The story of Napoleon and a rabbit hunt which went comically wrong, has featured on several internet sites in the last few days, starting (I think) with Ripley's Believe It or Not! on 17th May. It is an anecdote worth the retelling...
That One Time Napoleon Was Attacked By Rabbits (ripleys.com)
Berthier, it seems, had attempted to guarantee the Emperor's good sport by imported huge numbers of rabbits onto his land. But, instead of running away, the rabbits, who were tame, promptly mobbed the hunting party in the hope of being fed. According to David Chandler, historian of the Napoleonic campaigns, the hordes of bunnies strategically divided into two parts, flanking the French leader and his guests, thus demonstrating “a finer understanding of Napoleonic strategy than most of his generals.”
The origin of this tale is quite hard to discover, but at least one version is to be found in the Memoirs of Thiébault, who hated the toadying Berthier with a passion: Memoirs of Baron Thiébault, p.185-6.
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| Bunny print, on sale from Etsy |
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