Hundred Days Part of the Napoleonic Wars The Battle of Waterloo, by William Sadler II Date 10 March to 8 July 1815 Location France, present-day Belgium, present-day Italy Result Coalition victory, Treaty of Paris, end of the Napoleonic Wars Belligerents Seventh Coalition United Kingdom Prussia Hanover Other German states Austria Russia Sweden United Netherlands Spain Portugal Sardinia Sicily Tuscany France Naples

The Hundred Days^[1] was the period between Napoleon Bonaparte's return to Paris on 20 March 1815 from his exile on Elba, and the return of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815 (a period of 111 days). The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Treaty of Paris of 1815 was signed on November 20, 1815, following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising The Kingdom of Hanover (Königreich Hannover was established in October of 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian The German Confederation (Deutscher Bund was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to For the history of these states before 1804 see Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, and articles on each of the component countries. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. United Kingdom of the Netherlands (or Kingdom of the United Netherlands) (1815 - 1830 (1839 (Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas was the unofficial Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal 's general designation under the monarchy. Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720 when the The Kingdom of Naples was an informal name of the Polity officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily which existed on the mainland of the southern Italian The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Granducato di Toscana Magnus Ducatus Tusciae was a state in central Italy that existed from 1569 to 1859 replacing the Duchy of Florence The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or The Kingdom of Naples was an informal name of the Polity officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily which existed on the mainland of the southern Italian Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 ^[2] This period is also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, and includes the Waterloo Campaign^[3] and the Neapolitan War. The Neapolitan War between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire, started on 15 March 1815 when Joachim Murat The phrase les Cent Jours was first used by the prefect of Paris, the comte de Chabrol, in his speech welcoming the King. A prefect (préfet in France is the State's representative in a department or region.

Napoleon returned during the Congress of Vienna. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich On 13 March, seven days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw; four days later the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria and Prussia, members of the Seventh Coalition, bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. An outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the Law " by folk-etymology from the original The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya For the history of these states before 1804 see Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, and articles on each of the component countries. The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising ^[4] This set the stage for the last conflict in the Napoleonic Wars, the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo^[5], the restoration of the French monarchy for the second time and the permanent exile of Napoleon to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in May 1821. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Exile in Elba 1.2 Congress of Vienna 2 Return to France 2.1 Napoleon's health 2.2 Constitutional Reform 3 War Begins 4 War of the Seventh Coalition 4.1 Deployments 4.1.1 Allied Forces 4.1.2 French Forces 4.2 Manoeuvre 4.3 Quatre Bras 4.4 Ligny 4.5 Interlude 4.6 Waterloo 4.7 Wavre 5 Napoleon surrenders 6 Prussians enter Paris 7 Other campaigns and wars 7.1 Neapolitan War 7.2 Civil war 7.3 Austrian campaign 7.3.1 Rhine frontier 7.3.2 Italian frontier 7.4 Russian campaign 8 Treaty of Paris 9 Timeline 10 References 11 Footnotes

Background

The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars pitted France against various coalitions of other European nations nearly continuously from 1792 onward. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The overthrow and subsequent execution of Louis XVI in France had greatly disturbed other European leaders, who vowed to crush the French Republic. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (République française was proclaimed on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. Rather than leading to France’s defeat, the wars allowed the revolutionary regime to expand beyond its borders and create client republics. During its occupation of neighboring parts of Europe during the French Revolutionary Wars, France established republican regimes in these territories The success of the French forces made a hero out of their best commander, Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. In 1799, Napoleon staged a successful coup d'état and became France’s de facto dictator. Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Five years later, he crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I.

The rise of Napoleon troubled the other European powers as much as the earlier revolutionary regime had. Despite the formation of new coalitions against him, Napoleon’s forces continued to conquer much of Europe. The tide of war began to turn, however, after a disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812 that caused Napoleon to lose much of his army. The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The following year, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, Coalition forces defeated the French in the Battle of Leipzig. In the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814 a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and a number The Battle of the Nations (or Battle of Leipzig or Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig) on 16–19 October 1813 was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon

Following its victory at Leipzig, the Coalition vowed to press on to Paris and depose Napoleon. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city In the last week of February 1814, Prussian Field Marshal Blucher seized the initiative and advanced on Paris with his forces. For other meanings see Field Marshal (disambiguation Field marshal is a military officer rank Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Fürst (Prince von Wahlstatt (gɛphaɐt lebəʁɛçt fɔn blyçɐ December 16 1742 - September 12 1819 Napoleon’s two marshals in the immediate vicinity, Édouard Mortier and Auguste Marmont, were covering the city with two detached corps, but they only had 10,000 men and would be unable to hold out against Blucher’s larger force. Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise (13 February 1768 28 July 1835 was a French General and Marshal of France Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duc de Ragusa ( 20 July 1774 &ndash 22 March 1852) was a French ^[6] Napoleon hurried westwards to their rescue with around 30,000 troops, hoping to trap Blucher against the Marne river. The Marne is a River in France, a right Tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. ^[6]

Blucher unsuccessfully attacked Marmont and Mortier along the Ourcq river in late February and early March and ordered a retreat north to regroup when he heard of Napoleon’s advance. Prussian troops crossed the swollen Aisne River and arrived at Soissons on 4 March. The Aisne is a River in northeastern France, left Tributary of the river Oise. Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth There they linked up with reinforcements that brought Blucher’s total force to 100,000. ^[7] On 7 March, a clash ensued at the Battle of Craonne as Napoleon attacked westwards along the Chemin des Dames. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus The Battle of Craonne was fought on March 7, 1814, and resulted in a French victory under Napoleon I against Russians and Blucher’s outflanking manoeuvre did not materialize in time and the Prussians were forced to withdraw towards Laon, leading to the Battle of Laon and the defeat of Napoleon. The Battle of Laon ( March 9 - 10, 1814) was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French

On 6 April 1814, Napoleon abdicated his throne, leading to the ascession of Louis XVIII of the House of Bourbon a month later. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. The defeated Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, while the victorious Coalition sought to redraw the map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna. Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich

Exile in Elba

Napoleon spent only nine months and 21 days in uneasy retirement on Elba (1814–1815), watching events in France with great interest as the Congress of Vienna gradually gathered. Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. As he foresaw, the shrinkage of the great Empire into the realm of old France caused intense dissatisfaction, a feeling fed by stories of the tactless way in which the Bourbon princes treated veterans of the Grande Armée and the returning royalist nobility treated the people at large. The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Equally threatening was the general situation in Europe which had been stressed and exhausted during the previous decades of near constant warfare.

