The Battle of Brienne, fought in January 1814, followed on the heels of reverses suffered by Napoleon since his invasion of Russia in 1812, which had gutted the strength of the French army. On the eve of the battle, Napoleon's brother, Louis, was astonished at his adventuring to send against the enemy cavalry just raised, and horses untrained. He saw, in the court of the Tuileries, battalions about to be reviewed previous to their departure, animated with great ardour, but not knowing how to carry a musket. They were ignorant of the first rudiments of handling their weapons. "What can they do in this state in face of an enemy?" asked Louis. "Bah! They are Frenchmen, they will fight and conquer," answered Napoleon.
The battle ended in Napoleon's victory.
拿破崙一八一二年侵俄，結果法國軍力大削，隨後戰場上更多次失利，到一八一四年一月，有布里安之役。戰前，拿破崙弟弟路易見他冒險出動剛成立的騎兵以及未經訓練的戰馬，大為驚愕。他又在杜伊勒利宮，看見一營營的將士，出發上戰場之前，準備接受檢閱，鬥志昂揚，但連怎樣拿火槍都不知道，對手上武器怎樣使用，一點基本認識都沒有。路易說：「他們這樣子，在敵人跟前，能夠做什麼？」拿破崙回答：「呸！他們是法國人，所以能戰，所以能勝。」
是役，拿破崙奏凱。