Napoleon had occupied Spain and also wanted to control Portugal to exclude the British. He invaded Russia with the largest army ever assembled until then in history in the summer of 1812: half a million men. The Russian kept withdrawing and only fought some major frontal battles with La Grande Armée. Moscow was abandoned, the French occupied it without resistance, but a few days later, it was burned by the Russians; the French were left with no food. Just before the start of the winter, Napoleon quit Moscow with his army for a long retreat with no appropiate winter clothes and no food; they were harassed by Cosacks and were persecuted by the Russian army; only around 20,000-30,000 men survived the disastrous campaign that broke France´s might. Napoleon raised another army, but his enemies proved to be stronger this time and force his abdication in 1814 while Paris was surrounded.

He was sent to exile to Elba, but he escaped in 1815 and retook power. He fought his last battle in Waterloo, Belgium, on June 18, 1815, he suffered his final defeat at the hands of the British and the Prussians.

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