CONFLICTS, ASSASSINATIONS & REVOLUTIONS

NAPOLEON’S RETREAT FROM RUSSIA

19 October 1812, Moscow, Russia

An estimated 550,000 men crossed the Neman River in June of 1812. A few months later, only 22,000 returned. Napoleon’s retreat after a disastrous invasion of Russia, despite having reached and captured Moscow, was the beginning of the end for the French emperor’s rise. His Grand Armée depleted, his reputation dented, he could no longer continue his campaign that had been reshaping Europe.

THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM

16 January 1917, Berlin, Germany

The United States didn’t want to get involved in the Great War in Europe, but the Zimmerman Telegram changed everything. It was an invitation for the Mexican government to join Germany’s side in return for US territory after the war. Intercepted by the British and flagged to the Americans, once it was out in the press it changed public opinion quickly. Alongside German submarine attacks, this telegram pushed America into war.

DEMOCRACY DEFENDED AT MARATHON

September 490 BCE, Marathon, Greece

“The battle of Marathon, even as an event in English history, is more important than the battle of Hastings,” British philosopher John Stuart Mill once stated. Why did he think so? It boils down to the Athenians who fought the battle against great odds, fighting for their relatively new form of government, a democracy. It