Napoleon's Rise and Fall

Napoleon went from artillery officer to Emperor of most of Europe in just fifteen years,

then lost it all because of three catastrophic mistakes. First, he tried to economically

destroy Britain by banning all European trade with them. It backfired spectacularly. Continental Europe

suffered while Britain's economy actually doubled. Second, Spain turned into

a nightmare. What should have been a quick invasion became a five-year guerrilla war that

drained French resources. Third, the Russian invasion. He marched in with six hundred thousand

troops. Only one hundred thousand made it back alive. The Russians just

burned everything and let winter do the rest. By 1815, Napoleon was exiled