unhindered.

Here large military forces under the command of General Marchand were sent against him. It was impossible to further avoid a collision with the royal troops and Napoleon moved towards rapprochement with them. Once within their line of sight, he gave the command to his soldiers to shift their guns from their right to their left hands and keep them down, thereby indicating that they were not going to fire. Having stopped his detachment, Napoleon went to meet the royal soldiers alone, without weapons and without guards. Approaching them within rifle range, he unbuttoned his uniform and shouted: “Soldiers, do you recognize me? Who wants to shoot their emperor? I'm putting myself under your bullets." It was a very risky move, but it turned out to be the right move. With shouts of “Long live the Emperor!” a detachment of royal soldiers in full went over to Napoleon's side. At the head of an already quite large army, Napoleon entered Grenoble, whose residents greeted him with stormy greetings.

With a rapid march, replenished with garrisons of small towns that went over to his side, Napoleon's army approached Lyon. Louis XVIII arrived in this second largest city in France, hoping to block Napoleon's path with the help of an army of 30,000. But seeing that the situation was becoming more and more dangerous for him, he hastily fled the city. The entire garrison and the entire population of Lyon went over to the side of the emperor without any resistance. From Paris, the king sent troops against Napoleon under the command of one of the most famous commanders of France, Marshal Ney, who was known in the imperial army as “the bravest of the brave.” Ney promised Louis XVIII to bring Napoleon in an iron cage. He could not forgive the emperor for the failure of the senseless, in his opinion, campaign against Russia in 1812 and the loss of the entire army there, so he quite sincerely intended to fulfill his promise. The army subordinate to him was immeasurably stronger than Napoleonic's, but the soldiers and officers openly declared their desire to go over to the side of the emperor. When both armies met, Ney was forced, following his troops, to go over to Napoleon's side. Now nothing could stop the emperor’s advance to Paris.

In Paris, a large, hand-written poster with a mocking content appeared on the Vendôme Column: “Napoleon to Louis XVIII. King, my brother, don’t send me any more soldiers, I already have enough of them.” This ironic inscription revealed the truth that virtually the entire army had gone over to Napoleon's side. Louis XVIII and his family fled in panic from Paris under the protection of coalition troops. Public opinion in the capital turned out to be in favor of Napoleon. The white flag was torn from the Tuileries Palace and replaced with a tricolor one; inside the royal residence, carpets depicting white Bourbon lilies were quickly replaced with carpets with golden bees, a symbol of the Empire. Thousands of Parisians took to the streets of the city to greet the emperor. On March 20, 1815, Napoleon entered the Tuileries Palace. These twenty days of March, when a handful of people, landing on the French coast, conquered an entire country in three weeks, without firing a single shot, without killing a single person, were the most amazing pages in the history of Europe, France and in the life of Napoleon.

Both French and Soviet historians see the essence of this event in the fact that the overwhelming majority of the French people, faced with the need to make a choice between the bourgeois power of Napoleon and the feudal power of the Bourbons, came out in support of the first. This was the French response to the Bourbons’ attempts to eliminate those transformations in the country that had been carried out during the years of the revolution in the interests of broad sections of the population. Napoleon himself these days repeatedly emphasized that the people and the army brought him to Paris, and made broad promises of political and social reforms.

The government formed by Napoleon after returning to Paris included Carnot, a famous member of the Jacobin Committee of Public Safety, as Minister of the Interior. As a republican by conviction, he refused to serve Napoleon after the proclamation of the Empire, but in these days of Napoleon's liberal promises, he offered him his cooperation. Napoleon entrusted the Ministry of Police to Fouche, which, according to contemporaries, meant introducing treason into his own home.

Napoleon saw that the previous regime of individual power was no longer possible, so although he restored the Empire, he tried to make it liberal. He invited Benjamin Constant, the leader of the liberal opposition, whom he had persecuted at one time, to the Tuileries Palace and instructed him to draw up additions to the constitution. The "Additional Act", prepared by Benjamin Constant, was a compromise with the Charter of 1814. The property qualification for voters was reduced, but the House of Peers was retained. The plebiscite system was restored. Soon the newly elected legislative institutions began their work.

It was obvious that Napoleon could maintain his power and the support of the people only without exposing them to the horrors of a new war. Therefore, he turned to all European powers with a proposal for peace on the terms of the “status quo”. He stated that he renounced all claims, France does not need anything, it only needs peace. Napoleon sent Alexander I the secret treaty of England, Austria and France, forgotten in a hurry by Louis XVIII, which they had concluded at the Congress of Vienna against Russia and Prussia. But this did not help him split the new, seventh, coalition that formed against him and was legally formalized on March 25. Almost all European states were ready to launch a new campaign against Napoleonic France. The declaration, adopted by the heads of European states, declared Napoleon an outlaw and an “enemy of humanity.” Napoleon hoped that his father-in-law, the Austrian Emperor Franz, would take into account the interests of his daughter and his grandson, but a letter from Vienna said that his wife was not faithful to him, and his son would never be given to his father and would be raised as an enemy of Napoleon. Whether Napoleon wanted it or not, France had to fight again.

Numerous coalition forces of European monarchies from different directions moved towards the borders of France. Napoleon decided to go to meet the enemy in Belgium. His plan was to prevent the Prussian army of Blucher and the Anglo-Dutch army under Wellington from joining, but, following his proven tactics, to defeat them separately. At first, the campaign developed successfully. On June 16, Ney attacked the British at Quatre Bras and defeated them, but the British still managed to escape. On the same day, at Ligny, Napoleon inflicted a heavy defeat on Blucher's troops and ordered Marshal Grouchy with 35 thousand soldiers to pursue them. With his main forces, Napoleon moved against Wellington, who had dug in near the village of Waterloo. On June 18, this last battle of the many years of war began. Wellington, with his “bulldog grip,” as they called it, was difficult to dislodge from the positions he occupied, but the French were already gaining the upper hand everywhere and had almost achieved victory when suddenly a rapidly advancing mass of soldiers appeared on the right flank.

