What Happened After the Battle of Waterloo?

 The Battle of Waterloo took place on June 18, 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium. The French army, led by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, was defeated by two armies of the Seventh Coalition: the British, a coalition consisting of many units from England, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick, and Nassau, led by the British and commanded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and the Prussians. The fight effectively ended the Napoleonic Wars.

When Napoleon returned to power in March 1815, the countries opposing him had established the Seventh Coalition and began mobilizing forces. Wellington and Blücher commanded two major troops stationed near northeastern France. Napoleon had planned to attack them individually, aiming to defeat them before they joined other Coalitions members in an invasion of France.

Napoleon's main force successfully attacked the main Prussian force at the Battle of Ligny on June 16, causing the Prussians to retreat in an orderly manner northward on June 17. Napoleon dispatched a third of his army to chase the Prussians, ending in the Battle of Wavre with the Prussian rear on June 18–19, with the Prussians holding 33,000 French soldiers, preventing them from participating in the Battle of Waterloo. On June 16, a small contingent of French troops fought the British in the Battle of Quatre Bras. On June 6, the British held their position, but the Prussian retreat forced Wellington to retire north to Waterloo on June 17.

Wellington planned to battle in the small hamlet of Mont-Saint-Jean across Brussels Street, near the village of Waterloo, after learning that the Prussians might be able to support him. On the afternoon of June 18, helped by the Prussians, the British army attacked the French flanks and caused many French casualties. Napoleon attacked the British in the evening with his last reserve, a seasoned French Royal Guard infantry regiment. The British resisted the Royal Guards while the Prussians broke through the French right flank, and the French were defeated.

Waterloo was the decisive battle of Napoleon's Waterloo Campaign. The battle was described by Wellington as "a dramatic thing you've never seen in your life." Four days later, Napoleon abdicated, and on July 7, allied forces entered Paris. The defeat at Waterloo effectively terminated Napoleon's and the French emperor's power, as well as his One Hundred Days' period.

End of the First French Empire and the beginning of decades of calm in Europe. The battlefield was in Braine-l'Alleud and Lasne, Belgium, some 15 kilometers south of Brussels and 2 kilometers from Waterloo. The most visible battlefield site today is the Lion's Mound Monument, a massive man-made mound constructed from battlefield soil; the landscape of the battlefield near the mound has not been conserved.

Causes of the Battle of Waterloo

Following Napoleon's disastrous failure in the invasion of Russia in 1812, the major European countries banded together to invade France at the same time. In the deadly epic battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated the French, delivering a complete victory and inspiring the fires of the German national liberation movement from French dominance. Following his defeat at Leipzig, Napoleon returned to France and was faced with the Sixth Coalition's direct assault on France in 1814. The Coalition armies conquered the empire with their victory in the Battle of Paris in the same year.

Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba. But the ambitious former French emperor did not remain silent. Napoleon discreetly escaped from captivity and returned to France in April 1815, knowing that the French people still supported him. When King Louis XVIII learned of the news, he dispatched an army to apprehend him. However, in the views of the French people and soldiers at the time, Napoleon remained a hero who brought France honor.

Most generals either respected or feared Napoleon's military skills, so army after army was dispatched to capture him, finally submitting to the former emperor's authority. Napoleon had reconstituted his empire in three weeks. This demonstrates how easily the French military came to power.

The great nations at the Congress of Vienna pronounced Napoleon an outlaw on March 13, 1815, six days before his arrival in Paris. Four days later, Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia joined forces to battle Napoleon, with each of the aforementioned countries providing at least 150,000 soldiers. Their army numbered approximately 600,000 troops. Knowing that utilizing talks to prevent the Seventh Coalition countries from attacking France was hopeless, Napoleon had just one chance to attack before they joined forces. If he had destroyed the Coalition south of Brussels before they could be reinforced, Napoleon would have been able to force the British back to the sea and knock the Prussians out of the war.

After defeating Britain and Prussia, Napoleon could negotiate with Austria and Russia to keep the situation stable. Despite the fact that the total power of the Anglo-Prussian Coalition was much greater than that of the French army, the Anglo-Prussian Coalition did not conduct a comprehensive campaign. It is also worth remembering that, with so many French-speaking people backing him in Belgium, a French victory may spark a pro-French revolution there. The British army in Belgium was also a second-rate force because most of their best soldiers in the Peninsular War were sent to the United States for the War of 1812.

Napoleon had amassed a 360,000-man army, but he only dispatched 125,000 soldiers to the battlefield. The four great nations, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, agreed on the final agreements of the Conference of Vienna, which required France to return to its 1790 borders, nine days before Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. The French Revolutionary government succeeded in separating its opponents in 1795, and Napoleon now sought for France to replicate this victory.

Battle of Waterloo Summary

Following Napoleon Bonaparte's return to power in 1815, the countries opposing him established the Seventh Coalition and began mobilizing forces. Two huge troops led by Wellington and von Blücher neared France's northern border. Napoleon resolved to attack them in order to destroy them before they joined the rest of the Coalition in an invasion of France. The decisive fight of the three-day Waterloo campaign (June 16–19, 1815) was the Battle of Waterloo. Several terrible engagements had preceded it, each ending with Napoleon's failure to keep his foes apart—a re-enactment of his defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition.

