Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo, fought on 18 June 1815 near the village of Waterloo in present-day Belgium, marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and brought to a close Napoleon Bonaparte’s brief return to power during the Hundred Days. The clash involved the French Imperial Army under Napoleon and the combined forces of the Seventh Coalition, notably the Anglo-Allied army commanded by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The battle resulted in a decisive defeat for France and shaped European international relations for decades.

Background and Strategic Setting

In March 1815 Napoleon escaped exile on Elba and rapidly regained control of France. Alarmed by his resurgence, the major European powers meeting at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw and formed the Seventh Coalition, which included Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia. Mobilisation began at once, with Wellington positioned in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Blücher stationed nearby in the east. Their combined armies posed a grave threat to Napoleon should they unite and march on Paris.
Facing superior numbers, Napoleon sought to destroy each army separately before they could coordinate their movements. By striking quickly into what is now Belgium, he aimed to exploit the proximity of the Coalition armies and defeat them in detail. His larger strategic hope was that a major victory might destabilise the fragile political structure of the Low Countries and encourage a sympathetic uprising among French-speaking communities.
Napoleon’s army for the campaign numbered roughly 72,000 to 73,000 men. It comprised experienced soldiers drawn from the remnants of earlier campaigns and newly raised formations. The army was divided into three principal elements: a left wing under Marshal Michel Ney, a right wing under Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy, and a central reserve commanded by Napoleon himself. Wellington’s Anglo-Allied force, about 68,000 strong, consisted of British regulars, the King’s German Legion, contingents from Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, and a substantial Dutch-Belgian contingent. Blücher’s Prussian army, numbering around 50,000 at Waterloo itself, had suffered heavily at the Battle of Ligny two days earlier but remained capable of coordinated action.

Opening Movements of the Campaign

The campaign opened on 15 June 1815 when Napoleon’s forces advanced across the Charleroi frontier. This manoeuvre placed the French army between Wellington’s and Blücher’s forces. On 16 June the French gained a tactical victory over the Prussians at Ligny, prompting Blücher’s withdrawal in good order. Meanwhile, Ney fought Wellington’s forward elements at the Battle of Quatre Bras, where the Anglo-Allied army managed to hold its ground.
Although the French achieved local successes, they failed to prevent Wellington and Blücher from maintaining communication. On 17 June Wellington retreated northwards towards the defensive terrain of Mont-Saint-Jean, south of Waterloo, while Blücher withdrew but promised that his army would march to Wellington’s support if possible. Napoleon dispatched a large portion of Grouchy’s corps to pursue the Prussians, which later proved critical, as it diverted manpower from the main battlefield.

Dispositions at Waterloo

Wellington’s army took up a strong defensive position along the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean. The Brussels road cut through his centre, and the army occupied forward strongpoints at Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte and Papelotte. These fortified farm complexes served both as anchors for the Allied line and as obstacles for the French assault.
Napoleon’s plan relied on breaking Wellington’s centre before the Prussians arrived. The French army fielded notable formations, including I Corps under d’Erlon, II Corps under Reille, VI Corps under Lobau, heavy cavalry corps, and the elite battalions of the Imperial Guard. In total, Napoleon’s artillery numbered over 250 guns, while Wellington and Blücher deployed a comparable number combined.

Course of the Battle

The battle began late in the morning with a French assault on Hougoumont, intended as a diversion. The fighting there became a prolonged struggle, absorbing large numbers of French troops without breaking Wellington’s right flank. Around midday, the main attack was launched by d’Erlon’s infantry against the Allied left-centre. Initial French gains were reversed by a counter-charge of heavy cavalry led by the Marquess of Anglesey, which swept through the advancing infantry before being repulsed by French cavalry reserves.
The fighting around La Haye Sainte intensified in the afternoon. This central strongpoint held despite repeated French attacks until late in the battle, when its defenders were finally overrun. Despite local successes, the French failed to rupture the Allied line decisively.
Crucially, Blücher’s Prussian army began arriving on the French right flank during the afternoon. Troops under General Bülow engaged first, followed by additional Prussian corps that pressed the French increasingly hard. Napoleon had to divert forces, including Lobau’s corps, to counter the Prussian advance, weakening the French attacks on Wellington’s front.
In the early evening, Napoleon committed his final reserve: the senior battalions of the Imperial Guard. Their advance towards Wellington’s centre initially caused anxiety among the defenders; however, the Anglo-Allied line stood firm. A volley from British Guards units halted the French advance, and a general counter-attack drove the Guard back. The failure of this elite assault signalled the collapse of French morale.
With the Prussians breaking through on the right and the Anglo-Allied army surging forward, the French position disintegrated. The retreat turned into a rout, with thousands of French soldiers fleeing the field.

Casualties and Aftermath

The battle produced heavy losses. The French suffered an estimated 25,000 killed or wounded, with thousands more captured or missing. Coalition casualties were similarly high: Wellington’s army lost around 15,000 men, while the Prussians suffered approximately 7,000 casualties. The scale of the fighting made Waterloo the second bloodiest single-day battle of the Napoleonic Wars, surpassed only by Borodino.
Four days after Waterloo, Napoleon abdicated for the second and final time. Coalition forces entered Paris in early July, and Napoleon was eventually exiled to Saint Helena, where he remained until his death in 1821. The defeat restored a measure of stability to Europe and ushered in a period often described as the Pax Britannica, during which British naval and commercial power shaped international relations.

Significance and Legacy

Waterloo marked the definitive end of the First French Empire and Napoleon’s military career. For the Coalition powers, the victory ensured the restoration of the post-Vienna European order. For Britain, the battle became a central symbol of national identity, celebrated for Wellington’s leadership and the tenacity of the Anglo-Allied army. The Prussian role, long overshadowed in popular memory, has since been recognised as vital to the outcome.
The phrase “meeting one’s Waterloo” emerged as a cultural expression denoting irreversible defeat. The battlefield, now within Belgium, is dominated by the Lion’s Mound, an artificial hill commemorating the struggle, though its construction altered the original terrain. The battle remains one of the most studied engagements in military history, noted for its tactical complexity, multinational composition and decisive place in the narrative of European power politics.