Napoleon hoped that it was his Marshal Grouchy who stopped pursuing Blucher's troops, turned back and was approaching the site of the main battle. A similar situation arose in 1800 at the Battle of Marengo, then the situation was saved by the divisions of General Dese, who, having heard the cannonade of the battle of the main French forces against the Austrian troops, contrary to the order of Bonaparte, who sent him to pursue the Austrians in a different direction, returned to Marengo. Having attacked the enemy with fresh forces, his divisions brought victory to the French in this battle. In 1800, General Dese could show a similar initiative in relation to General Bonaparte, who was equal in position with him. During the years of the Empire, everything changed and Marshal Grushi, even having heard the cannonade of the battle, contrary to the insistence of his officers, did not dare to disobey, and, fulfilling the letter of the emperor’s order, continued to pursue the Prussians on the same course, not noticing that their main forces broke away from him and moved towards Waterloo . The messenger sent to Grouchy by the chief of the French staff, Marshal Soult, was intercepted by the British. Upon learning of this, Napoleon noted with indignation that the former chief of staff, the late Berthier, would have sent a hundred messengers. The Prussian army under the command of Blucher attacked the French regiments awaiting the arrival of their own, demoralized them and put them to flight.

An episode has been included in historical literature showing the steadfastness and dedication of the old Napoleonic guard under the command of Cambronne and its loyalty to the emperor. Having formed a square, she calmly, like a powerful battering ram, made her way through the enemy ranks. The English colonel offered the guard honorable terms of surrender. Then Cambronne uttered a phrase that became famous: “...The Guard dies, but does not surrender!” The Battle of Waterloo ended in the complete defeat of Napoleon's army.

On June 21, Napoleon returned to Paris, he was ready to continue the war. Carnot proposed mobilizing the National Guard and fighting under the walls of Paris. But the majority of members of the House of Representatives and the House of Peers did not support him. At the suggestion of Lafayette, the chambers declared their meetings continuous, and an attempt to dissolve them a state crime, thereby predetermining the abdication of the emperor. Napoleon was forced to submit to them and on June 22 for the second time and now he abdicated the throne forever. After his abdication, the Chamber of Deputies appointed a provisional government chaired by Fouché for peace negotiations with the coalition. On July 3, 1815, he signed a capitulation with Wellington and Blücher. The Bourbons returned to the throne, Fouche became minister of police for the fifth time.

Napoleon did not want to become a prisoner of the Bourbons, so he went to Rochefort to the seashore and on July 15 surrendered “to the mercy of the winner” to his most important enemy - England, having reached one of the English ships in the roadstead. This time the British assigned him a place of exile on the inaccessible island of St. Helena", located off the coast of Africa, from where it was necessary to sail for at least a month to get to any of the European ports. In this way, the British protected themselves from a possible repetition of the events known as “Napoleon’s 100 days.” If on the island of Elba Napoleon was free and retained his status as emperor, then on the island of St. Helena he was a prisoner of the British. On this island, Napoleon lived under the supervision of local English authorities for another 6 years and died in 1821. While on the island, Napoleon wrote his memoirs, which are a valuable source on this period of French and European history. In 1840, Napoleon's ashes were transported from St. Helena and reburied with honors in Paris.

Bonaparte spent nine months and 21 days on the Elbe. The payment of the imperial allowance of 2 million francs was entrusted to Louis XVIII. However, the French monarch was in no hurry to fulfill this obligation. Napoleon needed money to pay his personal guards, which he felt urgently needed. From the continent, reports came to Elbe about general dissatisfaction with the return of the Bourbons - a restoration imposed by Talleyrand and the heads of the victorious powers. There were also dissatisfied people among the royalists. The subject of their dissatisfaction was the policy initiated by Louis XVIII of integrating the state structures created by Napoleon into the old monarchical system of government, while many royalists hoped for a complete and unconditional return to the pre-revolutionary state structure. The era of Napoleon's rule was a period of rapid growth of the middle class. The reforms of the provisional government and Louis XVIII, aimed at limiting the influence of the middle class, caused growing protest.

Napoleon closely followed events in France. In full accordance with his forecasts, the reduction of the territory of the empire to the size of pre-revolutionary France caused a wave of discontent. The indignation of the French was caused by stories about the unceremoniousness that the nobility who returned from emigration demonstrated in their treatment of veterans of the Grand Army and representatives of the lower classes. The situation in neighboring states, exhausted by almost continuous military operations, was also restless.

The conflicting plans of the members of the Sixth Coalition became the cause of acute diplomatic conflicts between the former allies. Among the Parisian royalists and representatives of the Allied powers there was talk of Bonaparte's exile to St. Helena and, possibly, his physical elimination. Under these conditions, Napoleon decided to return to the continent. According to his calculations, the return of many tens of thousands of French prisoners of war from Russia, Germany, Great Britain and Spain allowed him to quickly form a new army consisting of well-trained veterans.

On February 26, 1815, after waiting for a British Royal Navy vessel whose task was to patrol the coastal waters of the Elbe to briefly depart on another mission, Napoleon and his supporters (according to various estimates, from 600 to 1200 people) left the island in a flotilla of small ships. They managed to travel the entire route undetected and landed on the French coast a few days later. This small detachment was armed with two artillery pieces. Addressing his soldiers, Napoleon declared that they would enter Paris before his son's birthday (March 20th) without firing a single shot.

