A truly dramatic moment in history occurred on April 20, 1814, as Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and would-be ruler of Europe said goodbye to the Old Guard after his failed invasion of Russia and defeat by the Allies.

By that time, Napoleon had ruled France and surrounding countries for twenty years. Originally an officer in the French Army, he had risen to become Emperor amid the political chaos¹ following the French Revolution in which the old ruling order of French kings and nobility had been destroyed.

Napoleon built a 500,000 strong Grand Army which used modern tactics and improvisation² in battle to sweep across Europe and acquire an Empire for France.

But in 1812, the seemingly invincible³ Napoleon made the fateful decision to invade Russia. He advanced deep into that vast country, eventually reaching Moscow in September. He found Moscow had been burned by the Russians and could not support the hungry French Army over the long winter. Thus Napoleon was forced to begin a long retreat, and saw his army decimated to a mere⁴ 20,000 men by the severe Russian winter and chaos in the ranks.

England, Austria, and Prussia then formed an alliance with Russia against Napoleon, who rebuilt his armies and won several minor⁵ victories over the Allies, but was soundly defeated in a three-day battle at Leipzig. On March 30, 1814, Paris was captured by the Allies. Napoleon then lost the support of most of his generals and was forced to abdicate⁶ on April 6, 1814.

In the courtyard at Fontainebleau, Napoleon bid farewell to the remaining faithful officers of the Old Guard...

Soldiers of my Old Guard: I bid you farewell. For twenty years I have constantly accompanied you on the road to honor and glory. In these latter times, as in the days of our prosperity, you have invariably been models of courage and fidelity⁷. With men such as you our cause could not be lost; but the war would have been interminable; it would have been civil war, and that would have entailed⁸ deeper misfortunes on France.
I have sacrificed all of my interests to those of the country.
I go, but you, my friends, will continue to serve France. Her happiness was my only thought. It will still be the object of my wishes. Do not regret my fate; if I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory. I intend to write the history of the great achievements we have performed together. Adieu, my friends. Would I could press you all to my heart.

Napoleon Bonaparte - April 20, 1814

Following this, Napoleon was sent into exile on the little island of Elba off the coast of Italy. But ten months later, in March of 1815, he escaped back into France. Accompanied by a thousand men from his Old Guard he marched toward Paris and gathered an army of supporters along the way.

Once again, Napoleon assumed the position of Emperor, but it lasted only a 100 days until the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815, where he was finally defeated by the combined English and Prussian armies.

A month later he was sent into exile on the island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa. On May 5, 1821, the former vain-glorious Emperor died alone on the tiny island abandoned by everyone. In 1840 his body was taken back to France and buried in Paris.