Route Napoléon

As Route Napoléon the road in France is called following the roadmap, the ( Antibes ) over Grasse, Digne, Sisteron and Gap put back Napoleon I ( 1769-1821) of Golfe- Juan to Grenoble after order, the retake power, had landed from Elba coming in southern France. These French National Road Route Nationale 85, also RN 85 was created in 1927 and received its name in 1932. The track with a total length of 335 km overcame Napoleon troops in a seven-day forced march, between 1 March 1815 and 7 March 1815., The road is marked by signs with imperial eagles, as the march as " Eagle Flight " (vol d ' Aigle ) is called, referring to Napoleon's dictum: " the National Eagle is from steeple to steeple fly up to the towers of Notre -Dame "

History

Napoleon left his exile, the Mediterranean island of Elba, in the night of 26 to 27 February 1815 the 800 (according to other sources 1200 ) faithful, who had followed him into exile. On the sailing vessel L' Inconstant he went three days on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and landed in the afternoon of March 1 in Golfe- Juan ( Antibes ). Because of the many royalists in the Rhone valley, he had decided to advance across the Alps to Lyon and Paris. First difficulties arose even on 1 March in Antibes. There, a captain and 20 Grenadiers had been arrested, who had entered the citadel, to stir up the garrison. Napoléon decided weiterzumarschieren immediately to go a possible encounter with Massena, commander of Marseille, out of the way. The night of 1 to 2 March, the troops bivouacked in front of Cannes. On March 2, the actual march began in the mountains, the train laid 64 km back to Seranon. March 3 led on Castellane until after Barremian. The stage of March 4, went on to Digne Malijai. On March 5, Sisteron has been reached, the first major royalist -influenced city along the way. Although, as the local commander was located followers of the deposed emperor, but as a good stopping place could prove, Napoleon moved promptly to Gap. On March 6, the path went on to Corps.

On March 7, came just before the village of Grenoble Laffrey in sight. Meanwhile, had General Marchand, commander of Grenoble and unwilling to grant free passage Napoléon, sent a regiment under the command of Delessart to blow up the bridge of Ponthaut. Since Napoleon, advancing very quickly, had anticipated him, Delessart had posted his men in a bottleneck before Laffrey and blocking the way. On the " Prairie de la Rencontre ", the " field of encounter ", Napoleon met the enemy troops. He ordered his soldiers to take the gun under his left arm and stood alone against Delessarts Regiment, which he won with a short speech for themselves. That same day, also ran the command of La Bédoyère unit to him. In the evening he marched into Grenoble, whose gates were hammered by Stellmachern the suburb of Faubourg Saint -Jacques.

Napoléon was unstoppable from Grenoble and marched under the triumph Call for he was already considered again as Emperor of the people, to Paris on. On 20 March 1815, he moved as predicted, in the Tuileries Palace in. Thus began the so-called rule of the Hundred Days, which on June 22, 1815 ended after the Battle of Waterloo with the abdication of the emperor. After Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died on 5 May 1821.

March route

From Grasse to Gap: Grasse, Saint- Vallier -de- Thiery, Castellane, Barremian, Digne- les- Bains, Sisteron, Le Poet, Gap

From Gap to Grenoble: Gap, Saint -Bonnet -en -Champsaur Saint Firmin, Corps, La Mure, Laffrey, Vizille, Grenoble