After a six-day trek along icy mountain roads, Napoleon reached Grenoble. On the road to Grenoble, near the village of Lafrais, the travelers were met by soldiers of the fifth army infantry regiment. Separating from his companions, Napoleon headed towards the soldiers of the French army, who were ordered to shoot at the emperor. Bonaparte approached within pistol shot range. The excited soldiers were in no hurry to carry out the order. According to eyewitnesses, Napoleon opened his greatcoat and shouted: “If anyone decides to kill his own emperor, let him shoot now!” The soldiers lowered their weapons and shouted “Long live the Emperor!” and joined his squad. In Grenoble, events took a similar turn. The army that left the city consisted of 9,000 soldiers and officers; It was armed with thirty guns.

News of the approaching imperial army preceded Napoleon, and everywhere, with the exception of royalist Provence, a warm welcome awaited him. In Leon he was received with imperial honors. The townspeople removed the governor appointed by Louis XVIII from his post and came out to greet Napoleon. Soon, several of his former military leaders joined his troops. They ignored the order received from Marshal Michel Ney to bring him to Paris “in a cage, like a wild animal.” Soon Marshal Ney himself, with an army of six thousand, went over to Napoleon’s side. Keeping his promise, Bonaparte led troops to Paris on March 20th. The Parisians greeted the emperor. Not a single soldier died on the way to the capital. Initially, the royalists were unable to organize any effective resistance.

Arrival in the capital marked the beginning of the second period of the emperor's reign, which went down in history as the Hundred Days of Napoleon. Napoleon's residence became the Tuileries Palace, from which Louis XVIII fled to Ghent the evening of the previous day. On March 13, while in Lyon, Napoleon ordered the dissolution of the legislative assembly and the convening of the Champ de Mai - a general people's assembly, which was tasked with changing the constitution of the Napoleonic empire (the traditions of the May Fields go back to the Campus Martius ) - popular assemblies of the Merovingian dynasty). According to contemporaries, in a conversation with the classic of French liberalism Benjamin Constant, he said: “I’m getting old. I may be satisfied with the serene rule of a constitutional monarchy. And it will certainly suit my son.”

The work on the new Law was carried out by Benjamin Constant and agreed with the Emperor. Its result was an addition to the imperial constitution, according to which the House of Peers and the House of Representatives were formed. Membership in the House of Peers was hereditary (originally peers were appointed by imperial decree), and the House of Representatives was an elected body. The amended constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and expanded the voting rights of citizens. An amended version of the French constitution was adopted following a plebiscite held on June 1, 1815. Soon after arriving in Paris, Bonaparte began forming a government. This task turned out to be quite difficult, as representatives of the middle class chose to exercise caution, fearing further upheaval. Taking into account the fact that the leadership of the anti-Napoleonic coalition was in Vienna at that time, quick retaliatory measures could be expected from the emperor’s opponents.

Early in the morning of June 15, Napoleonic troops, concentrated on the northern border of France, advanced on enemy positions. Napoleon intended to drive a wedge between the English and Prussian forces, defeat the Prussian army, and then fight the British. Ultimately, he hoped to force his opponents to the negotiating table and achieve a peace agreement that would keep him in power in his country. Initially, the French troops were tasked with occupying the city of Charleroi in the first half of the day. They managed to take the allied army by surprise. The Prussian troops stationed around Charleroi began a disorderly retreat, and although Napoleon's army failed to complete its task as planned, the results were quite satisfactory.

Initially they were opposed by 8,000 soldiers and officers of the allied forces. The arrival of the British Third Division a few hours after the start of the battle ensured the Allied superiority in numbers. Allied losses amounted to 4,800 people, French losses - 4,000 people. Neither side managed to achieve victory, but in strategic terms, the advantage was on Napoleon's side: Wellington's troops were unable to come to the aid of the Prussian army at the Battle of Ligny. During the battle, Napoleon faced many problems. For the most part, these were difficulties in the information transmission system: orders were lost or arrived late. For this reason, in the battle of Quatre Bras he failed to solve many strategic problems. Thus, most of the Prussian troops managed to avoid defeat. Many allied units that fought at Quatre Bras also survived. Reformed, they joined Wellington's army at the Battle of Waterloo. Due to difficulties in transmitting orders, some brigades and formations of the Napoleonic army never took part in the battles.

The victory at the Battle of Ligny was the last victory in Napoleon's military career. In this battle, Napoleon's 68,000-strong army was opposed by an 84,000-strong army under the command of Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prince of Wallstadt. The numerical superiority of the Prussian army hardly indicated the real balance of forces. The French troops included many experienced military leaders who won dozens of battles under the leadership of Napoleon, while the Prussian army of 1815, according to researchers, was the worst army formed by Prussia in the entire history of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars - the worst in everything that concerned manpower, equipment and organization. The losses of Prussian troops in the Battle of Ligny amounted, according to various estimates, from 12,000 to 20,000 troops killed and wounded. The number of deserters exceeded 8,000. Defeat at the Battle of Ligny prevented Wellington from holding his position at Quatre Bras. On June 17, his troops retreated north.

By order of the emperor, the French army attacked Wellington's troops, who had taken positions on the Mont Saint-Jean plateau. The Allies managed to repel several attacks. Among the circumstances that ultimately contributed to the French defeat were difficulties in transmitting orders and lack of awareness of enemy actions. Prussian units, arriving from Wavre in the afternoon, attacked the right flank of the French army. The Chief of Staff of the Army of the North, Emmanuel Grouchy, who had previously received orders to destroy the Prussian troops at Wavre, approached the village and engaged the Prussian Third Corps, believing that he was attacking the rearguard of a disorderly retreating enemy. At this time, the three remaining corps of Prussian troops were reorganized and marched unhindered in the direction of Waterloo to help Wellington. Thus, Bonaparte’s intention to split the troops of the Seventh Anti-Napoleonic Coalition was not realized. With a joint onslaught, the allies drove back his troops.

