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Master military strategist and seemingly insatiable conqueror of other lands, in 1807 what ‘battle’ did Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) certainly lose, much to the amusement of onlookers and the embarrassment of Napoleon himself?

Answer: The ‘great rabbit attack.’ This took place at a disastrous rabbit hunt in 1807, when Napoleon’s chief-of-staff, Alexander Berthier, mistakenly bought thousands of tame, not wild, rabbits to hunt. When the rabbits saw, Napoleon they mistakenly thought they were about to be fed, so flocked to him in their hundreds. Overwhelmed by their numbers, Napoleon had to beat many off with his hands, before being forced to escape in his coach.

Source: Blundering to Glory by Owen Connelly

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