Napoleon and the Arc de Triomphe
Back to Arc de Triomphe home page.
Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of France between 1796 and 1815. He started his career as a private in the army and quickly rose through the ranks because of his intelligence and ability to command. His men greatly respected his leadership and his decisions. |
 |
 |
As a General, Napoleon led the French army against most of the other countries in Europe . When he became Emperor of France, he continued to lead his armies successfully in Europe and in Egypt, winning nearly every battle. Napoleon's run of luck came to an end after his misjudged invasion of Russia in 1812. This was a failure and hundreds of thousands of French soldiers died in the cold. His last battle, at Waterloo in 1815, saw him captured by British and German allies. He was exiled to a lonely island, St Helena, in the South Atlantic where he died a sad, solitary man, a few years later.
|
Page last updated 18 February 2005. |
