1815

Waterloo

18th June 1815, one of the most important moments in military history.
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Wellington gave his famous bayonet order, as he rode along the line:

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"Guards, get up and charge!"

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The Battle of Waterloo saw the might of the French Empire under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon face the Coalition army led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher for one last time. It concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, and ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon's imperial power forever. The coalition forces entered France and restored Louis XVIII to the throne and Napoleon was exiled.

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"It was the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life."

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The Duke of Wellington received a hero's welcome on his return to Britain. He was showered with further honours, eventually becoming prime minister in 1828, and again in 1834.

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Exiled Napoleon spent his final years living in agony on the island of St Helena: tormented by toothache and struck down by a severe fever.

Waterloo ended the war that had convulsed Europe since the French Revolution (1789-99). It also ended France's attempts, whether under Louis XIV or Napoleon, to dominate the continent.

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Waterloo inaugurated a general European peace that, apart from the brief interruption of the Crimean War (1854-56), lasted until 1914. In the years that followed 1815, France and Britain were brought closer together, fighting as partners in the Crimea and remaining allies through two World Wars.

 

Source: National Army Museum/English Heritage/britishbattles.com