The conflicting demands of major powers were for a time so exorbitant as to bring the powers at the Congress of Vienna to the verge of war with each other. Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich ^[8] Thus every scrap of news reaching remote Elba looked favorable to a bold move by Napoleon to retake power as he correctly reasoned the news of his return would cause a popular rising as he approached. He also reasoned that the return of French prisoners from Russia, Germany, Britain and Spain would furnish him instantly with a trained, veteran and patriotic army far larger than that which had won renown in the years before 1814. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country So threatening were the symptoms that the royalists at Paris and the plenipotentiaries at Vienna talked of deporting him to the Azores or to Saint Helena, while others hinted at assassination. The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. The word plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power has two meanings Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. The Azores ( Açores ɐˈsoɾɨʃ or) is a Portuguese Archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1500 km (950  mi) from Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. ^[9]

Congress of Vienna

At the Congress of Vienna the various nations had very different and conflicting goals. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich The Tsar of Russia had expected to absorb much of Poland and to leave a puppet state Duchy of Warsaw as a buffer against further invasion from Europe. The Duchy of Warsaw (Księstwo Warszawskie Duché de Varsovie Herzogtum Warschau Варшавское герцогство was a Polish state established by Napoleon The renewed Prussian state was demanding all of the Kingdom of Saxony. The Kingdom of Saxony (Königreich Sachsen lasting between 1806 and 1918 was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Austria wanted neither of these things to happen while it expected to regain control of northern Italy. Castlereagh, of the United Kingdom, supported France and Austria and was at variance with his Parliament. Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC (18 June 1769 in Dublin &ndash 12 August 1822 at Loring Hall, Kent This almost caused a war to break out when the Tsar pointed out to Castlereagh that Russia had 450,000 men near Poland and Saxony and he was welcome to try and remove them. Indeed he stated “I shall be the King of Poland and the King of Prussia will be the King of Saxony”. ^[10] The King of Prussia was approached by Castlereagh offering to back Prussia’s annexation of Saxony by Britain and Austria in return for Prussia’s backing of an independent Poland. Frederick repeated this offer in public and the Tsar was so offended he challenged Metternich of Austria to a duel. Only the intervention of the Austrian crown stopped this. This breach was avoided when members of Britain’s Parliament got word to the Russian Ambassador that Castlereagh had exceeded his authority. ^[11] The affair left Prussia deeply suspicious of anything Britain was involved in.

Return to France

Napoleon solved the problem in characteristic fashion. On 26 February 1815, when the British and French guardships were absent, he slipped away from Portoferraio with some 600 men and landed near Antibes on 1 March 1815. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Portoferraio is a town and commune in the Province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous Harbour of the island of Elba. Antibes ( Provençal Occitan: Antíbol in classical norm or Antibo in Mistralian norm is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Except in royalist Provence, he received everywhere a welcome that attested to the attractive power of his personality and the nullity of the Bourbons. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France He avoided much of Provence by taking a route through the Alps. Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. Firing no shot in his defence, his little troop swelled day by day until it became an army. On 5 March, the nominally royalist 5th Infantry Regiment went over to Napoleon, transferring its strength en masse from one army to the other. The next day they were joined by the 7th Infantry Regiment under its colonel Charles-Angélique-François Huchet de la Bedoyère, who would be executed by the Bourbons for treason after the campaign ended. Charles-Angélique-François Huchet de la Bedoyère born in Paris in 1786 of a family of magistrates was a soldier in the French military who aided Napoleon and was executed An old anecdote illustrates either Napoleon’s charisma or popularity, or (if untrue) the propaganda that operated in his lifetime and ever since: his army was confronted by troops sent by the king to stop him; the men on each side formed into lines and prepared to fire. For other uses see Anecdota. For a comparison of anecdote with other kinds of stories see Myth legend fairy tale and fable. Before fighting began, Napoleon walked between the two forces, faced the king’s men, ripped open his coat and said “If any of you will shoot your Emperor, shoot him now. ” The men supposedly all joined his cause. This occurred at Leon and it would seem the “opposing” troops were too loudly cheering him for Napoleon to have actually said anything that could be heard. ^[12]

One of his key commanders, Marshal Ney, who had said that Napoleon ought to be brought to Paris in an iron cage, joined him with 6,000 men on 14 March; five days later, after proceeding through the countryside promising constitutional reform and direct elections to an assembly, the emperor triumphantly entered the capital to the acclaim of gathered crowds, whence Louis XVIII had recently fled. Michel Ney, 1st Duc d' Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa ( January 10 1769 &ndash December 7 1815 Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice.

The royalists were of no concern: the duc d'Angoulême raised a small force for Louis XVIII in the south, but at Valence it melted away in front of Grouchy’s command; and the duke, on 9 April 1815, signed a convention whereby they received a free pardon from the emperor. Louis-Antoine of France Dauphin of France and Duke of Angoulême (born Louis-Antoine of Artois; August 6, 1775 – June 3, 1844) Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. Valence ( Occitan Valença) is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated Grouchy redirects here For the musical theorist Jean de Grouchy (ca Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of The royalists of the Vendée moved later and caused more trouble. The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean.

Napoleon's health

The evidence as to his health is somewhat conflicting. Carnot, Pasquier, Lavalette Thiéhault and others thought him prematurely aged and enfeebled. Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Comte Carnot ( May 13, 1753 &mdash August 2, 1823) the Organizer of Victory in the French Pasquier is a surname and may refer to Edme-Armand-Gaston d'Audiffret-Pasquier (1823–1905 a French politician and member of the Académie française Antoine Marie Chamans Comte de Lavalette ( October 14, 1769 &mdash February 15, 1830) was a French politician and general For much of his public life, Napoleon was troubled by ill health, which made sitting on a horse for long periods of time difficult and painful. This condition would have disastrous results when he fought at Waterloo; during the battle, his inability to sit on his horse for other than very short periods of time interfered with his ability to survey, and thus exercise command of, his troops in combat. ^[13] Others again saw no marked change in him; while Mollien, who knew the emperor well, attributed the lassitude which now and then came over him to a feeling of perplexity caused by his changed circumstances.

Constitutional Reform

At Lyon, on 13 March 1815, Napoleon issued an edict dissolving the existing chambers and ordering the convocation of a national mass meeting, or Champ de Mai, for the purpose of modifying the constitution of the Napoleonic empire. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or ^[14] He reportedly told Benjamin Constant — “I am growing old. This article concerns the European writer and politician for others see Benjamin Constant (disambiguation. The repose of a constitutional king may suit me. It will more surely suit my son”.

That work was carried out by Benjamin Constant in concert with the emperor. This article concerns the European writer and politician for others see Benjamin Constant (disambiguation. The resulting Acte additionel (supplementary to the constitutions of the empire) bestowed on France an hereditary chamber of peers and a chamber of representatives elected by the "electoral colleges" of the empire.

According to Châteaubriand, in reference to Louis XVIII’s constitutional charter, the new constitution — La Benjamine, it was dubbed — was merely a "slightly improved" version of the charter associated with Louis XVIII's administration; however, later historians, including Agatha Ramm, have pointed out that this constitution permitted the extension of the franchise and explicitly guaranteed press freedom. ^[14] In the Republican manner, the Constitution was put to the people of France in a plebiscite, but whether due to lack of enthusiasm, or the fact that the nation was suddenly thrown into military preparation, only 1,532,527 votes were cast in the plebiscite, less than half of those of the plebiscites of the Consulate; however, the benefit of a 'large majority' meant that Napoleon felt he had constitutional sanction. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the ^[14]

Napoleon was with difficulty dissuaded from quashing the 3 June election of Lanjuinais, the staunch liberal who had so often opposed the emperor, as president of the chamber of deputies. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Jean Denis comte Lanjuinais ( 12 March 1753 - 13 January 1827) was a French politician lawyer jurist journalist and historian In his last communication to them, Napoleon warned them not to imitate the Greeks of the later Empire, who engaged in subtle discussions when the ram was battering at their gates.

War Begins

At the Congress of Vienna, the powers of Europe declared Napoleon an outlaw,^[15][16] and with the signing of the declaration on 13 March 1815, so began the War of the Seventh Coalition. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. The hopes of peace that Napoleon had entertained were gone – war was now inevitable.

