Battle of Waterloo
Waterloo, United Kingdom of the Netherlands (present-day Belgium)
What happened
Emperor Napoleon, with Marshal Ney leading much of the fighting, faced the allied army of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army of Field Marshal Blücher. Napoleon had escaped from exile and taken back power, and he attacked before the armies of his enemies could join. Near Waterloo, in today's Belgium, rain-soaked ground delayed the start, and then French attacks on the farms of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte and on Wellington's centre failed to break through, while French cavalry charges broke against squares of British and allied infantry. In the late afternoon the Prussians attacked the French right side, and when Napoleon's Imperial Guard was turned back in the evening, the French army collapsed.
Why it matters
Result: Coalition victory. Why it matters: It was Napoleon's final defeat and ended his return to power, called the Hundred Days. Coalition armies entered Paris on 7 July, and King Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne.
What came next
Napoleon gave up his throne four days later, on 22 June. He surrendered to the British and was sent to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
Did you know?
Wellington called the battle 'the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life'.
Timeline
- 20 March 1815Napoleon arrives in Paris and takes back power.
- 18 June 1815Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon at Waterloo.
- 7 July 1815Coalition forces enter Paris.
- 1821Napoleon dies on Saint Helena.