The Battle of Waterloo was fought by Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armeé (Grand Army) on June 18, 1815 against British and Prussian armies, led by Field Marshals the Duke of Wellington and Gebbard von Blücher, respectively. 1 Waterloo is located in Belgium. The battle resulted in Napoleon’s ultimate defeat.
The Grande Armeé entered the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) on June 15. That led the Prussian army to retreat, with over 20,000 casualties. At the same time, however, the British army defeated the Grande Armeé at Quatre Bras. This led the stage for the Battle of Waterloo. 2
Despite the defeat, French forces pursued the British forces. Yet the Prussians were fine. The Duke of Wellington waited for the large Prussian army, ready for a sanguinary fight. 3
On June 18, the Grande Armeé actually outnumbered the British, with 72,000 Frenchmen fighting against 68,000 Brits. However, the Brits were supported by their Prussian allies in this battle. The Prussian cavalry attacked the French, who suffered almost double of the British and Prussian casualties that day. In addition, the French troops were languid during that campaign. 4 All of this led to Napoleon’s final surrender.
Napoleon was exiled to a British island-colony named St. Helena, off the coast of Africa. It was there that Napoleon would live the rest of his life, and die in 1822. His body was later moved to Paris.
Today, the Battle of Waterloo is still significant. It led to the restoration of the balance of power in Europe (for a while). In addition, the term “waterloo,” in modern concepts, refers to someone’s weakness. In conclusion, the Battle of Waterloo was one event that shaped world history forever.
1 “Battle of Waterloo.” National Army Museum, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo.
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon & Duke of Wellington, HISTORY. “Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon and Duke of Wellington | HISTORY.” HISTORY, 29 July 2022,
www.history.com/topics/european-history/battle-of-waterloo#.
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