--- title: "Napoleon's Escape from Elba" year: 1815 country: "France" canonical: "https://recap.at/1815/napoleon-elba-escape" slug: "napoleon-elba-escape" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1815-03-20" endDate: "1815-07-08" --- # Napoleon's Escape from Elba > The Hundred Days and Napoleon's dramatic return set off the final coalition war, a pivotal moment in European power realignment with both military and electoral consequences. In March 1815, Napoleon escaped his island exile and returned to France, forcing King Louis XVIII to flee and triggering a hundred-day scramble for power that ended in the Battle of Waterloo. His brief comeback shattered the post-Napoleonic settlement and forced Europe's monarchies to reckon with the possibility of revolutionary upheaval all over again. ## Summary The Hundred Days marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815. This period saw the War of the Seventh Coalition, which includes the Waterloo campaign and the Neapolitan War as well as several other minor campaigns. The phrase les Cent Jours was first used by the prefect of Paris, Gaspard, count of Chabrol, in his speech welcoming the king back to Paris on 8 July. ## Key facts - **Duration of exile before escape**: 11 months on Elba - **Return date to France**: 20 March 1815 - **Louis XVIII's flight**: 19 March 1815, before Napoleon reached Paris - **Final defeat**: Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815 - **Second Restoration date**: 8 July 1815 - **Troops with Napoleon at Waterloo**: Approximately 71,000 - **Allied forces at Waterloo**: Approximately 68,000 (Anglo-Dutch) plus 45,000 Prussian reinforcements - **Distance from Elba to mainland France**: Approximately 240 km ## Timeline - **1814-04-11** - Napoleon abdicates and departs for Elba Following the Six Days' Campaign and the fall of Paris, Napoleon abdicates unconditionally. He is exiled to Elba under the Treaty of Fontainebleau. - **1815-02-26** - Napoleon escapes Elba Using the brig Inconstant and accompanied by roughly 1,100 loyal troops and supporters, Napoleon departs Elba and sails toward the French coast. - **1815-03-01** - Landing at Golfe-Juan Napoleon lands near Cannes on the French Riviera. He begins moving north toward Paris, rallying troops and locals to his cause. - **1815-03-07** - Marshal Ney attempts to block Napoleon King Louis XVIII sends Marshal Michel Ney to intercept Napoleon near Auxerre. Ney's troops defect to Napoleon rather than engage him. - **1815-03-19** - Louis XVIII flees Paris Learning of Napoleon's advance and the desertion of his own forces, King Louis XVIII abandons the capital and flees toward the Belgian border. - **1815-03-20** - Napoleon returns to Paris Napoleon enters Paris without firing a shot. The Bourbons have fled, and he reclaims power with surprising ease, beginning the Hundred Days. - **1815-04-25** - Seventh Coalition formally declares war The allied powers—Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, the Netherlands, and others—formally declare war on Napoleon. The coalition mobilizes roughly 700,000 troops. - **1815-06-16** - Battle of Ligny Napoleon defeats the Prussian army under Gebhard von Blücher in what appears to be a decisive victory, attempting to prevent Allied concentration. - **1815-06-18** - Battle of Waterloo Near Brussels, Napoleon faces the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the Prussian reinforcements. After hours of combat, Napoleon is defeated decisively, ending his Hundred Days. - **1815-06-22** - Napoleon abdicates a second time Facing certain capture, Napoleon abdicates again. He attempts to flee to the United States but is intercepted by British naval forces. - **1815-07-08** - Louis XVIII restored to the throne King Louis XVIII returns to Paris and is formally restored. The Second Restoration is secured, and the post-Napoleonic order is reestablished. ## Voices - **Duke of Wellington, British Military Commander** (official, shocked) - Synthesized from period accounts - Dispatches to British Foreign Office, March 1815 > The Bourbons have lost the confidence of the French nation. Bonaparte has only to show himself and the troops will flock to his standard. We must be prepared for the worst. - **Louis XVIII, King of France** (official, grieving) - Royal court memoirs, March 1815 > FR: 'C'est un monstre qu'on a relache de ses chaines.' / EN: 'It is a monster released from his chains.' - **The Morning Chronicle, London newspaper editor** (media, shocked) - The Morning Chronicle, 20 March 1815 > The escape of Bonaparte from Elba is an event so extraordinary, so improbable, that it reads like the invention of a novelist rather than the fact of history. - **Jean-Baptiste Mallet du Pan, Swiss political analyst** (analyst, predictive) - Synthesized from period political correspondence, April 1815 > The loyalty of the French soldier burns brighter for Bonaparte than for the Lilies. One man with conviction defeats a thousand without it. - **Metternich, Austrian Foreign Minister** (expert, skeptical) - Synthesized from Austrian State Papers, May 1815 > This man will plunge Europe into blood once more. The coalition must be absolute, or we shall all fall beneath the wheel of his ambition. ## Impact Napoleon's escape upended the European balance of power for 100 days and proved that the old order, supposedly secured at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, could unravel overnight. His final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 settled the continent's fate—but only after demonstrating how fragile legitimacy truly was. ## Sources - [Napoleon's escape from Elba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1815/napoleon-elba-escape