A further treaty was ratified on 25 March whereby each of the powers of Europe (Austria, Great Britain, Prussia and Russia) agreed to pledge 150,000 men for the forthcoming conflict. ^[17] Such a number was not possible for Great Britain as her standing army was smaller than the three of her ‘Big Four’ peers. ^[18] Besides this her forces were scattered around the globe, many units of which were still in Canada where the War of 1812 had recently ceased. ^[19] With this in mind she made up her numerical deficiencies by paying subsidies to the other powers and to the other states of Europe that would contribute contingents. ^[18]

Sometime after the allies began mobilising it was eventually agreed that the planned invasion of France was to commence on July 1st 1815^[20], much later than both Blucher and Wellington would have liked as their armies were more or less ready in June, ahead of the Austrians and Russians the latter whose army was still far off. ^[21] The drawback of this potponed invasion date was that it allowed Napoleon more time to build and strengthen his forces and defences which would make it harder and more costly in terms of lives, time and money for the allies to defeat him. The advantage of this later invasion date was that it allowed all of the invading allied armies a chance to be ready at the same time, in order that they may bring their combined numerically superior forces against Napoleon's smaller thinly spread forces, thus ensuring his defeat and avoiding themselves being defeated in detail within the borders of France.

Napoleon now had two military options. Fight a defensive war or fight an offensive one. ^[22] A defensive war would entail repeating the 1814 campaign in France but with much larger numbers at his disposal. France's chief cities, Paris and Lyons would be fortified and two great French armies, the larger before Paris and the smaller before Lyons would protect these and francs-tireurs would be encouraged giving the allied armies their own taste of guerrilla warfare courtesy of the French. The phrase francs-tireurs was used to describe Irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871 ^[23]

Napoleon however, chose the latter option, which entailed striking at his enemies first before they were all fully assembled and able to help one another. By destroying some of the major allied armies, Napoleon believed he would then be able to bring the governments of the Seventh Coalition to the peace table to discuss results favourable to himself, namely peace for France with himself remaining in power as its head. If peace was rejected by the allies despite any pre-emptive military success he may have achieved using the offensive option, then the war would continue, and as far as Napoleon's military situation would be concerned, half the job would already have been done and he would then concentrate on defeating the rest of the allied armies. ^[23]

War of the Seventh Coalition

Deployments

Allied Forces

The allied armies formed to invade France were:

ANGLO-ALLIED ARMY

This was the main military contingent of Great Britain and was concentrated in the southern (Belgian) part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was joined together with the military contingents of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duchy of Brunswick and the Duchy of Nassau. The Duke of Wellington commanded this army. ^[24]

Wellington's Anglo-allied army of 93,000 with headquarters at Brussels were cantoned:June:^[25]

• I Corps (Prince of Orange), 30,200, headquarters Braine-le-Comte, disposed in the area Enghien-Genappe-Mons. William II (Willem Frederik George Lodewijk van Oranje-Nassau ( December 6, 1792 &ndash March 17, 1849) was King of the Netherlands Braine-le-Comte (‘s-Gravenbrakel is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. For the suburb of Paris, France, see Enghien-les-Bains. For the title of nobility see Duke of Enghien. Genappe is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. Mons ( Dutch: Bergen, Picard: Mont) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian
• II Corps (Lord Hill), 27,300, headquarters Ath, distributed in the area Ath-Oudenarde-Ghent. General Rowland Hill 1st Viscount Hill of Almaraz GCB, GCH ( 11 August 1772 - 10 December 1842) served in the Athe (Aat is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Hainaut. Oudenaarde ( French Audenarde, English sometimes Oudenarde) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province Ghent (ˈɡɛnt Gent ʝɛnt in Dutch, Gand in French, and formerly Gaunt in English) is a City and a
• Reserve cavalry (Lord Uxbridge) 9,900, in the valley of the Dendre river, between Grammont and Ninove. Field Marshal Henry William Paget 1st Marquess of Anglesey KG GCB GCH ( 17 May 1768 &ndash 29 April The Dendre ( French) or Dender ( Dutch) is a 65 km long river in Belgium, right tributary of the river Scheldt. Ninove is a city and Municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of East Flanders
• The reserve (under Wellington himself) 25,500, lay around Brussels.
• The frontier in to the west of Leuze and Binche was watched by the Dutch light cavalry. Leuze may refer to the following places Leuze-en-Hainaut, in the province of Hainaut Belgium Somme-Leuze, in the province of Namur Belgium Binche is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.

See also: Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

A Danish contingent known as the Royal Danish Auxiliary Corps commanded by Prince Frederick of Hessen-Kassel and a hanseatic contingent of 1815 (from the free cities of Bremen, Lubeck and Hamburg) commanded by the British Colonel Sir Neil Campbell were also on their way to join this army^[26] both however, joined the army in July having missed the conflict. This is the complete Order of battle for the four major battles of the Waterloo Campaign. ^[27]

Wellington had very much hoped to obtain a Portuguese Contingent of 1815 that might be boarded on ships and sent to this army. ^[28][29] However, this contingent never materialised, as the Portuguese government were extremely uncooperative. They explained that they did not have the authority to send the Prince Regent of Portugal’s forces to war without his consent (he was still in Brazil where he had been in exile during the Peninsular War and had yet to return to Portugal). They explained this even though they themselves had signed the Treaty of March 15th without his consent. ^[29] Besides this, the state of the Portuguese army in 1815 left much to be desired and were a shadow of their former selves according to Lord Beresford, with much of it being disbanded. ^[29]

The Tsar of Russia offered Wellington his II Army Corps, but Wellington was far from keen on accepting this contingent. ^[29]

PRUSSIAN ARMY (ARMY OF THE LOWER RHINE)

This army was composed entirely of Prussians from provinces old and newly acquired alike. Field Marshal Blucher commanded this army. ^[30]

Blucher’s Prussian army of 116,000 men, with headquarters at Namur, was distributed as follows:

• I Corps (Graf von Zieten), 30,800, cantoned along the Sambre, headquarters Charleroi, and covering the area Fontaine-l'Évêque-Fleurus-Moustier. Namur ( Namen in Dutch, Nameur in Walloon, Namurcum in Latin) is a City and municipality in Hans Ernst Karl Graf von Zieten ( 5 March 1770 &ndash 3 May 1848) was an officer in the Prussian Army during the Napoleonic The Sambre is a River in northern France and southern Belgium, left tributary of the Meuse River. Charleroi (Tchålerwè is the largest city and municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Fontaine-l'Évêque is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. Fleurus is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.
• II Corps (Pirch I^[31]), 31,000, headquarters at Namur, lay in the area Namur-Hannut-Huy. Hannut is a Municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy ( Walloon: Hu; French: Huy Dutch: Hoei is a Municipality of Belgium.
• III Corps (Thielemann), 23,900, in the bend of the river Meuse, headquarters Ciney, and disposed in the area Dinant-Huy-Ciney. Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann ( April 27, 1765 &ndash October 10, 1824) was a Saxon and Prussian Cavalry Meuse (møːz is a department in northeast France, named after the Meuse River. Ciney is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ||-||-||} Dinant is a Walloon City and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur Huy ( Walloon: Hu; French: Huy Dutch: Hoei is a Municipality of Belgium. Ciney is a Walloon Municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur.
• IV Corps (Bülow), 30,300, with headquarters at Liege and cantoned around it. Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow Graf von Dennewitz ( February 16, 1755 &ndash February 25, 1816) was a Prussian General

See also: Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

Besides the I, II, III, and IV Army Corps Blucher took with him in to the Netherlands, Prussia also had a reserve army stationed at home in order to defend its borders. This is the complete Order of battle for the four major battles of the Waterloo Campaign. It consisted of:

• V Army Corps Commanded by General York)
• VI Army Corps Commanded by General Tauenzien
• Royal Guard (VIII Corps) Commanded by the Sovereign Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz^[32]

NORTH GERMAN FEDERAL ARMY

This army was part of the Prussian Army above, but was to act independently much further south. It was composed of contingents from the following German nations: Hessen-Kassel, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg Strelitz, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Gotha, Anhalt-Bernburg, Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt Kothen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Lippe and Schaumberg-Lippe. ^[33]

Fearing that Napoleon was going to strike him first, Blucher ordered this army to march north to join the rest of his own army. ^[34] The Prussian General Kleist initially commanded this army before he fell ill on June 18th and was replaced by the Hessen-Kassel General Von Engelhardt. ^[34] Its composition in June was"^[35]

• Hessen-Kassel Division (Three Hessian Brigades)
• Thuringian Brigade
• Mecklenburg Brigade

RUSSIAN ARMY (I ARMY)

Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly commanded this army. Its target was Paris. In June it consisted of the following:

• III Army Corps
• IV Army Corps
• V Army Corps
• VI Army Corps
• VII Army Corps
• II Reserve Grenadier Corps
• II Cavalry Reserve Corps
• Artillery Reserve

RUSSIAN ARMY (II ARMY)

This army was behind the Russian I army to support it if required.

• Imperial Guard Corps
• I Army Corps
• II Army Corps
• I Reserve Grenadier Corps
• I Reserve Cavalry Corps

AUSTRO-GERMAN ARMY (ARMY OF THE UPPER RHINE)

The Austrian military contingent was divided in to three armies. This was the largest of these armies, commanded by Field Marshal Prince Schwarzenberg. Its target was Paris. This Austrian contingent was joined by the German contingents of the: Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, Grand Duchy of Hessen-Darmstadt, Free City of Frankfurt am Main, Principality of Reuss (Senior line) and the Principality of Reuss (Junior line). Besides these there were contingents of Fulda and Isemburg. These were recruited from German territories that were in the process of loosing their independence by being annexed to other countries at the Congress of Vienna. Finally, these were joined by the contingent of the Kingdom of Saxony.

• I Army Corps
• II Army Corps
• III Army Corps
• IV Army Corps
• Reserve Army Corps
• Blockade/Siege Corps

SWISS ARMY

Swiss Army of 1815

This army was composed entirely of Swiss. The Swiss General Niklaus Franz Von Bachmann commanded this army. This force was to observe any French forces that operated near its borders. Its composition in June was:

• I Division
• II Division
• III Division
• Reserve Division

AUSTRO-SARDINIAN ARMY (ARMY OF UPPER ITALY)

This was the second largest of Austria's contingents. Its target was Lyons. General Frimont commanded this army. Its composition in June was:

• I Corps
• II Corps
• Reserve Corps
• Sardinian Corps

Sardinian Army of 1815

AUSTRIAN ARMY (ARMY OF NAPLES)

This was the smaller of Austria’s military contingents. Its targets were Marseilles and Toulon. General Bianchi commanded this army. Its composition in June was:

• I Corps
• II Corps
• Reserve Corps

ANGLO-SICILIAN ARMY

This was the smaller military contingent of Great Britain. It was composed of Anglo-Sicilian troops under General Sir Hudson Lowe transported and supported by Lord Exmouth's Mediterranean Fleet. Its targets were Marseilles and Toulon.

4TH SPANISH ARMY

This army was to invade France via Bayonne and Bordeaux. General O'Donnell commanded this army.

5TH SPANISH ARMY

This army was to invade France via Perpignan and Toulouse. General Castanos commanded this army.

Spanish Army of 1815

French Forces

Napoleon meanwhile was not sitting idly. He immediately began to increase the size of the standing army that he had inherited from King Louis XVIII.

The organisation of the French Army of 1815 in June was as follows:

THE ARMY OF THE NORTH (ARMEE DU NORD)

As Napoleon decided upon an offensive campaign on the part of France rather than a defensive one, he assembled the majority of his regular (front line) forces in to an army for that very purpose. That is, an offence against the armies that were already assembled and closest to France, namely those of the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Prince Blucher both stationed in the southern (Belgian) part of the then Kingdom of the Netherlands. Napoleon hoped to defeat these armies before the other main allied invading armies, those of Schwarzenberg and Barclay de Tolly could fall upon him. The army for this purpose was called the Armee du Nord or Army of the North. Its composition in June was:^[36]

• Imperial Guard (Mortier)
• I Army Corps (D'Erlon)
• II Army Corps (Reille)
• III Army Corps (Vandamme)
• IV Army Corps (Gerard)
• VI Army Corps (Lobau)
• Cavalry Reserve (Grouchy)

See also: Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

For the defence of France, Napoleon deployed his remaining forces within France observing France’s enemies, foreign and domestic, intending to delay the former and suppress the latter. Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise (13 February 1768 28 July 1835 was a French General and Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Drouet Comte d'Erlon ( July 29, 1765 - January 25, 1844) was a marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleon Honoré Charles Michel Joseph Reille ( September 1, 1775 - March 4, 1860) was a Marshal of France, born in Antibes. General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme ( Cassel, 5 November 1770 - Cassel, 15 July 1830 was a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Étienne Maurice Gérard, Comte Gérard (4 April 1773 17 April 1852 was a French General and statesman Georges Mouton, Comte de Lobau ( February 21, 1770 - November 21, 1838) was a French soldier and political Grouchy redirects here For the musical theorist Jean de Grouchy (ca This is the complete Order of battle for the four major battles of the Waterloo Campaign. In June they were organised as follows:

ARMY OF THE RHINE (V ARMY CORPS)^[37]

Based at Strasbourg and commanded by General Jean Rapp. This army was to observe the movements of the Austro-German army of Schwarzenberg and the Russian army of Barclay de Tolly. Its composition in June was:

• 15th Infantry Division
• 16th, Infantry Division
• 17th Infantry Division
• 7th Cavalry Division
• National Guard Division
• Artillery Reserve

ARMY OF THE JURA (I CORPS OF OBSERVATION)^[37]

Based at Belfort and commanded by General Lecourbe. This army was to observe any Austrian movement through Switzerland and also observe the Swiss army of General Bachmann. Its composition in June was:

• 18th Infantry Division
• 8th Cavalry Division
• 3rd National Guard Division
• 4th National Guard Division
• Artillery Reserve

ARMY OF THE ALPS (VII ARMY CORPS)^[37]

Based at Lyons and commanded by Marshal Suchet. This army was charged with the defence of Lyons and to observe the Austro-Sardinian army of Frimont. Its composition in June was:

• 22nd Infantry Division
• 23rd Infantry Division
• 15th Cavalry Division
• 6th National Guard Division
• 7th National Guard Division
• 8th National Guard Division
• Artillery Reserve

ARMY OF THE VAR (II CORPS OF OBSERVATION))^[37]

Based at Toulon and commanded by Marshal Brune. This army was charged with the suppression of any potential royalist uprisiongs and to observe Bianchi’s ‘Army of Naples’. Its composition in June was:

• 24th Infantry Division
• 25th Infantry Division
• 14th Chasseurs à Cheval Cavalry Regiment

ARMY OF THE PYRENEES ORIENTALES (III CORPS OF OBSERVATION)^[37]

Based at Toulouse and commanded by General Decaen. This army observed the eastern Spanish frontier. Its composition in June was:^[38]

• 26th Infantry Division
• 5th Chasseurs à Cheval Cavalry Regiment

ARMY OF THE PYRENEES OCCIDENTALES (IV CORPS OF OBSERVATION)^[37]