After the defeat at Waterloo, the victory at Wavre did not bring significant results. The troops under Grouchy's command began an orderly retreat, creating the basis for the unification of other French units. However, this army was unable to hold back the onslaught of the combined forces of the Seventh Coalition and retreated to Paris. The troops of Wellington and Blucher followed. In the last battle of the Napoleonic Wars, which took place near Issy-les-Moulineaux, Blucher's army defeated the troops of Marshal Davout. Vandam, a divisional general of the Napoleonic army, who became famous for robberies and insubordination, took an active part in this last battle. According to contemporaries, Napoleon once turned to him with the words: “If I had two people like you, the only right decision would be to force one of you to hang the other.” At the end of the twentieth century, this concept of two Vandames was realized in the feature film Double Impact. However, even Vandam's participation did not turn the tide of the battle of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Shortly before this battle, in June 1815, Napoleon abdicated the throne. The defeat at Issy-les-Moulineaux prevented French troops from holding Paris and ended all hopes of maintaining Napoleonic power in France.

Napoleon hastily left Paris and tried to flee to North America, but the British command foresaw this development of events, and ships of the Royal Navy blocked French ports. On July 15, Napoleon was taken aboard the English ship Bellerophon. Over the next few months, some French fortresses continued to hold out. The campaign ended with the surrender of Longwy on September 13th. Under the terms of the treaty signed in Paris on November 20, 1815, Louis XVIII returned to the French throne, the Allies were allowed to occupy France for a period of five to seven years, and the Bonapartes were prohibited from ascending to the French throne. Napoleon went into exile on the island of St. Helena. On the initiative of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, the Holy Alliance was formed, which included Russia, Prussia and Austria. The Holy Alliance was intended, among other things, to fight revolutionary and national liberation movements in Europe. Napoleon died on Saint Helena in 1821.

"One hundred days." Second renunciation

On Elbe, the governor was visited by relatives and some former comrades. Letizia Buonoparte, sister Polina, Countess Valevskaya, came. Emperor Franz forbade his official wife and child from visiting the disgraced emperor, and Marie-Louise herself was not very eager to go to Elbe. Josephine Beauharnais never had the chance to meet Napoleon again; she died on May 29, 1814. Her attending physician told Bonaparte that the empress died of “anxiety for you.”

Napoleon carefully studied all the news from France. The Bourbons reigned there again, who, it seems, did not understand that France had changed and the old order could not be returned. In an unusually short period of time, Louis XVIII and his brother Charles d'Artois managed to turn most of the French population against themselves.

Already in December 1814, Napoleon, apparently, was thinking about returning. In February of the following year the plan was fully determined. Bonaparte was going to hold a kind of political demonstration - to regain his country without war. On February 27, 1815, with only a thousand men, Napoleon secretly left Elba and sailed to France. He landed at Juan Bay on 1 March. His further movement to the north was absolutely amazing. Without firing a single shot, going out unarmed to the soldiers brought out against him, Napoleon won over the army and the people to his side. Everywhere he was greeted with delight. So, near Grenoble, several regiments, instead of shooting, shouted “Hurray!” The same thing happened in Lyon, where Bonaparte had already officially deposed the royal power. The Emperor declared his desire to correct past mistakes, give France peace and freedom, expel the nobles, and adopt a liberal constitution, limiting his power. Sent by the Bourbons to meet Napoleon and promising to “bring him in an iron cage,” Ney bowed to his patron at the first meeting. This is what reporters wrote as the emperor approached the capital: “The Corsican monster has landed in the Bay of Juan”, “The cannibal is approaching Grasse”, “The usurper has entered Grenoble”, “Bonaparte has taken Lyon”, “Napoleon is approaching Fontainebleau”, “His imperial Majesty is expected today in his faithful Paris,” the tone of the headlines, as we see, changed dramatically as Bonaparte moved towards the capital. The Bourbons fled in panic. Panic also gripped Vienna, where the famous international congress was held, which was destined to change the political and governmental structure of Europe.

The second period of Napoleon's reign lasted only one hundred days. It is unlikely that the emperor could remain long as the ruler of France. To do this, he needed to defeat the significantly superior forces of the powers, who were vigilantly ensuring that the Corsican would not again rise above Europe or even one single country. But the emperor tried to defeat the coalition on the battlefield, as he had done many times in the past. Europe froze in anticipation - after all, Napoleon’s military genius was well known. He had less strength, but suddenly...

Immediately upon his return, Napoleon began to assemble a new army. Many marshals and generals returned to his side. The soldiers were simply delighted with the emperor, although they were suspicious of their “traitor” military leaders. However, Bonaparte did not dare to deal with the traitors. Actually, he didn't have much of a choice. The imperial army marched to Flanders to meet the forces of the British, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, and the Prussians, led by the “Iron Prussian” Blucher. Numerous Austrian and Russian units were much further away, and Napoleon hoped to deal with the enemy in Flanders before they arrived. Davout was left in Paris as governor. Of the 198 thousand soldiers that Napoleon had on June 10, 1815, more than a third were scattered throughout the country. The emperor had 128 thousand people and 344 guns for the upcoming campaign - the guard, five army corps and a cavalry reserve.

After initial confusion, the rulers of the coalition countries made every effort to put an end to Napoleon once and for all. Huge armies were formed. By the end of the summer, the coalition was going to field more than a million soldiers. At the beginning of June, Wellington stood in Brussels with the English army; Blucher and the Prussians dispersed on the Sambre and Meuse rivers, between Charleroi and Liege. Napoleon invaded Belgium on June 14. Instantly assessing the shortcomings of the enemy's position, the emperor moved his troops into the gap between the units of Wellington and Blucher, and then attacked the Prussians with his entire mass. The French occupied Charleroi and fought across the Sambre River. But the operation on the right flank slowed down somewhat.

