Napoleon devised his plans… A Swift Strike The Prussian army too appeared to be fragile. He lacked veterans and seventy per cent of his infantry was not comprised of British citizenry many of its battalions untested or formed of variable quality Belgian, Dutch and German contingents. Wellington’s army was a shadow of the grand force he had led to victory in the earlier Peninsular campaigns, those forces having been broken up to confront the USA on the far side of the Atlantic. Napoleon for his part was quickly able to assemble 500,000 men to fight under his own banner. The Seventh Coalition quickly assembled a mass of 700,000 men on the borders of France, intending to repeat the invasion plan of 1814, defeating the French with sheer weight of numbers. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and the newly-formed Seventh Coalition declared Napoleon an outlaw on 13th March, followed swiftly by a declaration of war. He hoped that his meteoric rise to power would bring the great powers of Europe to the negotiation table, too war-weary to risk fighting yet another costly campaign against a proven French army.
In March 1815, Napoleon entered Paris at the head of his army, accompanied by several of his trusted Marshals. Prisoners of war in particular recently returned to France provided his forces with some battle-hardened veterans. Many sent to catch and imprison him were quick to change sides and pledge their support. His spies informed him of dissatisfaction with the Bourbon regime and many flocked to his renewed cause. Sailing forth on the flagship of the Elban Navy, Napoleon slipped his leash intent on regaining his throne. The Sixth coalition exiled Napoleon to the tiny island of Elba. The shattering of the Grande Armèe in the snows of Russia in 1812, followed by two years of desperate fighting, forced the Emperor of the French to abdicate in 1814. You can refight the campaign using the Black Powder rules, in conjunction with Albion Triumphant Volume 2. The Hundred Days and the famed battle of Waterloo marked the end of the First French Empire.
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