Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Western SIV, episode five hundred and eleven,
Speaker 1: one hundred days. So this time our story begins in
Speaker 1: February in eighteen fifteen. We can imagine a restless wind
Speaker 1: whipping across the Italian coast and the rattling the shutters
Speaker 1: of a villa that had now served as Napoleon bonaparts
Speaker 1: quite gilded prison on the island of Elba. He would
Speaker 1: have risen from his bed, already in his uniform, ready
Speaker 1: to go. His empire was gone, his dynasty destroyed. But
Speaker 1: in his mind the game wasn't over, because that day
Speaker 1: he got up with purpose. For months he had walked
Speaker 1: around Elba, listening to the rumors carried by smugglers and
Speaker 1: ship captains that Louis the eighteenth that restored Bourbon king
Speaker 1: in Paris was quickly losing the confidence of veterans. The
Speaker 1: French economy was in tatters. Taxes returned old aristocrats, the
Speaker 1: exiles of the revolution stepped back into offices with cold condescension.
Speaker 1: In the army, that is, Napoleon's old army felt neglected, underappreciated,
Speaker 1: and in some cases, openly threatened. Napoleon read these signs
Speaker 1: very much like a gambler watching the turn of a card,
Speaker 1: and there it was. On that day, February twenty sixth,
Speaker 1: eighteen fifteen, with scarcely one thousand men and a handful
Speaker 1: of cannons, he boarded a ship and slipped past the
Speaker 1: British patrols. The coastline of Elba shrank before him, and
Speaker 1: he turned to his officers, declaring, France will welcome us.
Speaker 1: The eagle will rise again. On March the first, Napoleon
Speaker 1: came ashore and a small beach near antibase, the southern
Speaker 1: sun glittering off of his uniform. There was no crowd,
Speaker 1: of course, but Napoleon didn't need crowds. He only needed
Speaker 1: time and the power of his reputation, and so he
Speaker 1: set off north through the Alps, following a route reminiscent
Speaker 1: of his Italian campaign. Every village he passed seemed to
Speaker 1: stir from its winter slumber. All around him, veterans came
Speaker 1: out of taverns to stare at him, peasants whispered his name,
Speaker 1: and by the time he reached Grenoble, royal troops finally
Speaker 1: intercepted him. And this is where what is really a
Speaker 1: historical account starts to turn more and more into a legend.
Speaker 1: Napoleon stepped forward alone, taking off his coat to reveal
Speaker 1: his familiar gray uniform beneath. Raising his voice, he walked
Speaker 1: out calmly to the soldiers assembled to arrest him, and announced, soldiers,
Speaker 1: if there is one among you who wishes to kill
Speaker 1: his emperor, here I am. Then instead of a shot,
Speaker 1: there came a shout, and then another, and then another,
Speaker 1: and then another. Within moments, the line of bayonets melted away,
Speaker 1: the tricolar cockades came out of hiding, and soldiers rushed forward,
Speaker 1: chanting Vive l Empire. The march to Paris became little
Speaker 1: more than a triumphal procession. Louis the eighteenth fled the capitol,
Speaker 1: and on the twentieth of March, Napoleon entered the Tulery's palace,
Speaker 1: once again, greeted by jubilant crowds. For the first and
Speaker 1: last time, he reclaimed his throne without firing a single shot.
Speaker 1: But of course, this jubilation couldn't hide a painful truth.
Speaker 1: Europe was never going to accept a resurrected Napoleon. Inside Paris,
Speaker 1: Napoleon found a nation transformed. The revolution had matured constitutional
Speaker 1: ideas were stronger. His own authoritarian rule was no longer
Speaker 1: universally desired. Many wanted liberty just as much as they
Speaker 1: wanted glory. The chambers the new legislative bodies watched him warily,
Speaker 1: and so the man who once dissolved assemblies with a
Speaker 1: scowl now tried a slightly different approach. He issued the
Speaker 1: Acte Adicional, a kind of modified constitution designed to protect
Speaker 1: civil liberties, a free press, and a more representative government.
Speaker 1: It was an attempt at reconciliation, a new face on
Speaker 1: an old regime. But of course politics was never Napoleon's
Speaker 1: strongest battlefield, and diplomacy was even worse. At the Congress
Speaker 1: of Vienna, which had already begun in an effort to
Speaker 1: try to put Europe back together after the Napoleonic Wars,
Speaker 1: the crown heads of Europe reacted to the news of
Speaker 1: Napoleon's escaped with little more than stunned horror. One Austrian
Speaker 1: diplomat scribbled, the devil is loosened from his chain. On
Speaker 1: March the thirteenth, the Continental powers declared Napoleon outlaw, quote
Speaker 1: beyond the pale of civil and social relations, and mobilized
Speaker 1: to massive armies, Wellington's Anglo Dutch and Prussian forces in
Speaker 1: the north. Meanwhile, the Austrians and Russians began to mass
Speaker 1: to strike from the east. Now Napoleon understood the numbers.
