The Battle of Waterloo brought to an end the stunning reemergence of Napoleon Bonaparte as ruler of France. He had been exiled to an island after abdicating the throne in 1815, but returned to once again threaten the security of neighboring countries. It was the cooperating powers of England, Russia, Prussia and Austria that finally ended the reign of the Little Corporal.<br/><br/>Napoleon was the self-declared Emperor of France and Italy in the early 1800s. After a ruinous attempt to invade Russia in 1812, Napoleon and his army retreated back to Paris, only to find it had surrendered to opposing forces.<br/><br/>When Napoleon tried to muster his army to advance on Paris, his generals refused to follow, which forced his abdication. He was exiled to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.<br/><br/>When he got to Elba, Napoleon heard rumors that he was to be banished even further away. He decided to attempt to return to France. On February 26, 1815, he landed in France. Louis XVIII, now in power, sent an army to arrest him.<br/><br/>When Napoleon confronted the army, he got off his horse and walked toward them, saying “Here I am. Kill your Emperor if you wish”. The army responded by yelling “Vive L’Empereur!” Napoleon went to Paris and retook control of the country after Louis XVIII fled.<br/><br/>The powers of England, Russia, Prussia and Austria entered into an agreement to send 150,000 soldiers each to end his rule. Napoleon had 200,000 soldiers available to him and he decided to go on the offensive and drive a wedge in between the oncoming British and Prussian armies. On June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, the British forces, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, withstood repeated attacks by the French army and drove them from the field.<br/><br/>When the Prussian forces arrived, they broke through Napoleon’s right flank. Napoleon was defeated and was forced to abdicate for a second time. After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled again, to a little island in the Atlantic called Saint Helena, where he died six years later.<br/><br/>What was Napoleon's nickname?