On June 15, Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney to occupy the village of Quatre Bras on the Brussels road in order to pin down the British, but he acted inconsistently and was too late to do so. On June 16, a big battle took place with Prussian troops at Ligny. Here Blucher lost about 20 thousand people, Napoleon - 11 thousand. The Prussian commander himself was wounded. During the battle, the Emperor expected Ney to attack Blücher's flank, which would have been disastrous for the Prussian army and would likely have taken it out of the campaign. But here, too, the French marshal made a mistake, for unknown reasons, sending the first corps between Quatre Bras and Ligny, where no action took place. The Prussian troops were defeated and driven back, but not defeated.

On June 17, the French rested, thus giving Blucher the opportunity to bring his troops into order. Around noon, Napoleon separated from his army a detachment of more than 33 thousand under the command of Marshal Grouchy and sent it in pursuit of the Prussian army. Meanwhile, part of the French cavalry pursued the British, who were hastily retreating from Quatre Bras. However, due to heavy summer rain and thunderstorms, the pursuit had to be stopped.

Napoleon united with Ney and moved north towards Brussels. Wellington decided to take a position on the Mont Saint-Jean plateau, 22 kilometers from Brussels, south of the village of Waterloo. North of this village, a French detachment cut off his retreat to the Belgian capital. The British position was quite strong, but Wellington was aware that victory would only be possible with the support of the Prussian army. Wellington received news from Blucher with a promise to approach the plateau, but he did not know when this would happen. Napoleon approached the English positions on the evening of the 17th.

The emperor had about 72 thousand soldiers at his disposal, Wellington had 70 thousand. On the morning of June 18, both armies positioned themselves opposite each other. Like the Duke, Napoleon also counted on the reinforcements that Grouchy would bring. Napoleon understood that when both armies arrived, the advantage would not be on his side, but there were two circumstances that allowed him to look into the future with optimism. First, he received a misleading report from his marshal. The fact is that Blucher demonstratively depicted the withdrawal of his forces by sending a small detachment further to the east. Grouchy fell for this bait, moved troops after a small Prussian detachment and informed the emperor that the main forces of the Prussians were retreating and only small forces were being sent to help the British (it was just the opposite). Secondly, Napoleon believed that he would be able to defeat the English army even before the arrival of any reinforcements.

At dawn, the emperor failed to launch an attack. General Drouot reported that he could not deploy artillery because of the wet soil, and wet soil was not an ally for cavalry. Therefore, Napoleon retired to headquarters in Caillou and slept there for two hours. Then he reviewed his troops. This ceremony impressed the soldiers themselves, the emperor, and the British. The enthusiasm among the troops was akin to the mood at Austerlitz. At half past twelve Napoleon ordered the battle to begin. Cannon fire was opened against the British left wing, then the commander of the French right flank, Ney, went on the offensive. At the same time, an attack was launched on the Ugumon castle, located on the opposite flank. Here the French met fierce resistance.

After some time, a column of dust from moving troops appeared in the distance in the northeast near Saint-Lambert. The Emperor was inspired, believing that Grushi was coming to his aid. But it was not Grushi at all, but Blucher. When this became clear, Napoleon was not too upset. He believed that Grouchy was following on the heels of the Prussians and the situation would still be balanced. But it was necessary to tip the scales in his favor even before reinforcements arrived, so Bonaparte was in a hurry.

Cavalry detachments were sent against the approaching Blucher to create barriers. Four divisions of d'Erlon's corps were thrown onto the left wing and center of the English defense. The general made a mistake by building the attackers in dense columns with insufficient front width, thus making them a convenient target for English riflemen and cannons. However, the emperor himself did not provide the attack with the necessary and timely cavalry support. D'Erlon's corps was greatly upset by the fire of the English defense and the actions of the Scottish cavalry. Milho's French cuirassiers drove back the Scots, but the British left wing was not broken. The Emperor then shifted the center of gravity of the attack to Wellington's right wing and center. At 15.30 the La Haye-Sainte farm was taken by d'Erlon's left flank division. The next to attack were horse squadrons led by Ney.

This was the famous cavalry charge. Marshal Ney, under heavy rifle and artillery fire up the slope, quickly approached the English defense line and broke it. Even Wellington believed that this was probably the end of his army. However, the British lined up in a square and did not retreat. French horsemen circled around their square formations and hit their opponents with long lances, but the remaining ones closed ranks. The fact is that Ney did not provide support from the infantry (although he commanded not only the cavalry, but the entire flank), and therefore could not break the dense ranks of the English infantry. What was even worse was that the marshal did not bother to drag away or at least damage the guns captured in the English positions. Therefore, when English reinforcements arrived and drove Ney back, cannonballs immediately flew after the French, causing terrible damage to the cavalry.

The following French attacks were generally just as unsuccessful. There was always a shortage of infantry and cavalry reinforcements to build on success in any part of the battle. In the end, Napoleon personally led the guard into battle on La Haye-Saint. And at this time, shots and screams were heard on the right flank of the French. Blucher approached with 30 thousand. The Prussian cavalry attacked the French guard, caught between two fires. The “Iron Prussian” himself, with another part of the troops, cut off the retreat of Napoleon’s detachment.

At eight o'clock in the evening it was still quite light (the longest days of the year were standing), and Wellington ordered a general offensive. The French Guard, lined up in a square, slowly retreated, making their way through the ranks of the enemy. The English colonel invited the brave French to surrender and received curses in response. The famous phrase was also uttered: “The Guard dies, but does not surrender!” Almost all the guards were destroyed. In other areas, French troops, under attack by fresh Prussian troops, gradually dispersed, fleeing. The Prussians pursued the enemy all night. The “Iron Duke” and the “Iron Prussian” cordially congratulated each other on their victory.

