Napoleon's Defeat at Waterloo: A Short History

Battle of Waterloo, (June 18, 1815) Final defeat of Napoleon and French forces in the Napoleonic Wars. The battle was fought near Waterloo village, south of Brussels, during the Hundred Days of Napoleon's restoration, by Napoleon's 72,000 troops against the duke of Wellington's combined Allied army of 68,000 aided by 45,000 Prussians under Gebhard von Blücher. After the French defeated the Prussians at Ligny and held Wellington at Quatre-Bras in secondary battles on June 16, Napoleon's marshals, including Michel Ney, failed to eliminate either enemy while they were separated. Napoleon delayed his attack at Waterloo until midday, to allow the ground to dry, which enabled Blücher's main force to escape the pursuing French and join Wellington. Four French attacks on the Allied centre failed to break through, and Napoleon had to move troops to meet the Prussian flanking attack. When Ney succeeded in capturing a farmhouse at the centre of the Allied line, his call to Napoleon for reinforcements was refused. Wellington and his forces, though vulnerable after heavy losses, repulsed the final French assault and turned to advance against the French, forcing them into a disorganized retreat. The French suffered 25,000 killed and wounded, and 9,000 were captured; Wellington's casualties were 15,000, and Blücher's were about 8,000. Four days later, Napoleon abdicated for the last time.