June 18th, 1815.
Three armies, commanded by the three best commanders of their day, prepared to do battle
on a hilltop just south of Brussels.
At stake was the fate of the entire European continent.
Would the allied armies of the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher be able to preserve the
balance of power in Europe, and bring an end to 25 years of almost continuous warfare?
Or would Napoleon, three months after escaping from exile on the island of Elba, make France
the premier military power of the world once again?
This is the story of how the sleepy town of Waterloo became the site of one of the most
famous and momentous battles in the history of the world.
Napoleon
The central player in the drama about to unfold is Napoleon Bonaparte.
Born in 1769 on the island of Corsica, Napoleon was a young artillery officer when the French
Revolution overthrew the monarchy and began 10 years of internal turmoil.
Napoleon used a combination of smart political acumen and obvious military skill to rise
through the ranks, becoming a general at the age of 24.
He became a hero to the French people after leading French armies to victory in the Italian
campaign of 1796, crushing all who opposed him and setting up a system of client states
in Italy that ensured French domination of the Italian peninsula for the next 20 years.
Then, in 1799, he led a military coup that deposed the Directory and made himself First
Consul of France.
4 years later, he upgraded his title to Emperor of the French.
Napoleon spent the next several years systematically destroying Continental opposition to him,
defeating armies from Austria, Russia, Prussia, Spain, and Portugal, among others.
The only consistent thorn in his side was the United Kingdom, who, being an island nation,
was protected from France’s seemingly invincible land armies by the equally invincible Royal
Navy.
Unable to mount an invasion of Great Britain, especially after most of the French naval
fleet was destroyed in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Napoleon resorted to economic warfare,
trying to force the other nations of Europe to stop trading with the UK.
Unable to threaten Tsar Alexander I into complying with his demands, he invaded Russia in 1812
at the head of a massive army, and promptly met with disaster.
Forced to retreat with most of his army gone, the many enemies he’d made over 15 years
of conflict allied together and surrounded France.
Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy
in 1814.
But he didn’t stay there for long, however.
Less than a year later, he escaped from Elba with a small force and returned to France.
The French people and especially the army backed him, and he again crowned himself Emperor
in March 1815.
Austria, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Prussia all declared war on Napoleon personally,
calling him an outlaw, and vowed to remove him from power once and for all.
Wellington & Blucher
Unlike Napoleon, who came from humble origins, the Duke of Wellington was born into a life
of privilege, the third son of the Earl of Mornington.
As was the custom of the time, younger members of an aristocratic family joined the military
as a way to advance themselves, since they were blocked from inheriting the titles and
lands of their fathers.
Born Arthur Wellesley in 1769 in Dublin, he joined the Army in 1787, first rising to prominence
ten years later in India, where he won a series of victories over the forces of the Maratha
Confederacy and helped secure British India for the Empire.
In 1809, he was named General in charge of a British army deployed to Portugal to fight
the French on the Iberian peninsula.
Over the course of the next five years, Wellesley defeated every French Marshal Napoleon sent
against him, throwing the French first out of Portugal and then out of Spain.
For his efforts, he was given the title Duke of Wellington.
Wellington was serving as a diplomat in Vienna when Napoleon escaped from Elba.
He was immediately recalled to take command of the British forces, which were combined
with troops from the Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, and Brunswick to form one half of
an allied army that also included Prussian troops under Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher.
Blucher was 72 years old in 1815, having spent over 50 years in uniform.
He rose to prominence in the Prussian Army in the 1790s, and faced Napoleon several times
throughout the course of the Napoleonic Wars.
He’d played a key role in the defeat of the French Emperor at the Battle of Leipzig
in 1813, and was named Field Marshal.
He had settled into a long overdue retirement when Napoleon’s return compelled his country
to call upon him to serve again.
Battle Plans
The allied battle plan to defeat Napoleon was simple: armies from Great Britain, Prussia,
Russia, and Austria would all invade France simultaneously, and overwhelm the French with
numerical superiority.
Paris would be captured and Napoleon forced to surrender.
The date given for the invasion was July 1st, 1815.
The Anglo-Dutch Army commanded by Wellington numbered 68,000 men, while Blucher’s Prussian
army numbered 50,000.
The two armies were positioned just south of Brussels in Belgium, not combined together
but spread out across the countryside to make it easier to find food and fodder for the
horses.
Napoleon knew what the Allies were planning, and to stop them, knew he needed to act fast.
He intended to defeat each army in turn, rather than face them all at once.
This was something Napoleon had become a master of over the years, divide and conquer.
