The Napoleonic Wars - Epic History TV

In 1805, a year after his coronation as Emperor of the French, Napoleon launches one of the most brilliant campaigns in military history, culminating in victory over a joint Austrian-Russian army at Austerlitz - widely considered his masterpiece.

In 1806 Napoleon, Emperor of the French, invades Prussia and Saxony, winning a crushing victory at the twin battles of Jena-Auërstadt. Find out how 'Napoleonic Blitzkrieg' humbled Prussia's feared army.

In 1807 Napoleon wages a grim winter campaign through Poland, trying to force a decisive victory to end his war against Russia and Prussia. It is a campaign that lead to two brutal battles, Eylau and Friedland, after which Napoleon will stand at the peak of his power in Europe.

Napoleon's rivalry with Britain leads to an ill-considered intervention in Portugal and Spain, triggering a nationalist revolt against the French. At Bailén, Napoleon's troops suffer a first, humiliating defeat. Though Napoleon then arrives in Spain to take charge of the situation, he cannot prevent the escape of a small British army. The stage is set for a long attritional war.

In 1809, with Napoleon and his best troops bogged down in Spain, Austria decides to seek revenge for her humiliation at Austerlitz three years before. Napoleon races back to Germany and quickly turns the tables on Archduke Charles, but a moment of overconfidence leads to a desperate battle at Aspern-Essling, and a moment of personal tragedy for the Emperor.

Six weeks after his bloody repulse at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon leads his reinforced army back across the Danube. The resulting clash with Archduke Charles's Austrian army was the biggest and bloodiest battle yet seen in European history.

The war in Spain and Portugal continues to rage. The French inflict several defeats on Spanish armies, but also face a popular insurgency, plus a well-trained Anglo-Portuguese army led by British general Lord Wellington. The Peninsular War, as it became known, was Napoleon's 'bleeding ulcer', costing quarter of a million soldiers in a war that looked increasingly unwinnable.

French forces in Spain are severely overstretched, as Napoleon withdraws the best troops for his invasion of Russia. Wellington sees an opportunity to strike. After two bloody sieges, he advances on Salamanca, where his Anglo-Portuguese army meets Marshal Marmont's army in one of the decisive clashes of the Peninsular War.

Napoleon invades Russia with the largest army Europe has ever seen, composed of troops from France, Poland, Germany, Italy and other allied states. The campaign that follows sees the Russians use scorched earth tactics to deny the enemy supplies, while Napoleon advances deeper and deeper into Russia, searching in vain for a decisive blow that will force Emperor Alexander to negotiate.

Napoleon's army has marched 470 miles into the depths of Russia. 70 miles west of Moscow, the Russian army finally makes its stand near the village of Borodino. The battle that follows is the bloodiest day's fighting of the Napoleonic Wars, and one of the most infamous battles of history.

Napoleon has occupied Moscow, but his invitation to the Russian Emperor to make peace gets no response. The Grande Armée is now 500 miles from friendly territory, poorly supplied, with winter approaching. What follows is one of the most harrowing and disastrous events in military history - Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.

Following his disastrous invasion of Russia, Napoleon faces a desperate struggle to save his European empire. Prussia and Sweden join the war against him, while Russian armies advance into Poland and Germany. The French Emperor works miracles to raise new armies, but knows everything may hinge on which side his father-in-law, Austrian Emperor Francis I, decides to support.

After his catastrophic losses in Russia, Napoleon withdraws French troops from Spain to shore up his position in Germany. But Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army and the Spanish guerrillas are stronger than ever. Wellington advances, planning to liberate Madrid, and force a final showdown with King Joseph's Bonapartist kingdom of Spain.

Napoleon faces the combined might of the Sixth Coalition (Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden) near Leipzig, in what will prove the decisive battle of his career. Outnumbered, virtually encircled, Napoleon opts for a high-risk strategy. The four-day Battle of Leipzig is the largest and bloodiest battle in European history before the First World War, and changes the destiny of Europe.

After defeat in Germany, Napoleon's final defeat seemed only a matter of time. But when Coalition armies cross the Rhine and invade France, Napoleon, outnumbered 4 to 1, begins one of the most daring and brilliant campaigns in history.