On this day in 1814, European forces allied against Napoleonic France marched triumphantly into Paris, formally ending a decade of French domination on the Continent.
Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest military strategists in history, seized control of the French state in 1800, and in 1804 was crowned emperor. By 1807, he controlled an empire that stretched across Europe.
In 1812, however, he began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington, and enduring total defeat against an allied force in 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped to France in early 1815 and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo. He was then exiled to the island of St Helena, where he died six years later.
Information courtesy of: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-capture-paris.