Based at Bordeaux and commanded by General Clauzel. This army observed the western Spanish frontier. Its composition in June was:^[38]

• 27th Infantry Division
• 15th Chasseurs à Cheval Cavalry Regiment

ARMY OF THE WEST^[37] (ARMY OF THE VENDEE / ARMY OF THE LOIRE)

This army was formed to suppress the Royalist revolt in the vendee region of France which was up in revolt at napoleon's return. It was commanded by General Lamarque. It contained some units detached from the other armies as well as gendarmes and volunteers. Its composition in June was:^[39]

• One Un-numbered Infantry Division under General Brayer
• One Un-numbered Infantry Division under General Travot

Manoeuvre

Napoleon moved the 128,000 strong Army of the North, up to the French Belgium frontier. L'Armée du Nord (The Army of the North was the force commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte during the Waterloo Campaign in 1815 ^[40] The left wing of the Army of the North (I and II corps) was under the command of Marshal Ney, and the right wing (III and IV corps) under the command of Marshal Grouchy. Michel Ney, 1st Duc d' Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa ( January 10 1769 &ndash December 7 1815 Grouchy redirects here For the musical theorist Jean de Grouchy (ca Napoleon was in direct command of the Reserve (French Imperial Guard, VI Corps, and the I, II, III, and IV cavalry corps). During the initial advance all three elements remained close enough to support each another.

Napoleon crossed the frontier at Thuin near Charleroi, the French drove in Coalition outposts and secured Napoleon’s favoured “central position” - at the junction between Wellington’s Allied army to his north-west, and Blücher’s Prussian to his north-east. Thuin is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. Charleroi (Tchålerwè is the largest city and municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Wellington had expected Napoleon to try to envelop the Allied armies by moving through Mons to the west of Brussels. Mons ( Dutch: Bergen, Picard: Mont) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian ^[41] Napoleon encouraged this view with false intelligence. ^[41] A message from Wellington’s intelligence chief, Sir Colquhoun Grant, was delayed by General Dörnberg, and Wellington first heard of the capture of Charleroi at 15:00 shortly followed by another message from the Prince of Orange. Lieutenant-Colonel Colquhoun Grant (1780-1829 was a British Army soldier and intelligence officer during The Napoleonic Wars. Wellington ordered his army to collect at their divisional headquarters, but was still unsure whether the attack in Charleroi was a feint and the main assault would come from Mons, and Wellington only found out with certainty Napoleon’s intentions and sent out orders for the mustering of his army near Nivelles and Quatre Bras just before midnight on the 15 June. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history ^[42]

In all the allies had built up a fairly accurate intelligence picture of the French deployments with counter-intelligence operations having a greater effect upon the Wellington's army which feared a drive along the coast via Mons servering from the supplying ports, while the Prussian General Staff seems to have devined the French armies intent rather more accurately. ^[41][43]

The Prussians were not taken unaware, General Zeithen noting the concetration of campfires as early as the 13th^[44] and began to concentrate, so Napoleon considered the Prussians the greater threat, and so he moved against them first with the right wing of the Army of the North and the Reserves, attacking their outposts at Thuin near Charleroi, before advancing through Charleroi. His scouts reached Quatre Bras that evening. Graf von Zieten’s I Corps rearguard action held up Napoleon’s advance, giving Blücher the opportunity to concentrate his forces in the Sombreffe position, which had been selected earlier for its good defensive attributes. ^[45] Napoleon sent Marshal Ney, in charge of the French left wing, to secure the crossroads of Quatre Bras, towards which Wellington was hastily gathering his dispersed army. Michel Ney, 1st Duc d' Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa ( January 10 1769 &ndash December 7 1815

Quatre Bras

Main article: Battle of Quatre Bras

Ney, advancing on 16 June, found Quatre Bras lightly held by Allied troops, but despite outnumbering the Allies heavily throughout the day, he fought a cautious and desultory battle which failed to capture the crossroads. The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. By the middle of the afternoon, Wellington had taken personal command of the Allied forces at Quatre Bras. The position was reinforced steadily throughout the day as Allied troops converged on the crossroads. The battle ended in a tactical draw. Later, the Allies ceded the field at Quatre Bras in order to consolidate their forces on more favourable ground to the north along the road to Brussels as a prelude to the Battle of Waterloo. ^[46]

Ligny

Main article: Battle of Ligny

Napoleon, meanwhile, the right wing of the army and the reserve and defeated the Prussians, under the command of General Blücher, at the Battle of Ligny on the same day. The Battle of Ligny ( 16 June 1815) was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Fürst (Prince von Wahlstatt (gɛphaɐt lebəʁɛçt fɔn blyçɐ December 16 1742 - September 12 1819 The Battle of Ligny ( 16 June 1815) was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Prussian centre gave way under heavy French attack, but the flanks held their ground. ^[47] Several heavy Prussian cavalry charges proved enough to dissuade the French pursuit and indeed they would not pursue the Prussians until the morning of, 18 June. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries D'Erlon’s I Corps wandered between both battles contributing to neither Quatre Bras nor to Ligny. Napoleon wrote to Ney warning him that allowing D'Erlon to wander so far away had crippled his attacks on Quatre Bras and made no move to recall D'Erlon when he could have easily done so. The tone of his orders leave it that he believed he had things well in hand at Ligny without assistance (as in fact he did). ^[48]

Interlude

The Prussian defeat at Ligny made the Quatre Bras position untenable. On 17 June Wellington duly fell back to the north. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat His control of Quatre Bras enabled the Prussians to fall back parallel to his line of retreat and not, as Napoleon had hoped, away from him.

This was part of Napoleon’s strategy to split the much larger Coalition force into pieces that he could outnumber and attack separately. His theory was based on the assumption that an attack through the centre of the Coalition forces would force the two main armies to retreat in the direction of their respective supply bases, which were in opposite directions. ^[49]

The general retreat of the Prussian army took it to the town of Wavre, and this by default became the marshalling point of the army. Wavre ( Walloon: Wåve, Dutch: Waver) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian The Prussian chief of staff, General August von Gneisenau, planned to rally the Prussian Army at Tilly,^[50] from where it could move to support Wellington, but control was lost, with part of the army retreating toward the Rhine, but the majority rallied at Wavre. August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau ( 27 October 1760 &ndash 23 August 1831) was a Prussian Field marshal General Blücher arrived at Wavre, after having fallen under his horse whilst leading a counter charge at Ligny, then being ridden over by French cavalry twice. ^[51] After a meeting, Gneisenau was persuaded to march upon Wellington’s left flank at dawn with the I, II and IV Corps. The IV Corps, under the command of General Bülow von Dennewitz, had not been present at Ligny, but arrived to reinforce the Prussian army during the nights of the 17th and 18th. Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow Graf von Dennewitz ( February 16, 1755 &ndash February 25, 1816) was a Prussian General III Corps formed the rearguard, to hinder the pursuing French.

Napoleon set off via Quatre Bras with the Reserves and combined his forces with the left wing of the Army of the North to pursue Wellington’s forces, which were retreating toward Brussels. Just before the small village of Waterloo, Wellington deployed most of his forces on the rear side of an escarpment. Waterloo (watəʀˈloː is a Walloon Municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. He placed some of his forces in front of the main deployment in two fortified farmhouses at the base of the escarpment, which guarded the two roads to Brussels.