He knew he wasn’t going to be able to defeat the combined forces of the British and the
Prussians, to win, he had to face them one at a time.
After they were defeated, he could then concentrate on the Austrian and Russian armies.
Napoleon’s Armée du Nord, composed of all available troops in Northeastern France, numbered
about 75,000 men, including many veteran units from his previous campaigns.
Battles of Quatre Bras & Ligny
On June 15th, Napoleon invaded Belgium, right at the hinge between the British and the Prussian
armies.
Both commanders were taken by surprise but reacted quickly, mobilizing their troops and
trying to close the gap between the allied armies.
Napoleon detached part of his army, under the command of Marshal Ney, to hold the British
in place while Napoleon led the main part of the army to face Blucher.
At Ligny on June 16th, Napoleon defeated Blucher and forced the Prussians to retreat.
Blucher was almost killed when his horse was shot out from under him and pinned him to
the ground for hours, the general only surviving by pretending to be dead when French soldiers
passed by before being rescued.
Meanwhile, Ney fought the British to a draw at the crossroads of Quatre Bras at the same
time, though Wellington was also forced to retreat because the Prussians did.
Blucher, to his great credit, ensured his army retreated to the northwest to Wavre,
still in a position to support Wellington.
Napoleon, meanwhile, detached a large force under command of Marshal Grouchy, with orders
to follow the Prussians and harass them so that they were unable to join the British.
That done, Napoleon turned his attention to Wellington.
Wellington had ridden through the village of Waterloo in 1814, after Napoleon’s abdication,
and noticed a hill that he thought would make an excellent place to have an army fight a
defensive battle, the kind of battle that had brought him victory many times in Spain.
He remembered that ground a year later, and led his army to that spot to wait for Napoleon,
and hope that Blucher was able to reinforce him.
Battle Begins
The spot that Wellington picked was the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean, south of Waterloo.
Wellington hid most of his army behind the crest of the hill, so that the French couldn’t
see where they were positioned.
His line was centered on three strong points: on the right was a large farmhouse chateau,
called the Hougoumont.
On his left was the tiny hamlet of Papelotte, which was fortified with barricades and other
obstacles.
And in the center was a farmhouse called La Haye Sainte.
Wellington’s goal was to hold the line long enough for Blucher’s army to support him,
he never intended to defeat Napoleon on his own.
He would not have positioned his army on the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean if he didn’t have
absolute trust in Blucher to come to his aid.
Napoleon, meanwhile, needed to smash Wellington’s army before Blucher could reinforce them.
On the morning of June 18th, the two armies faced each other.
It had rained the night before, and Napoleon waited several hours for the ground to dry
before beginning his attack, fearing his troops would be bogged down in the mud if he didn’t.
He had no way of realizing that this decision would help his enemy more than himself over
the course of the day.
Around 11:30, the battle began.
The French II Corps were ordered to attack the Anglo-Dutch position on the right.
Napoleon believed that this would draw in Wellington’s reserves so that he could smash
the enemy line on the left with the rest of his army and flank the Anglo-Dutch army and
force them to run for the sea.
To do this, the French needed to take the Hougoumont.
The Hougoumont was defended by some of Britain’s crack soldiers: the light companies of the
Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Guards Regiments, along with other allied forces.
Despite being greatly outnumbered, the defenders pushed back repeated assaults by the French,
including one desperate moment when a hulking French officer hacked through the gates with
an axe and stormed the courtyard with French soldiers, prompting a desperate hand to hand
struggle before the British were able to close the gate again.
All the French soldiers trapped inside were killed except for a drummer boy.
The French would continue to attack the Hougoumont all day, but were unable to take the position
despite setting the entire farmhouse on fire at one point.
Escalation
Napoleon loved artillery.
He had been trained as an artillery officer, and cannon always incorporated heavily into
his battle strategy.
At Waterloo, just as he had at most of his other battles, he organized all available
artillery pieces into a “Grand Battery”, that opened fire on the center of the Anglo-Dutch
line, inflicting heavy casualties.
At 1:30, the first major assault by the French I Corps began.
Four French divisions advanced in large rectangular “columns”, a mass of infantry that was
designed to smash through thin enemy lines through sheer weight of numbers and also provided
a feeling of security for French soldiers, many of whom were undertrained conscripts.
The First Division was ordered to attack La Haye Sainte, defended by the King’s German
Legion (German soldiers in the employ of Great Britain), while the rest were to advance against
the Anglo-Dutch left.
This part of the line was commanded by General Sir Thomas Picton, a colorful and celebrated
soldier who had won great glory for himself fighting in Spain.
