Napoléon Bonaparte leaves Elba to start 100 day re-conquest of France

On 26 February 1815, Napoléon Bonaparte and his loyalists clandestinely left Elba, embarking on a daring return to France that would spark the legendary Hundred Days

Desk Report

Publisted at 8:43 AM, Wed Feb 26th, 2025

On 26 February 1815, under the shroud of night, Napoléon Bonaparte and a devoted band of roughly a thousand loyalists slipped past British surveillance and departed the rocky confines of Elba, setting their sights on the shores of France.

Exiled but unbowed, the erstwhile Emperor—driven by an indomitable will and an unquenched thirst for power—embarked upon what would become one of history’s most audacious political and military comebacks.

With the tricolour fluttering defiantly, his small yet fervent force braved the perilous waters of the Mediterranean, determined to reclaim an empire that had cast him aside.

This bold escapade would ignite the tumultuous Hundred Days, a brief yet seismic chapter that would see Napoléon march triumphantly to Paris, sending Europe once more into the throes of war.

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