Napoleon's Hundred Days

Napoleon's Hundred Days
Name	Hundred Days
Caption	Napoleon Bonaparte, 1815
Location	France, Elba, Belgium
Date	March–July 1815
Result	Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy; exile of Napoleon to Saint Helena

Napoleon's Hundred Days

Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba in 1815 precipitated a dramatic political and military crisis that drew in leading figures and states of the Napoleonic Wars era, including Louis XVIII, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Klemens von Metternich, Alexander I, and representatives of the Congress of Vienna. The period encompassed rapid mobilization, the reconstitution of the French Army, the Waterloo Campaign culminating at the Waterloo, Napoleon's second abdication, and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy under the House of Bourbon.

Background and Return from Elba

In February 1814 the allied armies of Prussia, Russia, Austria, and United Kingdom forced Napoleon to abdicate, leading to his exile on Elba under the terms arranged by representatives such as Talleyrand and diplomats from the Congress of Vienna; meanwhile Louis XVIII was restored as king. While on Elba Napoleon maintained contacts with former marshals like Joachim Murat, Michel Ney, Davout, Lannes (dead by 1815), and Masséna and monitored political developments in France and abroad involving figures such as Karl August von Hardenberg, Bernadotte, and Frederick William III. In March 1815 Napoleon escaped Elba with a small force, landed on the French Riviera, and advanced toward Paris while garnering defection from local commanders, provincial notables, and units led by officers including Michel Ney (initially), Honoré Reille, and Soult.

Political and Military Mobilization

Napoleon's advance prompted immediate responses from political actors such as Louis XVIII, members of the Chamber of Peers, and conservatives allied to the Bourbon monarchy, while former revolutionaries and Bonapartists like Joseph Fouché, Leclerc (dead earlier), and Maret weighed collaboration. Napoleon issued proclamations to citizens and soldiers, reorganized units with leaders including Jean Lannes (posthumous memory), MacDonald, Oudinot, and ministers such as Caulaincourt, establishing a short-lived administration that attracted politicians like Camille Jordan and intellectuals linked to Chateaubriand. Foreign governments, organized under alliances such as the Seventh Coalition, mobilized expeditionary forces commanded by Wellington, Blücher, William II of the Netherlands, Blücher again, and Austrian contingents under leaders like Stadion. The French Army swelled with conscripts and veterans, cavalry officers such as Drouot played roles, and artillery traditions associated with Gribeauval influenced battlefield preparations.

Waterloo Campaign and Defeat

The Waterloo Campaign began as Napoleon sought to divide the Anglo-allied and Prussian armies, initiating engagements at Ligny and skirmishes at Quatre Bras, where commanders including Marshal Ney, Marshal Soult, Duke of Wellington, and Prince of Orange fought. On 16 June 1815 Napoleon defeated Blücher at Ligny while Ney engaged Wellington at Quatre Bras, but failed to destroy either force; subsequent maneuvers culminated in the decisive encounter at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. At Waterloo Napoleon faced Wellington's Anglo-allied army, which included troops from United Kingdom, Kingdom of Hanover, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom of Nassau, and Kingdom of Brunswick, while Blücher's Prussian army arrived late under commanders like Gneisenau and Blücher. Tactical factors such as terrain near Mont-Saint-Jean, the stout defense of positions like Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, and the effective use of heavy cavalry and infantry squares played roles; strategic miscalculations by Napoleon and coordination between Wellington and Blücher led to a rout of the French Army.

Abdication and Surrender

Following the defeat at Waterloo Napoleon retreated to Paris and faced political pressure from ministers, marshals, and deputies including Fouché, Maret, MacDonald, and Davout. On 22 June 1815 he abdicated in favor of his son, the Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte), though real power quickly shifted to the provisional government led by figures such as Fouché and Talleyrand. With allies closing in under orders from the Seventh Coalition and allied forces approaching, Napoleon attempted to flee to the United States via ports like Brest and Rochefort but found passage blocked by Royal Navy patrols controlled by Lord Keith and Sir Edward Pellew. On 15 July 1815 Napoleon surrendered aboard the British warship HMS Bellerophon and was subsequently transported to Torbay before transfer to Saint Helena, under custody of Sir Hudson Lowe.

International Reaction and Restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy

News of Napoleon's return had united the Great Powers—United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Austria—and prompted rapid diplomatic and military coordination led by figures like Klemens von Metternich, Viscount Castlereagh, Tsar Alexander I, and Frederick William III. After Waterloo, the allies issued proclamations and orders including the Second Treaty of Paris, and occupied France to enforce indemnities and territorial adjustments negotiated at the Congress of Vienna. Louis XVIII was restored to the throne, supported by royalists, émigrés, and foreign occupation forces, while many Bonapartists faced exile, arrest, or integration into institutions under the restored monarchy. The allied powers sought legal and political measures, influenced by diplomats such as Talleyrand and statesmen like Talleyrand (listed twice historically), to secure the postwar settlement and prevent future Bonapartist resurgence.

Legacy and Historical Assessment

The Hundred Days shaped 19th-century European diplomacy, military doctrine, and nationalism; its outcomes influenced later figures and institutions including Bismarck (later), the evolution of the French Army, and the careers of commanders like Wellington and Blücher whose reputations were cemented. Historians debate Napoleon's strategic choices, the cohesion of the Seventh Coalition, and the role of political actors such as Fouché and Talleyrand in the fall of the Hundred Days, with scholarship engaging archives in Paris, London, Vienna, and Berlin. Cultural and memorial legacies include representations in works by Victor Hugo, military studies referencing the Napoleonic Wars, and monuments across Belgium and France commemorating battles like Waterloo and Ligny.

Category:Napoleonic Wars Category:1815 in France