At Waterloo, the French army lost 25 thousand, the British and Prussians - 22 thousand killed and wounded. The French, in addition, lost virtually all their artillery. Wellington, inspecting the battlefield the next morning, reported to London: “Nothing - except a lost battle - can be sadder than a won battle.”

Hundreds of thousands of Austrians and hundreds of thousands of Russians were approaching the borders of France. There was neither time nor, as Napoleon believed, any point in collecting reserves. In Paris, the townspeople demanded that the fight continue, but the emperor had already surrendered.

On June 22, he abdicated the throne for the second time. From Paris Bonaparte headed to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. He decided to board one of the frigates in the port of Rochefort and go to America. But the British, who blocked the harbor, did not allow this to happen. On July 15, Napoleon boarded the English ship in his favorite uniform of the guards chasseurs and a triangular hat. The British greeted him with all respect. Soon the emperor was informed that his place of residence would henceforth be a secluded island in the southern Atlantic Ocean belonging to England - the island of St. Helena. The frigate Northumberland delivered him there on October 15, 1815.

Napoleon Bonaparte with his small retinue (Marshal Bertrand and his wife, General Montolon and his wife, General Gourgo, the devoted officer Las Cases, the servant Marchand, etc.) settled in the village of Longwood. The governor of the island, Hudson Lowe, allowed the prisoner, whom he did not like and was afraid of, to enjoy a certain freedom - to walk, ride horseback, and receive guests. There was an English garrison in another small town. There were also representatives of the victorious countries in Longwood, who were not allowed into his house until the emperor’s death. Surprisingly, the former dictator continued to exert enormous influence not only on his associates, who continued to intrigue and fight for his favor, but also on the British soldiers. He tried to lead an active lifestyle, taught a girl he knew English, and dictated his memories to Las Casu. Napoleon openly acknowledged himself as a great commander and convinced future readers that he only wanted to elevate France. These memoirs have become a valuable historical source. But after such active work at the head of the country and Europe, he could not get used to the measured way of life on the island of St. Helena.

From 1819 he became ill more and more often. Napoleon's strength was undermined by the same illness as his father - stomach cancer. On April 13, 1821, the former emperor began to write a will, in which he distributed his rather significant property. He bequeathed the main part of it to the officers and soldiers who fought under his banners, and to the areas of France that suffered from the invasions of 1814 and 1815. In recent days, Bonaparte lay motionless with his eyes open and did not moan. At six o'clock in the evening on May 5, 1821, this great man died. Those standing at his bedside were able to hear him whisper: “France... army... vanguard.” After 16 years, Napoleon’s body was transported to Paris, but the ceremonial reburial took place only in 1861 in the cathedral of the Parisian Invalides.

In the year of the death of the great politician and commander, Alexander Pushkin wrote the following lines:

May he be overshadowed by shame

The cowardly one who today

The madmen will be outraged by reproach

His debunked shadow.

And this is not the only respectful review of this man, who until recently was hated, kept all of Europe in fear, and was called “the enemy of humanity.” Just six years after the final victory over the emperor, many remembered him with delight, his name became surrounded by legends, and his reign was depicted as a heroic period in the history of France and the entire continent. Napoleon Bonaparte, with all his contradictions, will forever remain in the memory of mankind as one of the greatest historical figures...

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Napoleon, without the slightest struggle, walked from the Mediterranean coast to Paris in 19 days, expelled the Bourbon dynasty and reigned again. But he knew that again, as in his first reign, he did not bring peace with him, but a sword, and that Europe, shocked by his sudden appearance, this time would do everything to prevent him from gathering his forces.

Napoleon understood that after 11 months of the Bourbon constitutional monarchy and some freedom of the press, the urban bourgeoisie expected from him at least some minimum of freedoms; he needed to quickly illustrate the program that he was developing, moving towards Paris and playing the revolutionary general. The class of French society that won during the revolution and whose main representative and strengthener of victory was Napoleon, that is, the big bourgeoisie, was the only class whose aspirations were close and understandable to Napoleon. It was in this class that he wanted to feel supported, and in his interests he was ready to fight. “I don’t want to be king of the jacquerie,” Napoleon said to the typical exponent of bourgeois aspirations at this moment, Benjamin Constant. The emperor ordered to call him to the palace to resolve the issue of liberal state reform, which would satisfy the bourgeoisie, prove the newly-minted freethinking of Emperor Napoleon and at the same time calm down the Jacobins who had raised their heads.

On April 6, Constant was brought before the emperor, and on April 23, the constitution was ready. Benjamin Constant simply took the charter, that is, the constitution given by King Louis XVIII in 1814, and made it a little more liberal. The electoral qualifications for voters and those elected were greatly lowered, but still, in order to become a deputy, you had to be a rich person. Freedom of the press was somewhat more ensured. Preliminary censorship was abolished, and crimes of the press could henceforth be punished only in court. In addition to the elected chamber of deputies (of 300 people), another was established - the upper chamber, which was to be appointed by the emperor and be hereditary. Laws had to pass through both houses and be approved by the emperor.

Napoleon accepted the project and the new constitution was published on April 23. Napoleon did not really resist the liberal creativity of Benjamin Constant. He only wanted to postpone the elections and the convening of the chambers until the question of war was resolved, and then, if there was a victory, it would be clear what to do with the deputies, and with the press, and with Benjamin Constant himself. For the time being, this constitution was supposed to calm minds. But the liberal bourgeoisie had little faith in his liberalism, and the emperor was very much asked to speed up the convening of the chambers. Napoleon, after some objections, agreed and appointed the “May Field” for May 25, when the results of the plebiscite to which the emperor subjected his new constitution were to be announced, the banners of the National Guard were to be distributed and the meetings of the chamber were to open. The plebiscite gave 1,552,450 votes for the constitution and 4,800 against. The ceremony of distributing banners (it took place not on May 26, but on June 1) was majestic. At the same time, on June 1, meetings of the newly elected chamber opened.

