Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France in 1805 and died in 1821 at the age of 51. Many people would have preferred that he had retired at 35.

Napoleon did accomplish many worthwhile deeds. For instance, it was while he was in power that he appointed an architect to devise a new plan for the city of Paris. This was when the many wide boulevards were constructed, radiating out from the Arc de Triomphe. If you have been to Paris, I am sure you were amazed at the width of the Champs Elysées Boulevard.

Napoleon also organized the French laws which are now referred to as the Napoleonic Code. These are used by many countries throughout the world, including our own Province of Québec.

Nevertheless, Napoleon is usually remembered for his two major defeats.

When you are in London and want to arrange to meet a friend, you will usually pick Nelson's statue in Trafalgar Square. This square was built to commemorate the naval battle fought near Cape Trafalgar. Using a plan devised by Nelson, the British Fleet was able to defeat the allied French and Spanish fleets without the loss of a single ship.

Unfortunately Nelson lost his life after being struck by a bullet fired from one of the French ships. Nelson would have preferred that Napoleon had retired at 35.

The second battle that Napoleon lost was his campaign to conquer Russia. He raised an army of 600,000 men and set out to capture Moscow. He used the same technique that he had used with great success in many other battles. First he would determine the weakest point in the enemy's defences and attack with all his strength. In order to reach the point of attack quickly, he devised a new method. He divided his army into smaller units; each would advance on a different road. This technique prevented congestion and allowed rapid movement of his soldiers.

Another innovation was not to include units to provide food supplies for his men. They were instructed to live off the land. As they advanced, each town would have to supply food and lodging for the soldiers. This allowed his men to advance twice as fast as they could have if they had to bring all their supplies with them.

Unfortunately, in the Russian campaign, this method proved to be disastrous. There were very few good roads in Russia, so trying to move an army of 600,000 men was a catastrophe. In addition, the Russians employed a scorched earth policy as they retreated. They burnt everything that could be of value to the French army, including food.

By the time Napoleon reached Moscow, his men were suffering from malnutrition, exhaustion, and disease. He realized that his men could not survive a Russian winter without shelter or food so he ordered his army to retreat. By the time they returned to France, his army had been reduced to 20,000 men. Contrary to popular belief, he did not lose most of his men during the retreat. Most of the casualties occurred during his advance to Moscow; they were defeated by the scorched earth policy of the Russians. Napoleon lost 10,000 horses during the first month of the advance because there was not enough food for the animals.

Napoleon's defeat in the Russian campaign was instrumental in his being deposed as Emperor and exiled to the island of Elba. It was there that he uttered the now famous palindrome, "Able was ere I saw Elba". (A palindrome is a word that is spelled the same backward or forward, for example: mom, level, and racecar.) Napoleon's palindrome is rare because the complete sentence is spelled the same backward or forward.

I am sure that, in hindsight, Napoleon would have preferred to lose his palindrome in exchange for his loss in Russia!

---