Watch Napoleon Bonaparte

On the Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, the great defeat of Napoleon, a full-scale reconstitution is replayed. Immersed in the preparations of the famous battle, between cannon explosions, cavalry charges, fierce fighting infantrymen, etc, this documentary retraces the four days of the event, four days of celebration and communion for 100,000 wide eyed spectators.

Between the cultural shock, the divergence of interests between the military and scientific communities, the epic combat with Mamelukes and Ottomans, popular uprisings, and outbreaks of the plague, this was an expedition to remember. It ended in stinging military defeat, but would always remain a great scientific triumph, marking the birth of a new science: Egyptology.

The Directoire had ordered Napoleon Bonaparte to threaten English assets in the Indies by planning a lasting occupation of Egypt. But the country had many surprises in store for all on the mission. We follow this military expedition through the eyes of two young scientists, Villiers and Jollois, who spent three long years enthusiastically trying to spread the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Part 2 details the hardships and deprivations suffered by Napoleon's Grande Armee as they await the surrender of the Tsar, which never comes. And with problems in France and his popularity waning, Napoleon begins the long, death-filled retreat from Russia with his exhausted, starving troops.

Since his victory over Tsar Alexander in 1807 and the Treaty of Tilsit, France and Russia are officially allies. But Alexander doesn't support Napoleon's expansionist strategy. To Napoleon, Russia's behavior makes it an enemy of France. Ignoring calls for caution, Napoleon invades Russia in 1811.