Showing results for "Andrew Roberts" in Modern

Napoleon Bonaparte lived one of the most extraordinary of all human lives. In the space of just 20 years, from October 1795, when as a young artillery captain he cleared the streets of Paris of insurrectionists, to his final defeat at the (horribly mismanaged) battle of Waterloo in June 1815, Napoleon transformed France and Europe. After seizing power in a coup d'état, he ended the corruption and incompetence into which the revolution had descended.

In six weeks in 1940, France was overrun by German troops and surrendered. One junior French general, refusing to accept defeat, made his way to England. On 18 June he spoke to his compatriots over the BBC, urging them to rally to him in London. At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered into history. For the rest of the war, de Gaulle frequently bit the hand that fed him. He insisted on being treated as the true embodiment of France, and quarrelled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. But he managed to have France recognised as one of the victorious Allies.

What a ride 2020 has been. We all know of the chaos and difficulty that it brought. But in every tragedy, there is some silver lining, a station that seems like the end of the road that turns out to be only a pit stop on the way. So, perhaps we can start to look for ours. Because 2020 may have been a year of hardship and tragedy, but it’s also been a year of growth, of learning, and of coming together to be the best we have ever been - not only for ourselves, but for the good of our families, our communities, our countries, and our world.