Video: Napoleon and the Battle of the Rabbits: The Shameful Defeat of One of the Greatest Generals in History
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The number of enemies was measured in thousands … they surrounded Napoleon and his retinue and, in the end, "brought them to their knees." In desperation, the French emperor retreated. Many will think that we are talking about Waterloo. But in reality, this is not entirely true. The most unforgettable and humiliating defeat of Napoleon came from … an army of fluffy rabbits.
One of the most bizarre moments in European history occurred in July 1807, after Napoleon signed the Treaty of Tilsit, officially marking the end of the war between the French Empire and Imperial Russia. To celebrate the occasion, the emperor proposed a rabbit hunt with his entourage and some of the "big shots" in his army. Being a busy man, Napoleon instructed his chief of staff, Alexander Berthier, to take up this event. But that was a big mistake.
Berthier began to collect rabbits for a big hunt, but it never occurred to him to approach this question "modestly". Although different sources give different figures, it is generally believed that Berthier acquired around 3,000 rabbits.
On the day of the hunt, Berthier's men placed cages with rabbits at the edges of a large field. When Napoleon and his guests arrived, the rabbits were released for dignitaries to hunt in the field after the picnic.
But then something strange happened: the rabbits were not afraid of the crowd of people. The animals rushed like mad at Napoleon and other hunters from his retinue. The emperor was not laughing - thousands of fluffy animals, which they simply did not have time to shoot, simply went at him in an irresistible "wave".
Initially, the men laughed at the complete absurdity of the whole situation (and who would not), but as all the new animals rushed at their feet, it became really scary. The emperor and his people tried in vain to repel the onslaught, beating the rabbits with stones, sticks, shooting at them, but the long-eared ones continued to arrive.
Realizing that this is a battle that he cannot win, Napoleon hastily said goodbye to everyone and got into a horse-drawn carriage. But the stream of "fuzzies" continued to arrive. Historian David Chandler described the semi-comic massacre thus: "With a finer grasp of Napoleon's strategy than most of his generals, the rabbit horde split into two wings and flanked Napoleon's party, heading straight for the emperor."
The coachmen tried to move the carriage from the spot, but it was unsuccessful. Soon a horde of rabbits "flooded" the legs of the short emperor and began to climb up his jacket. Other rabbits jumped inside the carriage. The attack ended only when the carriage finally managed to budge, and Napoleon, in a panic, threw the rabbits out of its windows.
Many may wonder why the rabbits attacked humans. This can be completely blamed on Berthier. While he may have had a great deal of military tactics, the chief of staff clearly had little understanding of animal husbandry. Instead of catching wild hares to hunt, he took the easy route, ordering his men to buy rabbits raised by farmers in nearby towns.
The problem was that, unlike wild hares, which instinctively try to escape, domesticated rabbits from farms were not afraid of humans. They saw Napoleon and his retinue and assumed that they were going to feed them, just like the farmers who raised them. When the rabbits didn't find the crispy carrots and lettuce, they were clearly upset.
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