The Battle of Waterloo

Setting the scene

After escaping Elba in March 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte raised a new French army of 125,000 veterans, threatening the European order established at the Congress of Vienna. The Seventh Coalition—Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia—mobilized 700,000 troops. Napoleon aimed to defeat the British under Wellington and Prussians under Blücher separately before they could unite in Belgium. Wellington's 68,000-man allied army, comprising British, Dutch, Belgian, and German troops, took position near the village of Waterloo, 12 miles south of Brussels, on a ridge with strong defensive positions.

What happened

On June 18, 1815, after heavy rain delayed the start, Napoleon attacked at 11:30 a.m. French infantry assaulted the center and the fortified farms of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte. British squares repelled repeated cavalry charges by Marshal Ney. At 4 p.m., the Prussians began arriving on Napoleon's right flank after marching from Wavre. Napoleon committed his undefeated Imperial Guard at 7:30 p.m. for a final breakthrough, but Wellington's troops, shouting 'Up, Guards, and at them!' shattered the Guard's attack. The French army collapsed and fled.

Why it still matters

Waterloo ended Napoleon's Hundred Days and 23 years of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars that had killed 3-5 million people. Napoleon abdicated four days later and was exiled to St. Helena, where he died in 1821. The battle preserved Britain as the world's dominant power for a century and established a European balance of power that prevented general war until 1914. Wellington became a national hero and prime minister, while Waterloo became synonymous with final defeat. The battlefield remains preserved in Belgium, with the Lion's Mound marking the spot where the Prince of Orange was wounded.

Background

Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena after the defeat.