The stakes were high as Napoleon's empire teetered on the brink of collapse, and the Sixth Coalition, a formidable alliance of European powers, sensed blood in the water. In a colossal clash of armies, some 500,000 soldiers, including Prussians, Russians, Austrians, and Swedes, converged on Leipzig, Germany, to take down the French emperor. The three-day Battle of Leipzig, fought from October 16 to 18, 1813, would prove to be Napoleon's Waterloo – his military might was shattered, and his grip on Europe was finally broken.