Napoleon Bonaparte may have been one of the greatest military minds in history. He led France to victory against all odds during his time as an officer in the French army. And while he wasn’t always successful in battle, he won many battles because of his strategic thinking and tactics that allowed him to control people’s lives through fear and force.
However, according to chronology, Waterloo was Napoleon’s most crushing defeat. It may possibly have happened after a horde of bunnies attacked the Emperor of France. There are several versions of this story.
Most people believe this happened in July 1807, shortly after Napoleon signed the Treaty of Tilsit, which ended the war between the French Empire and Imperial Russia. To mark the event, the Emperor ordered his chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, to organize a rabbit hunt.
Berthier prepared an outside luncheon, invited some of the military’s top officials, and gathered a rabbit colony. Some suggest Berthier brought in hundreds of bunnies, while others claim he amassed up to 3000. Regardless, there were a lot of rabbits, and Berthier’s men had them confined all along the edges of a grassy field.
The rabbits were released from their cages when Napoleon went on the prowl, accompanied by beaters and gun-bearers. The quest was on. But then something unusual happened. The bunnies did not flee in fear. Instead, they dashed for Napoleon and his troops. Hundreds of fluffy bunnies went after the world’s most influential man.
Napoleon was swarmed by a fierce, fluffy army of bewildered rabbits. Napoleon’s entourage laughed enthusiastically at first. As the bombardment continued, their concern grew. The bunnies raced up to his feet, climbed up his legs, chewed on his gold-embroidered jacket, and jumped onto his head and shoulders.
Napoleon’s rifle was useless against them, and his attempts to scare them away with his riding whip were ineffective. Finally, his military forces used crops, whips, and rods to disperse enough of them to allow Napoleon to retreat to his velvet-seated chariot.
According to historian David Chandler, “the Rabbit Herd grasped Napoleon’s strategy better than most of his generals, separating into two wings and drifting around the flanks of the party, headed towards the imperial wagons.” The bunnies pursued him, getting inside his chariot and launching another attack.
The rabbits dispersed as the wagon began to drive away, and Napoleon survived to face another battle.The onslaught ceased only when the wagon rolled away. The great leader was no match for the rabbits. Blaming men for ravenous hordes of homicidal rabbits appears presumptuous and unrealistic in this day and age.
Bunnies are fluffy, cuddly, lovable balls of joy. Their impression is that of a cuddly and harmless child’s teddy bear rather than a horde of ferocious flesh-eating piranhas. They are more prone to escape than attack when approached in the wild. If you catch one in the wild, it will defend itself rather than roll over and surrender.
So, why would they attack Napoleon Bonaparte, the world’s most powerful man at the time, given their attractiveness and lack of fighting skills? It was Berthier’s fault. Berthier was a slack. He convinced local farmers to breed farm rabbits instead of tracking and capturing wild rabbits for hunting.
Unlike the fleeing wild rabbits, these farm rabbits had no cause to fear people and, like the peasants they bought, looked on Napoleon and his men for food. In short, Napoleon had no reason to be afraid of rabbits. They only needed food. On the other hand, the sheer scale of the figurines would have been bewildering.
What Can We Learn From This Story?
Rabbits can become agitated when they are hungry. They may stay in the same position for hours even when hungry. Nevertheless, if they know food is on its way, they will go insane and act possessed.
Conclusion
Many people feared Napoleon, yet it took a swarm of bunnies to bring him down. This story should be enough to persuade them to become protected species. Nobody should go hunting for rabbits. They symbolize regeneration and innocence, and they provide joy to many people.
