The directory «Plots of stamps in the catalogue»

Handred days
1815

This was the last campaign of the Napoleonic Wars and finally ended Napoleon Bonaparte's dreams of remaining emperor of France. It began with Bonaparte's now legendary escape from his exile on the island of Elba to a France that had quickly become disenchanted with the returned Bourbon king Louis XVIII. The former emperor landed near Cannes with 600 guardsmen of his bodyguard and moved towards Grenoble where he was confronted by men of the 5th Regiment, which had been sent to arrest him. Advancing alone Bonaparte said: "Soldiers of the 5th. You can shoot your emperor if you dare." None did. As he advanced on Paris his military force grew with thousands of old soldiers and regular troops flocking to his banner. So many, in fact, that a notice appeared in the Place Vendome in Paris: "From Napoleon to Louis XVIII. My good brother - there is no need to send any more troops - I have enough." On March 19, the Bourbons fled for Belgium and a day later Bonaparte took government and began preparations for the Allied military onslaught he knew would come. Two months after his return to France Bonaparte had an army of 280,000 men, with half again due within another two months. Impressive though that force was, it would be moved upon by Allied armies filled with almost 1,000,000 men. Initially, however, only England's Duke of Wellington (110,000 men) and Prussia's Field Marshal Blucher (120,000) were close enough to threaten France and so Bonaparte decided to strike before the numbers told against him. Moving with stunning speed, he invaded Belgium with 125,000 men in a bid to split Wellington and Blucher's armies and defeat each separately. The strategic plan worked brilliantly and, picking the Prussians as his first target, he despatched Marshal Ney to hold off the Anglo-Allied force. Bonaparte attacked the Prussians at Ligny on 16 June and ordered Ney to advance towards Quatre Bras and do the same if Wellington's forces came within reach. The struggle for Ligny was a brutal affair and the day long struggle ended with the Prussians losing 16,000 killed and wounded and a further 9000 through desertion. Although the Prussians fled the field, the French had also suffered heavily with up to 12,000 casualties. At Quatre Bras, Ney mishandled his command and allowed a small contingent of Anglo-Allied troops to hold up his force long enough for reinforcements to arrive. By the time the French made a serious attack the defenders, now under Wellington himself, were able to hold him off. Casualties were high, 4000 French and 4800 Anglo-Allies, but Ney's inability to take the vital crossroads had fatally injured Bonaparte's campaign. With both Wellington and Blucher retreating on parallel courses the chance to force them away from each other had gone, but Bonaparte now set his sights on smashing the British who had retreated just south of Waterloo. Sending a corps under Marshal Grouchy to pursue the Prussians, Bonaparte caught up with Wellington and on June 18 the battle of Waterloo began. In another horrendously bloody clash, the French launched attack after attack upon the Anglo-Allies, but were unable to breakthrough. Casualties were high on both sides and when the exhausted troops of Wellington seemed on the verge of breaking, Blucher's Prussians entered the fray and Bonaparte was doomed. Waterloo cost Wellington 15,000 dead and wounded, and Blucher some 7000. For Bonaparte, the price of the battle was 25,000 dead and injured, 8000 prisoners and his crown. On the same day as Waterloo was the battle of Wavre where Grouchy defeated a small Prussian covering force. Fleeing for Paris, Bonaparte was urged by Marshal Davout to fight on - for French armies on other fronts had beaten off Austrian forces - but an exhausted emperor abdicated a second time on June 22. Ahead, for the man who had conquered most of Europe, was exile on a tiny Atlantic island called St Helena.

Ajman, 1971, Napoleon on board the «Bellerophon»

Ajman, 1971, Return of Napoleon from Elba

Ajman, 1972, Napoleon on board the «Bellerophon»

Cuba, 1999, Napoleon Bonaparte, «1814»

Manama, 1972, Napoleon on board the «Bellerophon»

Monaco, 1997, Honore V, Napoleon

Mozambique, 2009, Napoleon, Route of Napoleon

Ras al-Khaima, 1972, Return from Elba

Sharjah, 1972, Napoleon after Elba

France, 1965.03—06, Grenoble. Return from Elba

France, 1994.09.09, Castellane. Route Napoleon

France, 2001.03.03—04., Golfe-Juan. Napoleon in Golfe-Juan

France, 2005.03.05—06, Golfe-Juan. Napoleon in Golfe-Juan