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Napoleon’s military prowess is legendary, and his victories made him the virtual master of continental Europe for more than a decade. His abdication in 1814 led to almost a year in exile on the island of Elba, but he returned triumphantly to France in March 1815. So began the Hundred Days, which concluded with his defeat by the combined allied armies under Wellington and Blücher at Waterloo on June 18, 1815.