Speaker 1: He knew he needed speed, surprise, and a decisive blow
Speaker 1: before all of these coalitions could unite. He needed one
Speaker 1: more campaign, one last campaign, to secure his throne. So,
Speaker 1: despite the fact that defense would seem like the order
Speaker 1: of the day, on June the twelfth, Napoleon left Paris
Speaker 1: for the northern frontier. There the roads teemed with veterans
Speaker 1: eager to fight for him again. Some kissed the tricolor flags,
Speaker 1: others marched barefoot just to rejoin the Eagles. Regardless, the
Speaker 1: plan was brilliant in its simplicity. He would strike Belgium
Speaker 1: before the allies fully assembled. He would crush the Duke
Speaker 1: of Wellington, in charge of the Anglo Dutch army, and
Speaker 1: then he would crush Bluecher, in charge of the Prussian forces.
Speaker 1: If he could hit them separately, then he could force
Speaker 1: a negotiating peace. Now, the opening moves went extremely well
Speaker 1: for Napoleon. At Legner on June sixteenth, he smashed Blucher's Prussians,
Speaker 1: throwing the old marshal from his horse. Yet the Prussians
Speaker 1: this time didn't shatter. They retreated in good order and
Speaker 1: went all the way back. Now, meanwhile at Coutre Brass,
Speaker 1: Marshal Ney failed to crush Wellington when he had the chance,
Speaker 1: and so the threads of Napoleon's strategy started to loosen.
Speaker 1: Wellington withdrew to a ridge south of a quiet village
Speaker 1: called Waterloo, a place whose name would echo across the centuries.
Speaker 1: The morning of June eighteenth, eighteen fifteen would open like
Speaker 1: a curtain of gray wool. There were thick clouds everywhere,
Speaker 1: which will play a factor in the battle to come
Speaker 1: over Belgian's rolling farmland. And the previous night there had
Speaker 1: been a thunderous storm. Mud clung to everything, It swallowed
Speaker 1: up sound, and it slowed movement. It was, in every
Speaker 1: sense of the idea, a terrible place to fight the
Speaker 1: battle that would decide the fate of Europe. The Battle
Speaker 1: of Waterloo would be absolutely decisive and would change the
Speaker 1: course of European history. And it was a I'll tell
Speaker 1: you now. The Duke of Wellington was in charge of
Speaker 1: one branch of the Coalition army, the Anglo Dutch. He
Speaker 1: had chosen his ground with a veteran's eye. His troops,
Speaker 1: British regulars, Hanovians, Dutch, Belgians and contingents from Buenziic and
Speaker 1: Nassau were positioned along a ridge behind the village of
Speaker 1: moss Ejean, their line gently sloping downward toward the French.
Speaker 1: The crest of the ridge concealed thousands of his soldiers,
Speaker 1: allowing him to shift men. Unseen. To his right laid
Speaker 1: the fortified farmhouse of Huguemont, a brick walled estate surrounded
Speaker 1: by orchards and totally impenetrable. To the center, the hamlet
Speaker 1: of Laja Saint, its stone walls sturdy but vulnerable, and
Speaker 1: on the far left a cluster of buildings around Papalette
Speaker 1: anchored the line. Wellington inspected his troops, and, with characteristic reserve,
Speaker 1: he was calm, almost detached, his words carrying weight. He
Speaker 1: declared boldly, hard pounding gentlemen, Let's see who pounds hardest.
Speaker 1: Across the valley. Napoleon surveyed the Allied line from his horse.
Speaker 1: He had been now in countless battles, but this one
Speaker 1: was meant to be his redemption, but the Prussians had
Speaker 1: been battered days before, and Napoleon believed they were too
Speaker 1: far off to intervene. He was wrong, but his whole
Speaker 1: strategy was simple, crush Wellington and force Europe back to
Speaker 1: the negotiating table. As the rain began finally to taper off,
Speaker 1: the Emperor gave the signal at eleven thirty am. The
Speaker 1: French guns roared in Unison, more than two hundred cannons
Speaker 1: firing across the valley. The earth convulsed with each blast.
Speaker 1: French skirmishers pushed forward through the wheat fields, their dark
Speaker 1: uniforms flickering through the smoke. But the mud had changed
Speaker 1: the battle. Cannonballs buried themselves instead of ricocheting. Artillery carriages sank,
Speaker 1: and the attack that Napoleon had planned to begin at
Speaker 1: dawn was now starting late, which gave the Prussians precious
Speaker 1: hours to get there. Feet splashing mud glistening with moisture,
Speaker 1: the French assault surged towards Huguemont. What began as a
Speaker 1: diversion quickly turned into an inferno of close quartered combat.
