For years, when he was at the height of his power, Napoleon Bonaparte was the terror of Europe – and especially of the English, whose propaganda depicted him as a literal ogre who ate children. Ironically, the scary Napoleon was once put to flight by, of all things, fluffy bunny rabbits. Below are some interesting facts about the debacle.

The Scary ‘Boney the Bogeyman’

Napoleon Bonaparte was not as murderous as Hitler or Genghis Khan. In his day, however, he was hated and feared by his enemies just as much as contemporaries hated and feared the Fuhrer and the great Mongol conqueror. As he roamed Europe at the head of his armies, gobbling up countries as if they were popcorn at a movie theater, Napoleon was scary enough to serve as a boogeyman. Indeed, English parents used to scare their children into obedience with “Boney the Bogeyman”.

In newspapers read by adults, Napoleon was frequently mocked as “Little Boney”, in a bid to belittle him and play down his threat. To England’s young, however, Napoleon was depicted as a giant ogre who took away naughty children and ate them for breakfast. “If you don’t behave, Boney will come for you” was usually quite effective in getting rambunctious kids to pipe down. It is thus surprising that the scary Boney was once attacked – and forced to retreat – by bunny rabbits.

When Napoleon Wanted to Celebrate Victory With a Rabbit Hunt

Waterloo in 1815 was Napoleon’s worst defeat. His most humiliating defeat, however, happened years earlier, when the mighty Emperor of the French was routed in a bizarre incident by cute bunny rabbits. It happened in 1807, when Le Empereur was at the height of his power and bestrode Europe like a colossus. He had smashed the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz, and thrashed the Prussians at the twin Battles of Jena-Auerstedt. He capped off his string of victories with the Treaties of Tilsit, which ended the War of the Fourth Coalition against him.

Napoleon was feeling great, and wanted to celebrate. What better way to celebrate than by killing small animals? So he ordered his chief of staff, Alexander Berthier, to organize a rabbit hunt, and invite the top military brass. Berthier made arrangements for an outdoors luncheon, and collected about 3000 rabbits. They were placed in cages along the fringes of a grassy field, to be released for the bigwigs to shoot as they fled. Things went awry, however. When the bunnies were released they did not jump away in terror, but bounded in their thousands towards Napoleon.

‘Boney the Bogeyman’ Routed by Bunny Rabbits

As thousands of rabbits bounded towards them rather than flee for their lives, Napoleon and his guests laughed at first. The laughter ceased and concern grew, however, as the rabbit rush continued. The bunnies swarmed Bonaparte’s legs and climbed up his jacket. He tried to shoo them away with his riding crop, while those around him tried to chase them away with sticks. There were just too many bounding bunnies, however, and Le Empereur fled to his carriage. As historian David Chandler described it: “with a finer understanding of Napoleonic strategy than most of his generals, the rabbit horde divided into two wings and poured around the flanks of the party and headed for the imperial coach”.

Even inside the carriage, Napoleon was not safe from the rabbits, some of which jumped into the imperial coach with him. Out of ideas, Napoleon ordered his coachmen to whip the horses into a hasty retreat. The terror of Europe was beaten by bunnies. The debacle was Berthier’s fault. Instead of capture wild hares, he bought tame rabbits from nearby farms, who were used to people. When released from their cages, they did not fear Napoleon’s hunting party as potential predators. Instead, they bounded towards them in the expectation that Le Empereur and his guests would feed them their dinner.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

Curious Rambler – Boney Napoleon Scares British Children

Encyclopedia Britannica – Napoleon I

History Answers – Napoleon’s Battle Against Rabbits

History Halls – Charles the Mad: The King Who Thought He Might Shatter Because He Was Made of Glass