The Battle of Waterloo ends the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the encyclopedias, you will read that on June 18, 1815, near the Belgian village of Waterloo, the last major battle fought by Napoleon took place.
Waterloo was reached after Napoleon escaped from exile on the island of Elba in February 1815 and returned to France. The period known as the “hundred days” begins.
Former emperor dethrones restored Louis XVIII, gathers huge army
and heads to Belgium to stop the advance of the armies of the “Seventh Coalition” – an association between European monarchical dynasties, aiming to end French domination in Europe, recalls the site Briefly.
Although Napoleon had an army of about 190-200,000, he was opposed by the armies of the alliance between Great Britain, Prussia, the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duchy of Nassau and the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. The number of troops that the alliance can face against the French is estimated at 500-750,000 people, and with the announced mobilization it can reach up to a million.
Therefore, Bonaparte decided to act and defeat the allied armies separately before they could unite. On June 13, the French army entered Belgium. Three days later, the French defeated the Prussian army led by Field Marshal Blücher. Napoleon orders Marshal Grushy to pursue the retreating Prussians, and he himself heads an army of 72,000 against the forces of the Anglo-Dutch Corps, commanded by Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.
The two armies met on the battlefield on June 18, 1815.
Actually, the Battle of Waterloo did not take place near Waterloo.
The town, which is immortalized in history, is located about 20 kilometers from Brussels and in it the headquarters of the Duke of Wellington was located the night before the battle. He was in the habit of christening the battles fought after the place where he spent the night the day before the battle, so the battle also goes down in history as the Battle of Waterloo. The actual fighting took place near the village of Mont Saint Jean. The Anglo-Dutch forces occupy the height of the Mont Saint-Germain plateau and this gives them a certain advantage.
Napoleon relied heavily on his artillery. He himself is an artilleryman and knows how to use the power of artillery fire very well. His plans are, in addition to the strong artillery, to use the advantages of his heavy cavalry. But unfortunately it rained the night before. This confuses the Frenchman's plans. The battle began not at dawn, as was customary at that time, but almost at noon. Napoleon probably waited for the ground to dry out a bit so he could maneuver his artillery and heavy cavalry. And the wait may be due to the fact that Napoleon is having a stomach crisis. Because of the painkillers the doctors gave him, it is said that he spent most of the battle dozing off. Such were the medicines - mainly opium was used for pain relief.
The first attack hits the flank of the English.
Napoleon wants to take the forces away from the center of the English. By 4:00 p.m., the battle was tied and the English managed to repel all French attacks. At this hour, however, Napoleon's heavy cavalry advanced against the regimental carriage formations of the British troops in the center of the battle. Followed by elite guard infantry, the French are about to break through the center. Resistance to the attack was found in the ranks of the British Guards. An hour later, the denouement of the entire battle begins.
Marshal Gruschi, sent earlier to pursue the retreating Prussian army, turns out to be too cautious. Field Marshal Blücher, on the other hand, is a very stable tactician and managed to quickly and without major losses mislead the pursuing Grushi corps. Thus, around 3 p.m., the 30,000-strong army of the Prussians appeared on the right flank of the French.
A little later, the French troops captured the farm of La é’Saint, which is located in the center of the English positions. A new Guard attack is being prepared.
The battle is at its turning point.
The British managed to repel the fierce attack of the best military unit of the French army - the Old Guard. At the same time, Blücher broke through the flanks of the French lines. The French begin to retreat. Around 10 p.m., the two commanders in chief - Duke Wellington and Field Marshal Blücher - meet and this marks the victory of the allied forces over the Napoleonic army.
Four days later, in Paris, Napoleon abdicated again. After weeks of aimless wandering, the former emperor realized the hopelessness of his situation and surrendered to the British. After negotiations, the defeated French dictator was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he spent the rest of his days until May 5, 1821.