1. Japan
   France
2. America

Napoleon was a French general who led his country to the apex of European power in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He is still regarded as one of the best military minds in history.

1. about 4’
   about 5’7"
2. about 4’11"

One myth about Napoleon is that he was short. He was actually 5 feet 7 inches tall, which was very average for his era.

1. an astronomer
   emperor
2. a shoe salesman

Napoleon’s military victories made him a hero in France. He eventually elevated himself to emperor — and he answered to no one.

1. He murdered all other politicians.
   in a coup d’etat
2. through the line of succession

He executed a coup d’etat, forcibly taking political power to augment his military might. He made himself emperor in 1804.

1. Asia
   Australia
2. Austria

At the Battle of Wagram, Napoleon’s men defeated the Austrians. The victory increased the emperor’s grip on the continent’s politics.

1. tribal ceremonies
   coalitions
2. big parties

Nations like Britain and Prussia saw Napoleon’s rise and confronted him with their armies in a series of coalitions. Numerous alliances failed to bring Napoleon to heel.

1. Russia
   United States
2. Libya

In 1812, Napoleon sought to add to his dominion by invading Russia. But things didn’t go quite as he planned.

1. Russia murdered Napoleon.
   France surrendered.
2. France had to withdraw.

French troops were weak and overextended in Moscow. Depleted by winter, the men were forced to withdraw from Moscow, a sign that other Europeon nations took as hope of Napoleon’s lessening power.

1. France’s military suffered major losses.
   Napoleon lost an arm in battle.
2. Vodka supplies ran low.

Napoleon’s invasion of Russia cost him many, many men — troops who would later have been very useful to keep other nations at bay.

1. true
2. false

The French army drove the Russians all the way back to Moscow ... and then they abandoned the great city. Napoleon’s men swarmed in and took the city.

1. They hanged him.
   They exiled him.
2. They kept him as a political puppet.

The allies exiled Napoleon to an island off of the coast of Tuscany. But Napoleon didn’t take his punishment without a fight.

1. He took up karate.
   He became deathly ill.
2. He escaped.

Napoleon decided to escape from exile. He did just that, and was soon back in his home country, ready to take power again.

1. about 1.2 million
   about 320,000
2. about the same number

The Allies were ready for Napoleon this time. They had about 320,000 troops, vastly outnumbering the French, who had just 185,000.

1. Russian spies set it on fire.
   The bridge collapsed from too many panicking soldiers.
2. A French solider blew up the bridge.

As French troops fled across the bridge, a panicky French solider detonated explosives too soon, collapsing the only escape route. Tens of thousands of French troops were forced to surrender.

1. major French defeat
   minor Allied defeat
2. indecisive

At the Battle of Leipzig, the Allies tore through Napoleon’s army. It was a decisive victory for the Allies.

1. He was in school in another country.
   He was a trained assassin.
2. He was an officer in the military.

During the French Revolution, which started in 1789, Napoleon was a promising young officer. The conflict gave him plenty of occasions to shine, and that's exactly what he did.

1. 24
   34
2. 44

The young officer was so brilliant in military matters that he became a general at just 24. And he was just getting warmed up.

1. He won almost every battle.
   He was soundly defeated.
2. He retreated at every turn.

Even at the age of 26 , Napoleon was outmaneuvering enemy generals. He won almost every battle in his first major military campaign.

1. 7
   70
2. 700

Napoleon had plenty of supporters who wanted him out of exile. He and 700 troops escaped Elba and two days later, they landed in France, and Napoleon set off to retake control of the country.

1. outlaw
   psycho
2. creative weirdo

Signed in 1815, the Declaration at the Congress of Vienna basically called Napoleon an outlaw. And the Great Powers decided it was up to them to stop him.

1. They didn’t trust him.
   They admired him.
2. They wanted him to autograph their torsos.

Napoleon’s rise to power upset leaders in Britain, Prussia, and other European nations. They knew Napoleon’s warring ways would affect their countries in one way or another.

1. Ghana
   Spain
2. America

The emperor’s power let him do just about anything he wanted. In 1808, Napoleon installed his brother, Joseph, as king of Spain.

1. USSR and Croatia
   Prussia and Britain
2. U.S. and Turkey

Two armies from the Seventh Coalition — Prussia and Britain — blocked Napoleon’s path. The battle they fought became one of the most famous in human history.

1. The British ran away.
   Reinforcements arrived.
2. Napoleon committed suicide.

British and French forces fought back and forth ... and then vital Prussian reinforements arrived just in time to turn the tide of the battle. The French were crushed.

1. Napoleon was angry about an assassination attempt.
   Napoleon felt that his men were in prime condition.
2. Napoleon wanted to destroy the Allies’ armies before they could invade France.

With the Allies massing against him, Napoleon knew he had to divide and conquer. In March 1815, his army attacked in hopes of capturing Allied armies before they could attack his.

1. United States
   America
2. Seventh Coalition

Napoleon’s unstoppable army finally met its match. The Seventh Coalition pulled off a stunning upset, using superior tactics to stop the French in their tracks.

1. 2
   5
2. 76

The series of five wars that Napoleon’s men fought against the coalitions are called the Napoleonic Wars. In the end, Napoleon finally lost his last war and wound up in exile for a second time.

1. French Civil War
   The Short Guy’s Revenge
2. The Hundred Days

When Napoleon returned from exile, it was the Hundred Days, about the time it took for King Louis XVIII to regain control. It was actually 110 days, but who’s really counting?

1. 10 miles from Los Angeles
   a remote island in the South Pacific
2. right by Hawaii

Napoleon was cast off to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Pacific. He lived in a place called Longwood House, a large house that was in disrepair and definitely not suited for a former emperor.

1. complications of shortness
   hanged
2. cancer

Napoleon’s time in exile didn’t help his health. In 1821, after years of being sequestered in poor conditions, he died from stomach cancer.