The people's representatives had only been meeting for a week and a half, and Napoleon was already dissatisfied with them. He was absolutely incapable of living with any limitation on his power or even with any sign of independent behavior. The Chamber chose as its chairman Languine, a moderate liberal, a former Girondin, whom Napoleon did not really like. It was also impossible to see any opposition in this - Languine definitely preferred Napoleon to the Bourbons - and the emperor was already angry and, accepting the most submissive and very respectful address from the Legislative Corps, said: “Let us not imitate the example of Byzantium, which, pressed on all sides by barbarians, became the laughing stock of posterity, engaging in abstract discussions at the moment when the battering ram smashed the city gates.” He hinted at a European coalition, hordes of which rushed from all sides to the borders of France. He accepted the address of the people's representatives on June 11, and the next day, June 12, he went to the army for the last battle with Europe in his life.

3 Battle of Ligny

Of the 198 thousand soldiers that Napoleon had on June 10, 1815, more than a third were scattered throughout the country. For the upcoming campaign, the emperor had directly in his hands about 128 thousand with 344 guns in the guard, five army corps and a cavalry reserve. In addition, there was an emergency army (national guard, etc.) of 200 thousand people, half of which were not uniformed, and the third were not armed. If the campaign had dragged on, then, using the organizational work of his Minister of War Davout, he could have collected about 230-240 thousand more people with the greatest efforts. The British, Prussians, Austrians, and Russians have already deployed about 700 thousand people at once, and by the end of the summer they could have deployed another 300 thousand.

Before Napoleon were the British and Prussians, the first of all the allies to appear on the battlefield. The Austrians also hurried to the Rhine, but they were still far away. Wellington with the English army stood in Brussels, and the Prussian army under the command of Blucher was scattered on the Sambre and Meuse rivers, between Charleroi and Liege.

On June 14, Napoleon began the campaign by invading Belgium. He quickly moved into the gap that separated Wellington from Blucher and rushed at Blucher. The French occupied Charleroi and fought across the Sambre River. But Napoleon's operation on the right flank slowed down somewhat: General Bourmont, a royalist by conviction, long suspected by the soldiers, fled to the Prussian camp. After this, the soldiers became even more suspicious of their superiors. To Blücher, this incident seemed a favorable sign, although he refused to accept General Bourmont, who had betrayed Napoleon.

Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney to occupy the village of Quatre Bras on the Brussels road on June 15 in order to pin down the British, but Ney, acting sluggishly, was too late to do this. On June 16, a great battle between Napoleon and Blucher took place at Ligny. Victory remained with Napoleon; Blucher lost more than 20 thousand people, Napoleon - about 11 thousand. But Napoleon was not happy with this victory, because if not for the mistake of Ney, who unnecessarily delayed the 1st Corps, forcing him to take a walk between Quatre Bras and Ligny in vain, he could have destroyed the entire Prussian army at Ligny. Blucher was defeated and thrown back (in an unknown direction), but not destroyed.

4 Battle of Waterloo

On June 17, Napoleon gave his army a break. Around noon, Napoleon separated 36 thousand people from the entire army, placed Marshal Grouchy over them and ordered him to continue the pursuit of Blucher. Part of Napoleon's cavalry pursued the British, who the day before tried to pin down the French at Quatre Bras. But the rain heavily washed out the roads, and the pursuit had to be stopped. Napoleon himself with the main forces united with Her and moved north, in a direct direction to Brussels. Wellington, with all the forces of the English army, took a position 22 kilometers from Brussels, on the Mont Saint-Jean plateau, south of the village of Waterloo. The forest of Soigny, north of Waterloo, cut off his escape route to Brussels. Wellington fortified himself on this plateau. He was going to wait for Napoleon in this very strong position and hold out, no matter the cost, until Blücher managed, having recovered from defeat and received reinforcements, to come to his aid.

By the evening of June 17, Napoleon approached the plateau with his troops and saw the English army in the distance in the fog. Napoleon had approximately 72 thousand men, Wellington 70 thousand when they faced each other on the morning of June 18, 1815. Both were expecting reinforcements and had a solid reason to wait for them: Napoleon was waiting for Marshal Grouchy, who had no more than 33 thousand people; The British were waiting for Blucher, who after the defeat at Ligny had about 80 thousand people left, and who could appear with 40-50 thousand ready for battle.

Already from the end of the night Napoleon was in place, but he could not launch an attack at dawn, because the rain had loosened the ground so much that it was difficult to deploy the cavalry. The emperor toured his troops in the morning and was delighted with the reception he received: it was a completely exceptional outburst of mass enthusiasm, not seen on such a scale since the time of Austerlitz. This review, which was destined to be the last review of the army in Napoleon's life, made an indelible impression on him and everyone present.

Napoleon's headquarters were first at the farm du Caillou. At 11 o'clock in the morning, it seemed to Napoleon that the soil was dry enough, and only then did he order the battle to begin. Strong artillery fire from 84 guns was opened against the left wing of the British and an attack was launched under the leadership of Ney. At the same time, a weaker attack was launched by the French for the purpose of demonstrating at the castle of Hougoumont on the right flank of the English army, where the attack met the most vigorous resistance and encountered a fortified position.

