Bonaparte and the Battle of Waterloo

2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo – the final undoing of brilliant French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821). Waterloo was one of the most decisive battles ever fought. It was a crucial event in European political and social history, ending over twenty years of conflict and bringing one of Europe’s most extraordinary and challenging figures to his knees.

The beginning of the end for Napoleon came with his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. By the end of 1813 his armies had been defeated both by a coalition of nations at the Battle of Leipzig and by the Duke of Wellington’s forces in Spain. He abdicated in April 1814 and was exiled to Elba, but in March 1815 he was back in Paris and ready to confront the powers of Europe. 

The Battle of Waterloo took place on 18 June 1815 in the countryside near Brussels, just a few miles south of the village of Waterloo. The British were expecting support from Prussia, which was delayed due to mud and floods, meaning Napoleon very nearly broke through the British line before the Prussians intervened. Having gambled all on this last attempt, Napoleon’s defeat was catastrophic. 

Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo was greeted almost universally with relief: the war that had lasted for more than twenty years was finally over. But in Britain triumphalism was mixed with anxiety over the high price of war and sorrow for those lost. Napoleon escaped after the battle, abdicated a second time and made his way to Rochefort, hoping to sail for the United States.

Realising an escape to the United States would be impossible, Napoleon surrendered on 15 July, giving himself up to the captain of the Bellerophon, in hope of asylum and retirement in Britain. His only glimpse of Britain was from the deck of the ship and on 8 August he sailed for the remote island of St Helena in the south Atlantic where he spent the last six years of his life in exile.