By 1812 Imperial France, under the leadership of Napoleon had become the dominant force in Europe. Only Britain and Portugal were still fighting against an Empire that now stretched from the shores of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean to modern Russia. It was at this point that a young United States decided to declare war on Britain. For the next two years, the countries would fight battles on land and sea to try and establish supremacy over North America. It was a war that would end in stalemate and reconciliation, but which - if things had gone differently - could have changed the fate of Europe and the US forever.