Waterloo 1815

The details of a resounding victory for the British Army, which changed the course of European history

The Battle of Waterloo is one of the most important moments in military history, as the might of the French Empire, under Napoleon's leadership, faced the Coalition army under Duke of Wellington and Gerhard von Blucher for one last time. The battle saw the culmination of a long campaign to destroy Napoleon's forces and halt the growth of the French Empire. Both sides fought bitterly and Wellington later remarked that "it was the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life." Both armies lost more than 20,000 men on the battlefield that day, but it was the coalition that emerged victorious in the end. Wellington's army counter-attacked and threw the French troops into disarray as they fled from the field. The coalition forces entered France and restored Louis XVIII to the throne, and Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he later died.