On the day of the battle, his luggage containing his uniform hadn’t arrived, so he was dressed
in a civilian suit and top hat.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Divisions of II Corps forced the Anglo-Dutch army back through overwhelming
firepower.
Picton saw what was happening and ordered a counter attack, a brave bayonet charge that
briefly checked the French advance.
However, Picton was shot in the head and killed instantly, the highest ranking soldier to
be killed at Waterloo.
With Picton dead, the line began to falter again.
At 2:00 PM, it appeared that Napoleon was winning the battle of Waterloo.
And that’s when the British cavalry attacked.
Charge of the Household Cavalry
At this crucial moment in the battle, 2 British heavy cavalry brigades, including the elite
Household Cavalry, charged the French lines.
They were led by the Earl of Uxbridge, Wellington’s second in command and commander of the cavalry.
They completely routed the French I Corps, inflicting heavy casualties on the infantry.
But there was a saying that the British had the best cavalry in Europe, but were the worst
led.
The two brigade commanders were unable to rein in their men, who continued to advance
and attack the French artillery, and were milling around in confusion, leaving them
vulnerable to attack by French lancer and cuirassier cavalry units.
The British heavy cavalry took heavy losses, including the 2nd Brigade’s commander, General
Sir William Ponsonby.
The survivors retreated back to the Anglo-Dutch lines while the French I Corps tried to reorganize.
Off to the right of the battlefield, Napoleon spotted two Prussian Corps moving towards
his position, estimating them to be 3 or 4 hours away from engaging him.
He ordered the French VI Corps to move to intercept the Prussians, and sent an urgent
message to Marshal Grouchy, who was supposed to be preventing the Prussians from doing
exactly what they were doing now, joining up with Wellington’s army.
Napoleon wanted Grouchy to come to Waterloo and stop the Prussian advance.
But Grouchy wasn’t coming.
He’d gotten lost while trying to pursue the Prussian Army and then when he found them,
attacked their rearguard instead.
Napoleon now knew he was in a race against time to destroy Wellington before Blucher
arrived to support him, or the French army would be finished.
French Cavalry Assault
At around 4PM, Napoleon had to be taken back to his tent after being overcome with a persistent
intestinal ailment that caused him great pain.
Command of the army fell to Marshal Ney, who was called “The Bravest of the Brave”,
but wasn’t particularly known for his tactical genius.
Ney saw some movement on the ridgeline that convinced him that the Anglo-Dutch army was
retreating.
He led 9,000 cavalry on a massive charge across the battlefield, ready to destroy the retreating
Wellington once and for all.
But Wellington wasn’t retreating.
He saw the cavalry and formed his infantry into defensive infantry squares, an impenetrable
hedge of bayonets and muskets that horses shied away from and refused to charge.
The proper way to counter this was to blast the squares apart with artillery, but the
French artillery and cavalry weren’t coordinated.
The artillery was too far away to effectively break up the squares, and as a result, the
cavalry advanced alone.
As many as 12 separate assaults were recorded, the British suffering relatively few casualties
but cutting the French cavalry to pieces.
No attempt was made by the French to sabotage the British artillery, so the cannoneers could
hide in the squares while the cavalry attacked and then resume firing when they retreated.
Anglo-Dutch cavalry also continually countercharged the French, and finally compelled Ney to retreat
back to his lines.
But he was soon back.
This time, Ney followed proper early 19th century military strategy and advanced a combined
arms assault of infantry supported by cavalry and artillery.
After the King’s German Legion ran out of ammunition, the French finally captured La
Haye Sainte after attacking it all day.
They used the farmhouse as a springboard to attack Wellington’s center, bringing up
artillery pieces to fire on the British infantry squares at close range, inflicting heavy casualties.
Once again, Wellington seemed on the verge of defeat.
And then the Prussians arrived.
Arrival of the Prussians & Attack of the Guard
Two Prussian Corps were now on the field at Waterloo: the IV Corps, which attacked at
Plancenoit to the south of Napoleon’s lines, and the I Corps, which supported Wellington’s
left flank and drove the French before them, stabilizing the Anglo-Dutch line.
The French army position now resembled a horseshoe, being pushed from the right as more and more
Prussians arrived and joined the battle.
Napoleon couldn’t understand where Grouchy was.
He was supposed to be on the tail of the Prussian army, and yet HERE was the Prussian army,
and Grouchy was nowhere to be found.
In desperation, he called for a fresh advance on Wellington, spearheaded by his last reserve:
the Imperial Guard.
The Guard was his hammer, comprised of the best and most loyal French soldiers.