Speaker 1: French columns shouting viva. The empros charged the orchard walls
Speaker 1: British guardsmen fired down from windows and loopholes. Inside the courtyard,
Speaker 1: Flames licked the timber as French shells ignited, roofs and
Speaker 1: hay burst into flames. An infamous door in the north
Speaker 1: gate became quite literally a funnel of death. French troops
Speaker 1: burst it open for an instant, only to be pushed
Speaker 1: back by a handful of guardsmen who slammed it again.
Speaker 1: Captain Alexander MacDonald later wrote that it was the closest
Speaker 1: run thing he had ever seen. Napoleon wanted to Wellington instead.
Speaker 1: Huge Mahm became a magnet that drew in thousands of
Speaker 1: French soldiers and would grind them down over the next
Speaker 1: nine hours. But it was the center where the true
Speaker 1: action was and where the battle was decided. The core
Speaker 1: of Napoleon's plan depended on cracking Wellington's line. This task
Speaker 1: fell to the d'arlan de first Corpse. Tens of thousands
Speaker 1: of infantry advancing in massive column formations. They marched uphill
Speaker 1: through wheat slick with rain bayonets glimmering in the light.
Speaker 1: The site would have been I'm sure terrifying. Four colossal formations,
Speaker 1: each looking like a moving solid block of steel from
Speaker 1: the distance. Now, Wellington gave the order to wait until
Speaker 1: they were close, and then unleashed musket volleys from behind
Speaker 1: the ridge. The Allied troops rose from the verse slope
Speaker 1: as if the earth itself opened, and the two lines
Speaker 1: met in a thunderish clash. British volleys, French drums, shouts, screams,
Speaker 1: and all along the lines the terrible, terrible sounds of death. Then,
Speaker 1: just from behind a hedge, the British heavy Cavalry, the
Speaker 1: Scot's Gray and Household Brigade charged. Their horses churned the
Speaker 1: mud as they slammed into the French columns, scattering men
Speaker 1: like leaves before them. A sergeant would later claim that
Speaker 1: he seized a French eagle in the melee, a symbol
Speaker 1: of enormous pride. But the cavalry, carried away by momentum,
Speaker 1: pressed too far. French lancers counterattacked, cutting many down. The
Speaker 1: field once again dissolved into chaos, a swirling struggle with
Speaker 1: no clear winner. We get through it all, at least
Speaker 1: for the moment, Wellington's line held. By mid afternoon, at
Speaker 1: the crossroads in the center of his line, Wellington's defense
Speaker 1: depended on the German riflemen stationed at Las Sen. For hours,
Speaker 1: they held off repeated French assaults, but around three pm
Speaker 1: they started to run out of ammunition. They sent an
Speaker 1: urgent message for resupply, but it never came. French infantrymen
Speaker 1: stormed the farm and captured it after brutal fighting. The
Speaker 1: tri color rose above the walls, and suddenly Napoleon could
Speaker 1: push up his artillery and rein it down directly upon
Speaker 1: the British center. The French guns opened a murderous barrage.
Speaker 1: Shells burst all along the field, and units broke and fled.
Speaker 1: Officers died trying to rally their men. Wellington seemed like
Speaker 1: he was everywhere at once, according to reports, stealing himself.
Speaker 1: But one question continued to haunt him as he called
Speaker 1: out to his men, where were the Prussians now. Marshall
Speaker 1: Nay at this point, about four o'clock in the afternoon,
Speaker 1: believed that the battle was one that the Allies were retreating,
Speaker 1: but he mistook the movement of wounded men and supply
Speaker 1: wagons as a withdrawal without infantry support. Without Napoleon's explicit orders,
Speaker 1: he committed nearly the entire French cavalry to a massive assault.
Speaker 1: This time more than nine thousand horsemens thundered across the valley.
Speaker 1: It was one of the most spectacular cavalry charges in
Speaker 1: European history, the earth shaking under hoofs, but Wellington's men
Speaker 1: didn't break. They formed tight infantry squares, bristling with bayonets
Speaker 1: on all sides. Cavalry cannot break those squares, can only
Speaker 1: terrify the men. Wave after wave of French horsemen encircled
Speaker 1: the squares, firing pistols, slashing with swords, but there were
Speaker 1: no gaps. The squares held firm, and by the time
Speaker 1: that the charge ended, Ney had lost thousands of riders
Speaker 1: and he had gained literally nothing. The battle was tipping
Speaker 1: away from Napoleon, and he knew it. And then from
Speaker 1: the woods to the east of the French line came
Speaker 1: a sound like distant thunder. It was early evening and
Speaker 1: the Prussians had arrived. Marshall Blucher, bruised and battered from Ligner,
Speaker 1: had kept his promise, writing I will come, By God,
Speaker 1: I shall come. His lead units slammed in a Napoleon's
Speaker 1: right flank. The French Young Guard counterattack streets turned into
Speaker 1: killing zones. Houses burned and men fought with bayonets and doorways.
