The Hilarious Story of How Napoleon Bonaparte Was Once Defeated by a Horde of Hungry Bunny Rabbits
A hilarious story that proves fact is stranger than fiction
Paul Thiébault was one of Napoleon’s top generals, and in his memoirs, he recounted a most phenomenal of stories. It goes like this.
It’s July 1807, and Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history’s greatest military tacticians, has just had one of his greatest victories, which has been cemented through the signing of the Treaties of Tilsit.
These were two treaties which were signed in the town of Tilsit, one with Imperial Russia, which ended Napoleon’s war with the Russians on favourable terms for him, the other with Prussia, which saw Napoleon gain half of Prussia’s lands.
Needless to say, it was a good day for Napoleon. After all, these treaties meant he had just cemented absolute control of central Europe, as such he wanted to celebrate.
The story goes that this led his chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, who had just been given the title Prince of Neuchâtel, to invite him to a rabbit hunt at Château de Grosbois — a…
