The Rise and Betrayal of a Napoleonic Legend

Michel Ney, one of Napoleon’s most celebrated marshals, earned his reputation as “the Bravest of the Brave” through legendary exploits in battles like Friedland and Borodino. Yet by 1815, the once-loyal soldier found himself caught between two masters: the returned Emperor Napoleon and the Bourbon King Louis XVIII. His fateful decision to defect back to Napoleon during the Hundred Days would set him on a collision course with history.

Ney’s dilemma began in March 1815 when Napoleon escaped Elba. Initially ordered by Louis XVIII to stop the Emperor’s advance, Ney famously boasted he would bring Napoleon back “in an iron cage.” But at Lons-le-Saunier, facing his old commander, Ney’s soldiers refused to fire. In a dramatic about-face, Ney embraced Napoleon’s cause—a decision that would haunt him.

The Poisoned Chalice: Ney’s Humiliation Under Napoleon

Napoleon’s return to power was no triumphant reunion for Ney. The Emperor, never forgetting Ney’s earlier betrayal during the 1814 abdication, treated his former marshal with icy disdain. Though Ney expected command of troops, Napoleon relegated him to humiliating propaganda missions, forcing him to spread false assurances of peace across northeastern France.

The tension peaked during the Champ de Mai ceremony on June 1. While other marshals basked in glory, Ney stood ignored—Napoleon pointedly refused to acknowledge him during the imperial review. The message was clear: Ney’s loyalty remained suspect.

The Road to Waterloo: A Marshal’s Last Gamble

As war loomed, Ney desperately sought redemption. On June 15, Napoleon finally granted him command of the left wing—but under ominous circumstances. Marshal Soult’s contradictory orders and Napoleon’s poor communication would fatally undermine Ney’s efforts at Quatre Bras.

The battle on June 16 revealed a changed Ney. Where once he had been decisive, now he hesitated. Critical hours were lost before attacking Wellington’s position, and Napoleon’s abrupt diversion of General d’Erlon’s corps left Ney without reserves. Though Ney personally led heroic cavalry charges, the opportunity for victory slipped away.

The Valley of the Shadow: Ney at Waterloo

At Waterloo on June 18, Ney’s desperation reached its climax. Leading five separate cavalry charges against British squares, he had five horses shot beneath him. Eyewitnesses described the marshal, face blackened by powder, waving a broken sword and screaming at retreating troops: “Come see how a Marshal of France dies!”

When the Imperial Guard’s final attack failed, Ney became the last Frenchman to leave the field—a broken figure stumbling through the smoke as Prussian cavalry hunted stragglers.

The Bullet and the Bench: Trial and Execution

Ney’s survival at Waterloo proved crueler than death. Arrested by the restored Bourbons, he faced charges of treason. At his December 1815 trial, Ney—refusing to plead for mercy—declared: “When one has the honor to be a marshal of France, one knows how to die.”

On December 7, before a firing squad in Paris’ Luxembourg Gardens, Ney himself gave the order to fire. His execution symbolized both the end of the Napoleonic epic and the Bourbons’ vengeful White Terror.

The Marshal’s Paradox: Hero or Traitor?

Ney’s tragic arc encapsulates the impossible choices of post-revolutionary France. To Bonapartists, he remained the quintessential soldier; to royalists, a turncoat. Modern historians recognize his story as emblematic of an era when loyalty to nation, ruler, and personal honor created unbearable tensions.

Today, Ney’s statue near the Observatory in Paris—erected in 1853 when Napoleon III rehabilitated his memory—stands as a silent testament to the marshal’s enduring legend. His name remains etched on the Arc de Triomphe, forever among the pantheon of France’s warrior heroes, yet his final words at Waterloo echo through military history as the epitaph of a man caught between duty and destiny.