Who Was...Napoleon The Little General Who Wanted to Rule the World
A tough little chap with a shrill voice and a horrible temper, Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the surprise heroes of history.
He grew up to become the Emperor of France and, in 60 battles and 20 years of power and fame, he created an empire to rival Ancient Rome. There was one country, however, which he just couldn't beat - if only he could conquer England...
In 1815, with his troops stationed outside a small town called Waterloo in Belgium, "Boney" faced the biggest test of his life as he prepared to take on the English army. Would he win? Could he?
'[Napoleon] wondered whether they sold good liquorice in England. He might just have to take some with him. Napoleon was good at that sort of thing: at planning what to take on a trip. The trip he had in mind was more than a picnic, though. He was planning an invasion. He wanted to invade England.
You need a lot of stuff for an invasion. First you need thousands and thousands of soldiers, the more the better...'