Marshall Groucy with the right wing of the Army of the North moved to Grannape and assimilating intelligence provided him by his outpost services. Indications that three Prussian corps had moved through the area were received were believed to be concentrating near Brussels to support Wellington. ^[52] This information was collected and sent by Marshall Groucy at 22:00 on the night of 17 June. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat In this letter Groucy noted the collection of the Prussians in and around Warve. ^[52] This was of concern to both Groucy and Napoleon because the Prussians could use the road through Wavre straight to the assembled armies of Wellington.

Waterloo

Main article: Battle of Waterloo

It was at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 that the decisive battle of the campaign took place. In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The start of the battle was delayed for several hours as Napoleon waited until the ground had dried from the previous night’s rain. By late afternoon the French army had not succeeded in driving Wellington’s allied forces from the escarpment on which they stood. Once the Prussians arrived, attacking the French right flank in ever increasing numbers, Napoleon’s key strategy of keeping the Seventh Coalition armies divided had failed and his army was driven from the field in confusion, by a combined coalition general advance.

On the morning of 18 June 1815 Napoleon sent orders to Marshal Grouchy, commander of the right wing of the Army of the North, to harass the Prussians to stop them reforming. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year These orders arrived at around 06:00 and his corps began to move out at 08:00; by 12:00 the cannons from the Battle of Waterloo could be heard. Grouchy’s corps commanders, especially Gérard, advised that they should “march to the sound of the guns”. Étienne Maurice Gérard, Comte Gérard (4 April 1773 17 April 1852 was a French General and statesman ^[53] As this was contrary to Napoleon’s orders (“you will be the sword against the Prussians’ back driving them through Wavre and join me here”) Grouchy decided not to take the advice. It became apparent that neither Napoleon nor Marshal Grouchy understood that the Prussian army was no longer either routed nor disorganised. ^[54] Any thoughts of joining Napoleon were dashed when a second order repeating the same instructions arrived around 16:00.

Wavre

Main article: Battle of Wavre

Following Napoleon’s orders Grouchy attacked the Prussian III Corps under the command of General Johann von Thielmann near village of Wavre. In the Battle of Wavre was the final major military action of the of the Hundred Days campaign and the Napoleonic Wars. Johann Adolf Freiherr von Thielmann ( April 27, 1765 &ndash October 10, 1824) was a Saxon and Prussian Cavalry Wavre ( Walloon: Wåve, Dutch: Waver) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian Grouchy believed that he was engaging the rearguard of a still-retreating Prussian force. However only one Corps remained — the other three, Prussian Corps (I, II and the still fresh IV) had regrouped after the Prussians defeat at Ligny and were marching toward Waterloo.

The next morning the Battle of Wavre ended in a hollow French victory. In the Battle of Wavre was the final major military action of the of the Hundred Days campaign and the Napoleonic Wars. Grouchy’s wing of the Army of the North withdrew in good order and other elements of the French army were able to reassemble around it. However, the army was not strong enough to resist the combined coalition forces, so it retreated toward Paris.

Napoleon surrenders

On arriving at Paris, three days after Waterloo, Napoleon still clung to the hope of concerting national resistance; but the temper of the chambers and of the public generally forbade any such attempt. Napoleon and his brother Lucien Bonaparte were almost alone in believing that, by dissolving the chambers and declaring Napoleon dictator, they could save France from the armies of the powers now converging on Paris. Lucien Bonaparte Prince Français 1st Principe di Canino and 1st Principe di Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; ( May 21, 1775 &ndash A dictator is an Authoritarian ruler (eg Absolutist or autocratic) who assumes sole and absolute power without hereditary ascension such as an Absolute Even Davout, minister of war, advised Napoleon that the destinies of France rested solely with the chambers. Louis-Nicolas d'Avout ( May 10, 1770 &ndash June 1, 1823) better known as Davout, 1st Duc d' Auerstaedt Clearly, it was time to safeguard what remained; and that could best be done under Talleyrand’s shield of legitimacy. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord 1st Sovereign Prince of Beneventum (2 February 1754 17 May 1838 the Prince of Diplomats, was a French

Napoleon himself at last recognised the truth. When Lucien pressed him to “dare”, he replied, “Alas, I have dared only too much already”. On 22 June 1815 he abdicated in favour of his son, Napoléon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte, well knowing that it was a formality, as his son was in Austria. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year On 25 June he received from Fouché, the president of the newly-appointed provisional government, an intimation that he must leave Paris. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians He retired to Malmaison, the former home of Josephine, where she had died shortly after his first abdication. The Château de Malmaison is a country house (or Château) in the city of Rueil-Malmaison about 12 km (7 mi from Paris. Joséphine de Beauharnais (born Marie Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie June 23 1763 &ndash May 29 1814) was the first

On 29 June the near approach of the Prussians, who had orders to seize him, dead or alive, caused him to retire westwards toward Rochefort, whence he hoped to reach the United States. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Rochefort is a commune in western France, a Seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The presence of blockading Royal Navy warships with orders to prevent his escape forestalled this plan. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service)

Finally, unable to remain in France or escape from it, he surrendered himself to Captain Maitland of HMS Bellerophon and was transported to England. Rear admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland KCB ( 7 September 1777 &ndash 30 November 1839) was an officer in the Early history She fought at the battle of The Glorious First of June, the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar, becoming one of the most The full restoration of Louis XVIII followed the emperor’s departure. Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the island of Saint Helena where he died in May 1821. Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory

Prussians enter Paris

With the abdication of Napoleon the provisional government led by Fouché appointed Davout, Napoleon’s minister of war, as General in Chief. French troops concentrated in Paris had as many soldiers as the invaders and more cannons.

There were two major skirmishes and a few minor ones near Paris during the first few days of July. In the first major skirmish, on 1 July French dragoons supported by infantry and commanded by General Exelmans destroyed a Prussian brigade of hussars under the command of Colonel von Sohr (who was severely wounded and taken prisoner during the skirmish). The Battle of Rocquencourt was a cavalry skirmish fought on 1 July 1815 in and around the villages of Rocquencourt and Le Chesnay. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans ( November 13, 1775 &ndash June 22, 1852) was a distinguished French In the second, on 3 July, General Dominique Vandamme (under Davout's command) was defeated by General Graf von Zieten (under Blucher's command) at the Battle of Issy, forcing the French to retreat into Paris. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme ( Cassel, 5 November 1770 - Cassel, 15 July 1830 was a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic The Battle of Issy was a skirmish fought on 3 July 1815 at the village of Issy, a short distance south west of Paris ^[55] With this defeat, all hope of holding Paris faded and it was agreed that the French Army would withdraw south of the Loire River and on 7 July Graf von Zieten's Prussian I Corps entered Paris. The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death ^[56]

Other campaigns and wars

Main article: Minor campaigns of 1815

While Napoleon had assessed that the Coalition forces in and around Brussels on the boarders of north west France posed the greatest threat because Tolly's Russian army of 150,000 were still not in the theatre, Spain was slow to mobilise, Prince Schwarzenberg's Austrian army of 210,000 were slow to cross the Rhine, and another Austrian force menaced the south eastern frontier of France was still not a direct threat, Napoleon still had to place some badly needed forces in positions where they could defend France against other Coalition forces whatever the outcome of the Waterloo campaign. On 1 March 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from his imprisonment on the isle of Elba, and launched a bid to recover his empire Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly ( –) known in Russia as Mikhail Bogdanovich Barklay-de-Tolli ( Cyrillic: Михаи́л Богда́нович Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Prince Charles Philip of Schwarzenberg ( April 18, 1771 &ndash October 15, 1820 ^[47][57]

