Part III

Losing an Empire

In this part . . .

E ver hear the old rule of physics that “What goes up must come down”? That seems to be true with empires as well (just ask the Romans!), and it was certainly true with Napoleon’s. As good as he was on the battlefield, he ultimately had just too many enemies arrayed against him. Great Britain kept dashing his hopes on the sea, and his Continental opponents (often paid by the British) just kept coming.

And then there were the mistakes. Some things seem like good ideas at the time but just don’t work out. That was the case with Napoleon’s campaigns in Spain and Russia, which I cover in this part. To “meet your Waterloo” means to meet your ultimate defeat, and in this part I tell you how Napoleon met his. Finally, I relate the rather sad story of Napoleon’s exile and death on the remote island of St. Helena.