Napoleon: The Man Who Ruled the World

Marriage to Josephine Rose de Beauhamais did little to quell Napoleon's vaulting ambition. His early military campaigns in Italy and Egypt demonstrated his burgeoning military talent and ingratiated him in the minds of French soldiers.

As the world entered the 19th Century, Napoleon's career was in full swing. By 1804, his rise to the status of Emperor, combined with remarkable military victories, left Napoleon a short step from proclaiming himself Emperor of Europe.

Prior to 1807, Napoleon had experienced almost uninterrupted success, but change was in the air. The Emperor's determination to impose the Continental System on the whole of Europe was the main impetus behind The Peninsular War.

With the Peninsular War still raging, Napoleon made a fateful decision in 1812 to invade Russia. Nothing could have prepared he and his men for what awaited them as they marched towards Moscow, nor the appalling horrors upon their retreat.