Was Napoleon Really Short? The True History Behind Napoleon (2023)

Was Napoleon really short? Did he fire cannons at the pyramids, watch Marie Antoinette die, or lead the charge at Waterloo? Ridley Scott's Napoleon (2023) tells an epic story — but historians found errors in almost every scene. We open the case file: the height myth, Corsica and Toulon, Josephine, Egypt and the Rosetta Stone, the coup, the Napoleonic Code and Haiti, the coronation, Austerlitz and the frozen ponds, Russia 1812, Elba and "here I am", Waterloo and Saint Helena — and our verdict: REAL or REEL? 0:00 Intro 0:50 Was Napoleon short? 1:39 Corsica and military school 2:16 Marie Antoinette 2:43 Toulon, 1793 3:27 A whiff of grapeshot 3:38 Josephine 4:24 Italy and the bridge of Arcole 4:44 Egypt and the pyramids 5:17 The Rosetta Stone 5:35 The Battle of the Nile 5:54 Return and the coup of 1799 6:37 Crossing the Alps 6:54 The Napoleonic Code 7:10 Slavery and Haiti 7:28 The coronation 7:58 Beethoven's anger 8:09 Austerlitz and Trafalgar 8:36 The frozen ponds 9:03 Tilsit 9:13 The divorce 9:55 Marie Louise and Spain 10:21 Russia, 1812 11:16 Leipzig 11:28 Elba and Josephine's death 11:45 "Here I am" 12:11 Waterloo 12:54 Napoleon and Wellington 13:10 Saint Helena 13:33 Was he poisoned? 14:12 The movie and its critics 14:27 The cost of his wars 15:13 The verdict 📚 Sources A. Roberts, Napoleon the Great (2014) · P. Dwyer, Napoleon trilogy (2007–2018) · Napoleon's correspondence (Fondation Napoléon) · D. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (1966) · Lugli et al. (2007), Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology — gastric cancer · Dubois & Rassat on Austerlitz ponds (1806 drainage reports) ▶ Next: Rise of Empires: Ottoman — Mehmed the Conqueror and the fall of Constantinople. 🔔 Subscribe to Real or Reel — history vs. the movies. #Napoleon #RidleyScott #History