The attack on the British left wing continued. The murderous struggle lasted for an hour and a half, when suddenly Napoleon noticed, in a very great distance in the northeast near Saint-Lambert, the vague outlines of moving troops. At first he thought it was Grouchy, who had been sent orders early in the night and then several times during the morning to hurry to the battlefield. But it was not Grouchy, but Blucher, who had escaped Grouchy’s pursuit and, after very skillfully executed transitions, had deceived the French marshal, and was now rushing to the aid of Wellington. Napoleon, having learned the truth, was still not embarrassed; he was convinced that Grushi was following on the heels of Blucher and that when both of them arrived at the battlefield, then although Blucher would bring more reinforcements to Wellington than Grushi would bring to the emperor, the forces would still be more or less balanced, and if before Blucher’s appearance and If he manages to deliver a crushing blow to the British, then the battle will be finally won after Grusha’s approach.

Having sent part of the cavalry against Blucher, Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney to continue the attack on the left wing and center of the British, which had already experienced a number of terrible blows since the beginning of the battle. Here four divisions of d’Erlon’s corps advanced in dense battle formation. A bloody battle began to boil along this entire front. The British met these massive columns with fire and launched a counterattack several times. One after another, the French divisions entered the battle and suffered terrible losses. The Scottish cavalry cut into these divisions and cut down part of the composition. Noticing the collapse and defeat of the division, Napoleon personally rushed to the heights near the Belle Alliance farm, sent several thousand cuirassiers of General Milhaud there, and the Scots, having lost an entire regiment, were driven back.

This attack upset almost the entire d'Erlon corps. The left wing of the English army could not be broken. Then Napoleon changed his plan and transferred the main attack to the center and right wing of the English army. At 3 o'clock the La Haye-Saint farm was taken by the left flank division of d'Erlon's corps. But this corps did not have the strength to develop its success. Then Napoleon handed over to Ney 40 squadrons of the cavalry of Milhaud and Lefebvre-Denuette with the task of striking the right wing of the British between the castle of Hougoumont and La Haye-Saint. The castle of Hougoumont was finally taken at this time, but the English held out, falling in hundreds and not retreating from their main positions.

Napoleon sent more cavalry into the fire, 37 Kellermann squadrons. Evening came. Napoleon finally sent his guards to the British and himself directed them to attack. And at that very moment, screams and the roar of shots were heard on the right flank of the French army: Blucher with 30 thousand soldiers arrived on the battlefield. But the attacks of the guard continued, since Napoleon believed that Grouchy was coming after Blucher. Soon, however, panic spread: the Prussian cavalry fell on the French guard, who found himself between two fires, and Blucher himself rushed with the rest of his forces to the Belle Alliance farm, from where Napoleon and the guard had previously set out. Blucher wanted to cut off Napoleon's retreat with this maneuver. It was already eight o'clock in the evening, but still quite light, and then Wellington, who had been under continuous murderous attacks from the French all day, launched a general offensive. But Grushi still didn’t come.

The guard, having formed a square, slowly retreated, desperately defending itself through the close ranks of the enemy. Napoleon rode at a pace among the battalion of guards grenadiers guarding him. The desperate resistance of the old guard delayed the victors. In other areas, the French troops, and especially at Plancenoit, where the reserve - the Lobo corps - fought, resisted, but ultimately, exposed to attacks by fresh Prussian forces, they scattered in different directions, fleeing, and only the next day, and then only partially began to gather into organized units. The Prussians pursued the enemy all night long.

25 thousand French and 22 thousand British and their allies lay dead and wounded on the battlefield.

5 Paris. Renunciation

The defeat of the French army, the loss of almost all artillery, the approach of hundreds of thousands of fresh Austrian troops to the borders of France, the imminent prospect of the appearance of even more hundreds of thousands of Russians - all this made Napoleon’s position completely hopeless, and he realized this immediately, moving away from the Waterloo field. Outwardly, Napoleon was calm and very thoughtful throughout the journey from Waterloo to Paris, but his face was not as gloomy as after Leipzig, although now everything was really lost for him.

With Napoleon a drastic change immediately took place. He came to Paris after Waterloo not to fight for the throne, but to surrender all his positions. And not because his exceptional energy disappeared, but because he, apparently, realized that he had done his job - whether badly or well - and that his role was over. He had lost all interest and taste for activity, he was simply waiting for what future events would do to him, in the preparation of which he had already decided not to take any part.

Napoleon arrived in Paris on June 21 and immediately convened his ministers. Carnot proposed to demand from the chambers the proclamation of Napoleon's dictatorship. Davout advised simply to adjourn the session and dissolve the chamber. Napoleon refused to do this. The Chamber also met at this time and, at the suggestion of Lafayette, who had reappeared on the historical stage, declared itself indissoluble.

Throughout June 21, almost the entire night from June 21 to 22, throughout the day of June 22, in the Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marseille suburbs, in the Temple quarter, processions walked through the streets shouting: “Long live the Emperor!” Down with traitors! Emperor or death! No need for renunciation! Emperor and defense! Down with the ward! But Napoleon no longer wanted to fight and did not want to reign.

On June 22, 1815, Napoleon abdicated the throne for the second time in favor of his young son. His second reign, which lasted one hundred days, ended. A huge crowd then gathered around the Elysee Palace, where Napoleon stayed after returning from the army. “No need for renunciation! Long live the Emperor!” - the crowd shouted. Having learned on the evening of the 22nd that Napoleon had left for Malmaison, and that his abdication had been decided irrevocably, the crowds began to slowly disperse.

On June 28, the abdicated emperor left Malmaison and headed to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. He wanted to board one of the frigates stationed in the port of Rochefort and go to America. But it was impossible to go to sea: the English squadron closely blocked the harbor. After some thought, Napoleon decided to entrust his fate to England. On July 15, 1815, he boarded the brig Hawk, which transported him to the English ship Bellerophon. Napoleon became a prisoner of the British and was then sent to the remote island of St. Helens in the Atlantic Ocean. There, in the village of Longwood, the former emperor spent the last six years of his life.