There was silence in the imperial headquarters as Talleyrand finished reading aloud from the document that had been sent from Berlin. He stepped towards Napoleon’s desk and laid the despatch down. Josephine stood behind the Emperor and rested her hands on the back of his chair as she glanced down at the despatch and saw the seal of Frederick William on the document. There was no doubt that the threat was genuine and that Prussia was set on war.

‘When did this arrive?’ Napoleon asked coldly.

‘It was delivered in Paris only five days ago, sire, and immediately forwarded here.’

Napoleon nodded slowly. ‘This is a calculated insult. Not by that weakling Frederick William. He would not have the nerve. This is the work of that witch, Queen Louise, and her war party of cronies. Very well then. If they wish to insult us, then we will deliver our reply in kind.’

Talleyrand cleared his throat lightly. ‘I beg your pardon, sire. But the deadline is tomorrow. There is no question of a reply’s reaching Berlin in time.’

‘Nevertheless, they will have their reply in the clearest possible manner. The invasion of Prussia will commence tomorrow. I imagine that will communicate our intentions unmistakably. Wouldn’t you agree?’

Talleyrand arched an eyebrow. ‘Invasion is eloquence itself, sire.’

Napoleon smiled at the comment and then continued, ‘At least our enemies had the kindness to fall into our trap.’

As Napoleon had hoped, the Prussians had annexed Saxony the moment they had been told that Napoleon would not oppose the move. As soon as the Prussian troops had marched in, a formal protest was sent to Berlin and the men of the Grand Army had begun to concentrate close to the border with Prussia. The Imperial Guard had been sent to the front in a fleet of hired carts and wagons, and finally at the end of September the Emperor himself had set off from Paris, accompanied by Josephine and Talleyrand. They arrived at Bamberg to find that Berthier had co-ordinated the preparations for the coming campaign with his usual efficiency. A hundred and sixty thousand Frenchmen, and ten thousand Bavarian allies, were poised to cross the border into Prussia in three vast columns led by Soult, Bernadotte and Lannes.Ahead of them, as ever, would ride Murat’s cavalry, screening the Grand Army from the prying eyes of Prussian scouts.