They had never been defeated when committed to battle before.
Napoleon was convinced that the Guard could snatch a victory for him now.
Around 3,000 Guardsmen led the advance, the rest remaining in reserve to protect Napoleon
in case of retreat.
Their advance rallied the French infantry all along the line to renew their assault
on the Anglo-Dutch line.
The Guard continued to advance, and as it neared the crest of the ridgeline, it looked
as though they were marching towards yet another victory.
But the British had Guards too.
The battalions of the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Guards had been lying on the ground
out of sight to protect themselves from artillery fire.
But as the Imperial Guard grew closer, Wellington prepared to spring his trap.
He rode personally up and down the line, imploring the British Guardsmen to stand up and fight.
They rose up, appearing suddenly out of the grass and pouring musket fire into the surprised
French Guard.
That broke the first line, when the second line moved to engage the British Guards, they
were confronted by the muskets of the 52nd Line Infantry, who fired and then charged,
along with the British Guards.
The Imperial Guard broke and ran.
A shout of despair went up all along the French line as they saw what had happened.
The invincible Guard was running, every man for himself.
It triggered a rout, most of the French army facing Wellington fled in a panic.
A jubilant Wellington ordered a general advance.
Destruction of the French Army
Meanwhile, a third Prussian Corps, the II, had arrived to support the IV and I Corps.
They continued to push the French facing them back, until word reached them that the line
against Wellington had broken and they began to panic and run as well.
For all intents and purposes, the battle was over.
Napoleon was forced to retreat, protected by the remaining two battalions of the Imperial
Guard that hadn’t been part of the ill fated charge, they were the only French unit that
was able to retreat in good order, the remainder fled pell mell, streaming out of Belgium and
back into France, pursued for a time by British and Prussian cavalry.
Dawn broke on June 19th to reveal a horrible sight on the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean.
The battle had been one of the most violent in recent memory, and the dead and dying littered
the field.
Wellington, surveying the carnage, repeatedly said that he hoped to God he’d fought his
last battle.
He would later write that there was nothing so melancholy as a battle won, except for
a battle lost.
All told, Wellington’s army suffered 17,000 casualties at the Battle of Waterloo, Blucher’s
Prussians had suffered 7,000.
Napoleon’s army was completely destroyed: it suffered 25,000 casualties, including at
least 6,000 taken prisoner, and another 15,000 soldiers went missing, presumably deserted
the army and went home.
Six days after the battle, on June 24th, Napoleon abdicated again.
He attempted to flee, probably to his allies in America, but was captured by the Royal
Navy a month later.
This time he would be exiled to Saint Helena, one of the most remote islands in the world,
located in the South Atlantic Ocean halfway between Africa and South America.
He remained there the rest of his life, dying in 1821 at the age of 51.
In 1840, his body was repatriated to France and buried in Paris.
The Duke of Wellington was celebrated as one of the greatest generals that Great Britain
had ever produced, and played an important role in British politics for the next 35 years
after Waterloo, serving as Commander in Chief of the British Army, Prime Minister, and Leader
of the House of Lords, among other positions.
As he had hoped, he never took the field of battle again, dying in 1852 at the age of
83.
Field Marshal Blucher was named Prince of Wahlstatt by a grateful King and country,
and except for a few state visits to England, lived a quiet life in Silesia, dying in 1819
at the age of 76.
He and Wellington remained friends for the remainder of his life.
Analysis
The importance of the Battle of Waterloo on European and World History cannot be overstated.
It ended the career of Napoleon, one of the most celebrated military commanders in history,
and brought an end to the dominance of France in European and world affairs.
The void was filled by Great Britain, Austria, and Prussia, the latter of which slowly built
up German hegemony over the following decades until all the provinces of Germany combined
into one nation, headed by the Prussian Kaiser.
The battle also marked the end of 25 years of almost continuous warfare in Europe and
ushered in a long period of peace and prosperity across the continent.
The great powers of Europe wouldn’t go to war again until the outbreak of the First
World War nearly a century after Waterloo.
Over 200 years after it happened, the Battle of Waterloo still captures the imagination
the way few other battles have, for many reasons.
Because of the stakes involved, the personalities involved, and because of the back and forth
nature of the battle itself, yes, but also because Waterloo marked the end of a more
Romantic era in European history, as the continent was swept up in the Industrial Revolution
and the old style of war epitomized at Waterloo was replaced by the modern machinery that
made war less heroic, more impersonal, and much more deadly.
What happened on that ridgeline on June 18th, 1815, is likely never
to be forgotten.