Speaker 1: Napoleon was now forced to divert more troops, including parts
Speaker 1: of his old elite Guard, away from the main battlefield
Speaker 1: to stave off the Prussians. Every man sent east week
Speaker 1: at his central line against Wellington and Wellington he knew it.
Speaker 1: At seven point thirty pm he tried his last gasp.
Speaker 1: With dusk approaching and the battle slipping from his grasp,
Speaker 1: Napoleon made one final gamble. He ordered his most feared soldiers,
Speaker 1: the Imperial Guard, to advance uphill and smash Wellington's exhausted center.
Speaker 1: They marched in perfect order, drums beating, eagles held high.
Speaker 1: Even the Allied troops felt a chill at the sight.
Speaker 1: These were veterans of all of Napoleon's greatest battles, Osterlis,
Speaker 1: Jenner Wagram, men who had never experienced a defeat. The
Speaker 1: French Guard quickly crested over the hill and British troops
Speaker 1: rose to meet them. Volley after volley tore into the
Speaker 1: French ranks, but they continued to come forward. At last,
Speaker 1: the British guards, hidden until the last moment, stood up
Speaker 1: and unleashed a devastating blast of musket fire. The Royal
Speaker 1: guards staggered, officers fell, and then the impossible happened. Napoleon's
Speaker 1: vaunted Imperial Guard simply melted away. A shout went up
Speaker 1: from across the line, lead Richieu, the Guard is retreating.
Speaker 1: Panic spread through the French army, and the retreat became
Speaker 1: a route. As darkness crept over the battlefield, Bluecher's Prussians
Speaker 1: pressed the fleeing French. Napoleon tried to rally his men,
Speaker 1: but even he could not stop the collapse. His last
Speaker 1: army had well and truly resolved. Wellington and Blucher met
Speaker 1: late that night among the wounded and dead. They shook hands,
Speaker 1: knowing that the war was over. Napoleon's empire, revived for
Speaker 1: a mere one hundred days, was now shattered beyond repair.
Speaker 1: The fields of Waterloo were now strewn with nearly fifty
Speaker 1: thousand casualties, men who had marched from every corner of
Speaker 1: Europe to decide the continent's fate in a single day.
Speaker 1: The mud, the smoke, the shouts of triumph and agony
Speaker 1: all faded into history, But of course, the consequences of
Speaker 1: the battle that did not. Napoleon now fled to Paris,
Speaker 1: hoping to rally political support, but the chambers refused him,
Speaker 1: even old loyalists since the end. He abdicated, this time
Speaker 1: for good on June the twenty second, in favor of
Speaker 1: his young son, the King of Rome, though this title
Speaker 1: meant nothing in a new Europe. He attempted to escape
Speaker 1: to America, but he found British ports waiting at every turn,
Speaker 1: and so he surrendered to the captain of the HMS Belrathon, declaring,
Speaker 1: I come, like the Mystoicles, to throw myselves on the
Speaker 1: hospitality of the British people. Hospitality isn't what he got.
Speaker 1: The British exiled Napoleon, this time to the distant Saint Helena,
Speaker 1: a lonely volcanic rock in the South Atlantic. This time
Speaker 1: there would be no armies, no councils, just wind, ocean
Speaker 1: and the memory of things that could never come back. Here,
Speaker 1: the man who had once ruled continent dictated his memoirs
Speaker 1: and rewrote his legend. The one hundred Days was not
Speaker 1: merely a return to power. It was a test of
Speaker 1: everything that Napoleon had become and what France had become
Speaker 1: without him. It revealed a nation torn between glory and
Speaker 1: constitutional promise, between the past and the future. For Europe,
Speaker 1: this was the final reckoning. The Napoleonic era had been
Speaker 1: a storm. Waterloo allowed the victors to build decades of
Speaker 1: relative peace, But Napoleon, even defeated, refused to be forgotten.
Speaker 1: His legend grew in exile, and the one hundred Days
Speaker 1: would become a story of audacity, charisma, and frankly impossible ambition.
Speaker 1: And for the victors, now was the opportunity to carve
Speaker 1: up Europe in the way that they sought fit. Next
Speaker 1: week turn to the beginning of that story, to the
Speaker 1: Council of Vienna, and to a new nineteenth century Europe,
Speaker 1: dawning and ready to truly enter modernity.