Lets Trail

Napoleons
Hundred Days
by
Pier Kuipers

Lets Trail Travel

Guides to travel in the
paths of great lives

Timeline

Timeline
15 August 1769
18 May 1804
11 April 1814

Napoleon born in Ajaccio, Corsica

Emperor of the French
Abdication and exile to Elba

TRAIL PART I ELBA

4 May 1814
26 February 1815

Exile in Elba begins

Napoleon escapes from Elba

TRAIL PART II ROUTE NAPOLON

1 March 1815
2 March 1815
3 March 1815
4 March 1815
5 March 1815
6 March 1815
7 March 1815
8 March 1815

Landing at Golfe-Juan and bivouac in Cannes

Journey via Grasse, Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey and
Escragnolles to Sranon
Through Castellane and over the Col des Lques to
Barrme
Trek through the mountains via La Clappe and
Digne to Malijai
Through Volonne and Sisteron to Gap
Late start through Les Baraques to Corps
Mass defection of soldiers who join Napoleon at
Laffrey; Entry into Grenoble
Day of rest and troop review in Grenoble

TRAIL PART III PARIS TO GRENOBLE

9 March 1815
10 March 1815
11-12 March 1815
13 March 1815
14 March 1815
15 March 1815
16 March 1815
17 March 1815
18 March 1815
19 March 1815
20 March 1815

Departure from Grenoble

Entry into Lyon
Stay in Lyon for troop reviews and administrative
tasks
Napoleon declared an outlaw by the Allies. Arrival
at Villefranche-sur-Sane, overnight at Mcon
Tournus, overnight at Chalon-sur-Sane
Arrival at Autun
Overnight at Avallon at the Hostellerie de la Poste
Arrival and overnight at Auxerre
Reunited with Marshal Ney at Auxerre
Joigny, Sens; Overnight at Pont-sur-Yonne
Passing through Montereau-Fault-Yonne and
Moret

LETS TRAIL NAPOLEONS 100 DAYS

TRAIL PART IV PARIS

20 March 1815
25 March 1815
April 1815
8 April 1815
1 June 1815

Arrival at Fontainebleau; Late night entry into

Paris and arrival at the Tuileries
Start of the War of the Seventh Coalition
Napoleon moves into the lyse palace
Start of general mobilisation
Champ de Mai festivities on the Champ de Mars

PART V INVASION OF BELGIUM

3 June 1815
12 June 1815
13 June 1815
14 June 1815
15 June 1815
16 June 1815

Napoleon issues orders to prepare for attack to the

North
Napoleon leaves the lyse for Soissons;
Overnight at Laon
Overnight at Avesnes
Overnight at Beaumont
Capture of Charleroi
Battle of Quatre Bras; Battle of Ligny

PART VI WATERLOO
18 June 1815
19 June 1815

Napoleon defeated at Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Wavre

EPILOGUE
21 June 1815
25 June 1815
29 June 1815
15 July 1815
October 1815
5 May 1821

Return to Paris
Move to Malmaison
Move to Rochefort
Transport to England
Exiled to St. Helena
Napoleon dies on St. Helena

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Overview of Trail

Napoleons Hundred Days Trail

There is no sacrifice, not even that of life, which I am not ready to make
for the interests of France. With those words, Napoleon Bonaparte
abdicated the throne of his French Empire on 11 April 1814. After the
disastrous retreat of his Grande Arme from Russia with heavy losses
and the invasion of France by Allied troops, his generals revolted and
forced his abdication at Fontainebleau.
Born on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, Napoleon had worked his
way up through the ranks of the French army to become the leader of his
adoptive country, ultimately crowning himself Emperor of the French in
1804. He established a vast empire that spanned most of Europe and his
influence is felt to this day. After years of wars and French conquests,
the Allied forces of his enemies in Europe finally got the better of him.
Following his abdication, Napoleon was sent into exile to the island of
Elba, off the coast of Italy. How could a man like Napoleon be content
with ruling a small island of only 12,000 inhabitants, an island he
referred to as a pebble? It would be impossible for someone who had
crowned himself emperor and dominated almost all of Europe for many
years to accept such a sedate and quiet retirement at the age of just 45.
The absence of power after years of celebrity and adulation would have
been a torture for him to accept and his enemies would have been wise to
understand that.
Napoleon also feared that his opponents were planning to send him
further afield St. Helena had already been mentioned. So while he
worked to improve Elba, closely watched over by his English guard, he
also spent his time plotting his escape and planned his return to France in
triumph; it must have been intoxicating and gratifying to be welcomed as
a returning hero. Some historians claim that his invasion of Belgium was
planned while he was still on Elba.
The remarkable sequence of events that saw Napoleon escape from Elba,
return triumphantly to Paris and finally meet his destiny at Waterloo
were to become known as The Hundred Days and that is where we
pick up the trail in this title of the Lets Trail series.

