Napoleon Bonaparte (August 15, 1769 - May 5, 1821) was a French military and political leader. He was Emperor of the French from 1804-15. Due to his success during the Napoleonic Wars, often against larger forces, he is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time. The Peninsular War and 1812 French invasion of Russia marked turning points in Napoleon's fortunes. In 1813 Napoleon was forced to abdicate and exiled to the island of Elba. He escaped and returned to power, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo,1815. He was confined by the British on the island of Saint Helena and died there in 1821. An autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, but some scholars have held that he was a victim of arsenic poisoning. His political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in human history. Dominique Jean Larrey (July 8, 1766 - July 25, 1842) was a French surgeon in Napoleon's army and an important innovator in battlefield medicine. Larrey was surgeon-in-chief of the Napoleonic armies from Italy in 1797 to Waterloo in 1815. During this time, he initiated the modern method of army surgery, field hospitals and the system of army ambulance corps effectively creating a forerunner of the modern MASH units.