Neapolitan War

The Neapolitan War between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire, started on 15 March 1815 when Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 with the signing of the Treaty of Casalanza. The Neapolitan War between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire, started on 15 March 1815 when Joachim Murat The Kingdom of Naples was an informal name of the Polity officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily which existed on the mainland of the southern Italian For the history of these states before 1804 see Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, and articles on each of the component countries. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Joachim-Napoléon Murat (born Joachim Murat) ( Gioacchino Napoleone Murat) ( March 25 1767 &ndash October 13 1815) Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held The Treaty of Casalanza was signed between the pro- Napoleon Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire, as well as the United Kingdom The war occurred between Napoleon's return from exile and before he left Paris to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium

Napoleon had arranged for his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, to become King of Naples on August 1, 1808. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year After France's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig, Murat reached an agreement with the Austrian Empire in order to save his own throne. The Battle of the Nations (or Battle of Leipzig or Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig) on 16–19 October 1813 was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon For the history of these states before 1804 see Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, and articles on each of the component countries. However he realized that the European Powers, meeting as the Congress of Vienna, planned to remove him and give back the Kingdom of Naples to its pre-Napoleonic rulers. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich So, after issuing a proclamation to the Italian patriots in Rimini, Murat moved north to fight against the Austrians to strengthen his rule in Italy by military means.

The war was triggered by a pro-Napoleon uprising in Naples, after which Murat declared war on Austria on 15 March 1815, five days before Napoleon return to Paris. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Austrians were prepared for war, after their suspicions were raised when Murat applied for permission weeks earlier to move his troops through Austrian land in order to attack the south of France. Austria had reinforced her armies in Lombardy under the command of Bellegarde prior to war being declared. Count Heinrich von Bellegarde ( German: Heinrich Joseph Johannes Graf von Bellegarde, or sometimes Heinrich von Bellegarde) ( August 29,

The war ended after a decisive Austrian victory at the Battle of Tolentino and Ferdinand IV was reinstated as King of Naples. The Battle of Tolentino was the decisive battle in the Neapolitan War, fought by the King of Naples Joachim Murat to keep the throne after the Ferdinand I ( Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto, January 12, 1751 &ndash January 4, 1825) In the immediate aftermath of the war, Ferdinand sent Neapolitan force under the command of General Onasco to help the Austrian army in Italy to invade southern France. In the long term, the intervention by Austria caused resentment in Italy, which further spurred on the drive towards Italian unification. Italian Unification ( Italian: il Risorgimento, or "The Resurgence" was the political and social movement that unified different states of the Italian

Civil war

Provence and Brittany which were known to contain many royalist sympathisers did not rise in open revolt, but the La Vendée did. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The Vendée Royalists successfully took Bressuire and Cholet before they were defeated by General Lamarque at the Battle of Rocheserviere on 20 June. Bressuire is a commune of the Deux-Sèvres département, in France. Cholet (probably from Latin cauletum, "cabbage" is a town in western France, capital of an arrondissement in the Maine-et-Loire Jean Maximilien Lamarque (1770–1832 was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of French Parliament. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. They signed the Treaty of Cholet five days later on 25 June. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians ^[58]

Austrian campaign

Rhine frontier

In early June General Rapp's Army of the Rhine of about 23,000 men, with a leavening of experience troops, advanced towards Germersheim to block Schwarzenberg expected advance, but on hearing the news of the French defeat at Waterloo, Rapp withdrew towards Strasbourg turning on June 28 to check the 40,000 men of General Württenberg's Austrian III Corps at the battle of La Suffel — the last pitch battle of the Napoleonic Wars and a French victory. Count Jean Rapp ( April 27 1771, Colmar - November 8 1821, Rheinweiler) was a French Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and has around 20000 inhabitants Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. William I of Württemberg (Wilhelm Friedrich Karl von Württemberg September 27, 1781 - June 25, 1864) was King of Württemberg from The Battle of La Suffel was a French victory over Austrian forces of the Seventh Coalition and the last French Pitched battle victory in the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Having done so, the next day Rapp continued to retreat to Strasbourg and also sent a garrison to defend Colmar . Colmar (Colmar kɔlmaʁ Alsatian: Colmer pronounced; Colmar between 1871-1918 and 1940-1945 also Kolmar) is a town and commune He and his men took no further active part in the campaign and eventually submitted to the Bourbons. ^[57][59]

To the north of Württenberg's III Corps, General Wrede's Austrian (Bavarian) IV Corps also crossed the French frontier and then swung south and captured Nancy against some local popular resistance on the 27 June. Karl (or Carl) Philipp Josef Wrede Freiherr von Wrede 1st Fürst von Wrede ( April 29, 1767 – December 12, 1838) Nancy (nɑ̃si archaic Nanzig Nanzeg is a city and commune in the Lorraine région of northeastern France Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Attached to his command was a Russian detachment under the command of General Count Lambert that was charged with keeping Wrede's lines of communication open. In early July Schwarzenberg having received a request from Wellington and Blucher, ordered Wrede to act as the Austrian vanguard and advance on Paris and by the 5 July the main body of Wrede's IV Corps had reached Châlons. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. On 6 July the advance guard made contact with the Prussians and on 7 July Wrede received intelligence of the Paris Convention and a request to move to the Loire. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death By 10 July Wrede's headquarters were at Ferté-sous-Jouarre and his corps positioned between the Seine and the Marne^[58][60]

Further south General Colloredo's Austrian I Corps was hindered by General Lecourbe's Armée du Jura that was largely made up of National Guardsmen and other reserves. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. La Ferté-sous-Jouarre is a French commune in the département of Seine-et-Marne. Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld ( 30 March 1775 &ndash 23 July 1822) was an Austrian Corps commander during the Napoleonic Claude Jacques Lecourbe ( February 22, 1759 - October 22, 1815) born in Besançon, was a French general during the French Revolutionary Lecourbe fought four delaying actions between 30 June and 8 July at Foussemague, Bourogne, Chévremont and Bavilliers before agreeing to an armistice on 11 June. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Bourogne is a village and commune in the Territoire de Belfort département, in the French region of Franche-Comté Bavilliers is a town and commune in the Territoire de Belfort département, in the French region of Franche-Comté Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Archduke Ferdinand's Reserve Corps together with Hohenzollern-Hechingen's II Corps laid siege to the fortresses of Huningen and Muhlhausen, with two Swiss brigades from the Swiss Army of General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann, aiding with the siege of the former place. Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este ( April 25, 1781 - November 5, 1850) was the third son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este Huningue ( French; German:Hüningen is the name of both a canton and a commune in Alsace, France. Mühlhausen (official Mühlhausen/Thüringen) is a City in the Federal state Thuringia, Germany. Niklaus Leodegar Franz Ignaz von Bachmann ( Näfels, 27 March 1740 - Näfels 11 February 1831) was a Swiss general who fought in Like other Austrian forces, these too were pestered by francs-tireurs. The phrase francs-tireurs was used to describe Irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871 ^[58][61]

Italian frontier

Like Rapp further north, Marshal Suchet with the Armée des Alps initially took the initiative, and on the 14 June invaded Savoy. Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1st Duc d' Albufera ( March 2, 1770 &ndash January 3, 1826) Marshal of France, one of Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the For the two French départements of the region of Savoy see Savoie and Haute-Savoie Savoy ( French Facing him was General Frimont with an Austro-Sardinian army of 75,000 men based in Italy. Johann Maria Philipp Frimont, Count of Palota, Prince of Antrodoco ( February 3 1759 - December 26 1831) was an Austrian However, on hearing of the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, Suchet negotiated an armistice and fell back to Lyons where on the 12 July he surrendered the city to the Frimont's army. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.