Elba
Napoleon arrived on the tiny island of Elba on 4 May 1814 to commence
his life in exile. He kept a close eye on developments back home in
France and soon became aware of the publics growing dissatisfaction

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LETS TRAIL NAPOLEONS 100 DAYS

with their new King Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI who had
famously fallen victim to the guillotine, along with his queen Marie
Antoinette.
While planning his escape, Napoleon managed to leave an indelible
mark on Elba and although he only stayed for 9 months, his presence can
still be felt today. On our trail, we will visit several locations in and
around the old town of the capital Portoferraio associated with Napoleon,
including his Mulini palace overlooking the bay, his country residence
San Martino located outside the town and even his love nest Madonna
del Monte near the village of Marciana. The ancient Sea Gate at the pier
in Portoferraios old harbour sets the scene for Napoleons embarkation
on 26 February 1815, when he finally took the gamble to re-conquer his
throne with a miniscule army of just 1,000 men.

The Route Napolon

Napoleon landed on 1 March 1815 at Golfe Juan on the French Rivira
between Antibes and Cannes. To avoid a confrontation with those loyal
to the newly restored royal family and also to increase the element of
surprise, Napoleon decided not to travel on the main road to Paris, but to
take a treacherous path through the Alps instead. This path became one
of Europes first tourist trails in 1932, and we can now follow in
Napoleons footsteps from Golfe Juan to Grenoble along the Route
Napolon, a 325km stretch of what is todays N85.
The Route will take us through small towns and villages, over mountain
tops and along river gorges, all part of some of the most beautiful
landscapes in France. Most of us will do the journey by car but we
should try and remember that Napoleon and most of his followers
covered the entire distance on foot, having sailed from Elba without
bringing any horses. They arrived in Grenoble after a gruelling six-day
march, which amounts to more than 50 kilometers per day.
For the more adventurous trailers among us, some stretches of the route
can still be travelled on foot, where the track has remained largely
unchanged since 1815. Places where Napoleon rested or dined are
marked along the way we can take a break in lAuberge La Vie Est
Belle in Escragnolles just like Napoleon did, enjoy a pizza in the Pizzeria
Napolon in Tavernolles, or dine in style in the Auberge Napolon in
Grenoble.

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Overview of Trail

Grenoble to Paris
The journey becomes easier for Napoleon and his growing army. Passing
through Lyon, we will visit several other noteworthy cities and villages,
some as part of Napoleons journey back to Paris, some because of other
connections with his life and times. In Avallon we can stay in the same
hotel where Napoleon stayed and take a look in the room where he spent
the night. In the tiny hamlet of Annoux we can see how the news of
Napoleons return was transmitted over long distances without
electricity.

Paris
Of course no other city bears the signs of Napoleons influence more
than Paris. King Louis fled before him as the Emperor reclaimed his
throne on 20 March 1815 - the official start date of the Hundred Days.
Responsible for the construction of some of the most famous landmarks
in the French capital the Arc de Triomphe and the column on the
Place Vendme among them there are countless other buildings and
monuments linked to Napoleon.
The Chateau of Fontainebleau outside Paris and Napoleons tomb at les
Invalides are well known must-see attractions on this trail but there
are numerous other sites to visit that may not be so familiar, such as the
statue of Marshal Ney on the Boulevard Montparnasse and Josephines
mansion at Malmaison.

The Invasion of Belgium

The leaders of Europe were assembled at the Congress of Vienna to
discuss the post-Napoleonic shape of their continent when the news
reached them that the Monster had escaped from Elba. They declared
him an outlaw and rejected his half-hearted peace offers and before
long Europe was once again preparing for war. Rather than wait for an
inevitable Allied attack, Napoleon decided to strike first and invade
Belgium, where troops from various nations were gathering at the
border.
Like Napoleon before us, we swiftly move from Paris through Northern
France. The famous Battle of Waterloo should not be seen as an isolated
clash between two armies, but rather as the climax of four days of drama
that began when Napoleon crossed the border into Belgium at Charleroi
on 15 June 1815. We visit the sites of the bloody battles of Ligny and

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LETS TRAIL NAPOLEONS 100 DAYS

Quatre Bras that preceded Waterloo, encountering countless reminders
of Napoleons passing.

Waterloo
On Sunday, 18 June 1815, Napoleon famously met his destiny at
Waterloo. More than 150,000 men fought a ferocious battle on an area of
just a few square kilometers, with 40,000 casualties in a single day. As
one of the best preserved battlefields in Europe, and benefiting from
activities surrounding the bicentenary commemorations in 2015, there is
lots to see and do in this final section of our trail.
We can walk around Napoleons last headquarters in Le Caillou, climb
the landmark Lion Mound with fantastic views of the battlefield, or even
dance the night away in La Belle Alliance where the victorious
commanders supposedly shook hands after Napoleons defeat.
The town of Waterloo itself is where our trail ends. Napoleon rushed
back to Paris where he abdicated for a second and final time, ending up
banished to Saint Helena where he died in 1821. Pondering the
monuments of British, Dutch, German and many other nationalities in
the Church of Saint Joseph, we remember Victor Hugos description of
the battlefield of Waterloo in Les Misrables as we spot the solitary
French memorial:
There is no French tomb. The whole of that plain is a sepulchre for
France.

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Overview of Trail

Fig. 1. Trail map: Elba to Waterloo

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