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France in 1627 A.D. in support of the Huguenots. Between 1600 and 1800 A.D. Great Britain was in-
volved in wars with France, Spain, Prussia and other European nations and in this way the stone was
striking the feet of the image as it made war against the civil and military authority of Continental
Powers.

During this period the United States won its independence and was free to grow into a Great
People, fulfilling the prophecy concerning Manasseh:

He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great (Genesis 48:19).

In that way one branch of the Israel peoples was separated from the rest of their brethren and
during the subsequent years was being prepared by YEHOVAH to help when the final blows were to
be struck to grind the Babylonian image to powder.

The Defeat of Napoleon

Meanwhile Great Britain continued her activities and the first coalition against France was
formed in 1793 A.D., the second in 1798 A.D. The next year the Battle of the Nile was fought and Ad-
miral Horatio Nelson was victorious, securing for Great Britain the domination of the Mediterranean.
The third coalition against France came in 1805 A.D. and Napoleon's Continental successes were
largely offset by the victory on October 21, 1805, of the British fleet under Nelson off Cape Trafalgar
over the combined fleets of France and Spain. This victory gave Great Britain mastery of the sea
throughout the remainder of the Napoleonic era.

Before the effect of British sea power could be manifest, however, Napoleon increased his
power over the Continent. By 1808 he was master of all Europe -- except for Russia and Great Britain.
But, from this time on, Napoleon's power began to decline. The chief reasons for this decline were the
rise of nationalism in the various defeated nations of Europe and the persistent opposition of Great Brit-
ain. Safe from invasion because of its superior navy and the fact of the English Channel, the British never
ceased to organize and subsidize new coalitions against Napoleon.

In 1808 Sir Arthur Wellesley -- later known as "The Iron Duke" of Wellington -- was given
command of the British expeditionary forces in Portugal, where in 1810 he first made use of his famous
military tactic known as the scorched-earth policy, laying waste to the countryside behind him as he and
his troops moved on. In the ensuing Peninsular War (1808-14), which resulted in the expulsion of Na-
poleon's armies from Portugal and Spain, Wellesley's troops won a series of victories -- especially at
Talavera de la Reina (1809), Salamanca (1812), Vitoria (1813), and Toulouse (1814). His success in
Spain won him many honors and in 1814 he was created 1st Duke of Wellington.

When Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba in February, 1815, and returned to France to
resume hostilities against the allies, Wellington assumed command of the main allied armies. The Napo-
leonic Wars followed -- ending in the decisive defeat of Napoleon by Wellington at the Battle of

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