The Liguria coast was defended by French forces under Marshal Brune who fell back slowly into the fortress city of Toulon after retreating from Marseilles before the Austrian 'Army of Naples' under the command of General Bianchi, the Anglo-Sicilian forces of Sir Hudson Lowe supported by the British Mediterranean fleet of Lord Exmouth and the Sardinian forces of the Sardinian General d'Osasca, the forces of the latter being drawn from the garrison of Nice. Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions Guillaume Marie Anne Brune 1st Comte Brune ( March 13, 1763 &mdash August 2, 1815) was a French soldier and political figure who rose Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large Brune did not surrender the city and its naval arsenal contained within until 31 July. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently ^[58]

Russian campaign

The main body of the Russian Army, commanded by Field Marshal Count Tolly, and amounting to 167,950 men, crossed the Rhine at Mannheim, on 25 June — after Napoleon had abdicated for the second time — and although there was a light resistance around Mannerheim it was over by the time the vanguard had advanced as far as Landau. Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly ( –) known in Russia as Mikhail Bogdanovich Barklay-de-Tolli ( Cyrillic: Михаи́л Богда́нович Mannheim is a City in Germany. With 327318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Landau or Landau in der Pfalz (pop 41821 is an autonomous ( kreisfrei) city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route" The greater portion of Tolly's army reached Paris and its vicinity by the middle of July. ^[58][62]

Treaty of Paris

Issy was the last field engagement of the 100 days. There was a campaign against hold out French fortresses that ended with the capitulation of Longwy on 13 September 1815. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September The Treaty of Paris was signed on 20 November, 1815 bringing the Napoleonic Wars a formal end. The Treaty of Paris of 1815 was signed on November 20, 1815, following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions

Under the 1815 Paris treaty the previous year's Treaty of Paris, and the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, of June 9, 1815, were confirmed. The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814 ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits France was reduced to its 1790 boundaries; it lost the territorial gains of the Revolutionary armies in 1790-92, which the previous Paris treaty had allowed France to keep. France was now also ordered to pay 700 million francs in indemnities, in five yearly instalments,^[63] and to maintain at its own expense an Allied army of occupation of 150,000 soldiers^[64]in the eastern border territories of France, from the English Channel to the border with Switzerland, for a maximum of five years. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation ^[65] The two-fold purpose of the military occupation was rendered self-evident by the convention annexed to the treaty outlining the incremental terms by which France would issue negotiable bonds covering the indemnity: in addition to safeguarding the neighbouring states from a revival of revolution in France, it guaranteed fulfilment of the treaty's financial clauses. ^[66]

On the same day, in a separate document, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia renewed the Quadruple Alliance. The term " Quadruple Alliance " refers to several historical Military alliances none of which remain in effect The princes and free towns who were not signatories were invited to accede to its terms,^[67] whereby the treaty became a part of the public law by which Europe, with the exclusion of Ottoman Turkey,^[68] established "relations from which a system of real and permanent balance of power in Europe is to be derived. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish "^[69]

Timeline

See also Timeline of the Napoleonic era

Dates	Synopsis of key events
26 February	Napoleon Bonaparte slipped away from Elba. Timeline of the Napoleonic era (1799&ndash1815 The Napoleonic era began in 1799 with Napoleon Bonaparte's Coup d'état, that overthrew the Directory Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed
1 March	Napoleon Bonaparte landed near Antibes. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Antibes ( Provençal Occitan: Antíbol in classical norm or Antibo in Mistralian norm is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes
13 March	The powers at the Congress of Vienna declared Napoleon Bonaparte an outlaw. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II.
14 March	Marshal Ney, who had said that Napoleon ought to be brought to Paris in an iron cage, joined him with 6,000 men. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice.
15 March	After he had received word of Napoleon's escape, Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law and the King of Naples, declared war on Austria in a bid to save his crown. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus,
17 March	The United Kingdom, Russia, Austria and Prussia, members of the Seventh Coalition, bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end Napoleon Bonaparte's rule. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger
20 March	Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris — The start of the One Hundred Days. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden.
9 April	The high point for the Neapolitans as Murat attempted to force a crossing of the River Po. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) However, he is defeated at the Battle of Occhiobello and for the remainder of the war, the Neapolitans would be in full retreat. The Battle of Occhiobello was fought on 8 April – 9 April, 1815 and was the turning point of the Neapolitan War.
3 May	General Bianchi's Austrian I Corps decisively defeated Murat at the Battle of Tolentino. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Frédéric Bianchi Duke of Casalanza (full name Vincenz Ferrerius Frédéric Bianchi) (born in Vienna on 27 February 1768, died at Saurbrunn The Battle of Tolentino was the decisive battle in the Neapolitan War, fought by the King of Naples Joachim Murat to keep the throne after the
20 May	The Neapolitans signed the Treaty of Casalanza with the Austrians after Murat had fled to Corsica and his generals had sued for peace. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held The Treaty of Casalanza was signed between the pro- Napoleon Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire, as well as the United Kingdom
23 May	Ferdinand IV was restored to the Neapolitan throne. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Ferdinand I ( Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino Gennaro Benedetto, January 12, 1751 &ndash January 4, 1825)
15 June	French Army of the North crossed the frontier into the United Netherlands (in modern day Belgium). Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history
16 June	Napoleon Bonaparte beat Field Marshal Blucher at the Battle of Ligny. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. The Battle of Ligny ( 16 June 1815) was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon Bonaparte. Simultaneously Marshal Ney and The Duke of Wellington fought the Battle of Quatre Bras at the end of which there was no clear victor. The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought
18 June	After the close, hard-fought Battle of Waterloo, the combined armies of Wellington and Blucher decisively defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of the North. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium The concurrent Battle of Wavre continued until the next day when Marshal Grouchy won a hollow victory against General Johann von Thielmann. In the Battle of Wavre was the final major military action of the of the Hundred Days campaign and the Napoleonic Wars.
21 June	Napoleon Bonaparte arrived back in Paris. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce.
22 June	Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated in favour of his son Napoléon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom.
29 June	Napoleon Bonaparte left Paris for the west of France. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland.
7 July	Graf von Zieten's Prussian I Corps entered Paris. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death
8 July	Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne — The end of the One Hundred Days. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre.
15 July	Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland of HMS Bellerophon. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final
13 October	Joachim Murat is executed in Pizzo after he had landed there five days earlier hoping to regain his kingdom. Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees
20 November	Treaty of Paris signed. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, The Treaty of Paris of 1815 was signed on November 20, 1815, following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "Waterloo Campaign", a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• Barbero, Alessandro: The Battle:A New History of Waterloo" ISBN 0-8027-1453-6
• Baines, Edward (1818), History of the Wars of the French Revolution, from the breaking out of the wars in 1792, to, the restoration of general peace in 1815, volume II (of II), Longman, Rees, Orme and Brown.
• Chandler, David (1981). David G Chandler ( 15 January 1934 – 10 October 2004) was a British Historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic Waterloo: The Hundred Days, Osprey Publishing (original edition 1980).
• Chesny, Charles A: Waterloo Lectures:A Study Of The Campaign Of 1815 ISBN 1428649883
• Cordingly, David. The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon (Bloomsbury USA, 2003) ISBN 1-58234-468-X
• Hamilton-Williams, David: Waterloo New Perspectives ISBN 0471-05225-6
• Siborne William. History of the War in France and Belgium, in 1815. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 1402171536.

Footnotes

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