Faced with the overwhelming military might of his adversaries, Napoleon was forced to abdicate the throne of France in April 1814.The victorious Allies banished the former Emperor to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy and installed Louis XVIII (younger brother of the executed Louis XVI) as King.
It did not take long before the bumbling and arrogant tactics of the new king alienated his subjects and motivated the exiled Emperor to make a new bid for power. On February 26, 1815 Napoleon escaped the Island of Elba and landed on the French coast near Cannes. Thousands of his old soldiers flocked to his banner as Napoleon marched to Paris. By the time he reached the capital his followers had grown to hundreds of thousands and Louis XVIII had fled north to what is present-day Belgium.
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