Initially, Wellington planned to repel Napoleon's siege by advancing to Mons via a route southwest of Brussels. Such an action would have cut him off from the base at Ostend, but it would have put him closer to Blücher's army. But Napoleon's use of spies caused Wellington to worry about losing the supply route from the seaports. Napoleon then divided his army into three divisions: the left flank, which was led by Field Marshal Ney, the right wing, which was led by Field Marshal Grouchy, and the reserve army, which he led. On June 15, the French crossed the border near Charleroi and demolished Coalition outposts, assisting Napoleon in capturing a position between Wellington and Blücher in order to prevent them from joining.

Wellington discovered the major French onslaught at Charleroi late on the night of June 15. Early on June 16, he got a note from Willem, Duke of Orange (the title of Prince of the Netherlands at the time), and was taken aback by Napoleon's haste. He hastened his soldiers to Quatre Bras, where the Duke of Orange was defending against General Ney's army with the brigade of Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. Ney was given orders to capture the crossroads at Quatre Bras so that he could pull his force east to join Napoleon if required.

The French launched their assault on Quatre Bras and Ligny near Xombreffe on June 16. Field Marshal Michel Ney made a vigorous attack on British forces at Quatre Bras but was met with a stiff counterattack. Throughout the day, despite the loss of 4,500 soldiers, the British held the position and then gradually withdrew their forces to Waterloo in order to protect Wellington's forces. At the same time, Napoleon launched his first attack on the Prussian army. On the 16th, he beat General Blücher's Prussians at the Battle of Ligny, using reserves and the right flank. In Ligny, the situation was different.

This was the general direction of the attack, which was assumed by Field Marshal Grouchy and directly overseen by Napoleon. Blücher's four Prussian corps battled ineffectively and were eventually driven out of the fortifications by the French. The Prussians suffered fatalities and prisoners totaling up to 20,000 individuals here. The Prussian center force had to retreat due to powerful French attacks, while their flanks remained in place. Meanwhile, Ney confronted the Duke of Orange at the Quatre Bras junction. As the Duke of Orange's army was being pushed back, Wellington arrived to help and dislodged Ney to take the crossroads early in the evening.

But it was too late to aid the Prussians, who were now defeated. Wellington was unable to hold Quatre Bras any longer after the Prussian defeat, so he withdrew north the next day to a defensive position he had scouted the previous year: the Monts-Saint-Jean, south of Waterloo village, and Sonian forest.

The Prussian retreat from Ligny was not impeded by the French, and perhaps not as well noticed by them. The Prussian rearguard remained in place until midnight, and some regiments did not move until the next morning, utterly ignored by the French. Due to the French's lack of alertness, the Prussians made a key tactical decision not to retire east via their communication lines. Instead, they proceeded north, parallel to Wellington's course, so that they could get support and communicate with him.

The Prussians were concentrated around Von Bülow's IV Corps, which had not fought at Ligny and was stationed in a strong position south of Wavre. According to Paul K. Davis, the French were unable to repel the Prussians because General Ney failed to secure the Quatre Bras crossroads early. If he could have done so, Ney would have been able to immediately join Napoleon in attacking the Prussian flanks, forcing them to retire to the east.

Napoleon failed to divide his adversaries with his fierce fights at Ligny and Quatre Bras. He and his reserves left late on June 17 and joined General Ney at Quatre Bras, preparing to attack Wellington, but he had retired by then. The French pursued Wellington, but there was a brief cavalry clash at Genappe just as the night began to rain. Before leaving Ligny, Napoleon directed Grouchy, the commander of the right wing, to dispatch 33,000 soldiers to pursue the retreating Prussians.

Grouchy was unable to prevent the Prussians from reaching Wavre, from whence they could advance in support of Wellington, due to their late departure, uncertainty regarding the direction of their operations, and ambiguity of orders. By the end of the 17th, Wellington's army had arrived at Waterloo, with Napoleon's massive army following close behind. Blücher's Prussians were located around eight miles east of Wavre.

Forces of the Warring Parties

The battle featured three major forces: Napoleon I's French "Armée du Nord," a multinational army led by Wellington, and a Prussian army led by Blücher. The French army consisted of approximately 69,000 troops, including 48,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry, 7,000 artillery, and 250 artillery pieces. Napoleon had previously utilized conscription, but he did not deploy it in 1815.

At the time, all of Napoleon's soldiers were seasoned veterans who had fought with him in at least one previous war, and they had all voluntarily returned to his command. Napoleon's cavalry force was huge and powerful, consisting of 14 armored cavalry regiments and seven spear-borne cavalry regiments. As a result, Napoleon's army at Waterloo became one of the most elite in his military career. At the time, the Union troops lacked heavy armor, and Wellington had only a few cavalry spearmen.

Wellington described his army as "bad, weak, poorly equipped, and commanding inexperienced." He commanded a force of 67,000 men, including 50,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry, and 6,000 artillery with 150 guns. His troop of 25,000 men included 6,000 from the King's German Legion, a British army made up of German exiles. Only 7,000 British troops were on active service and fought in the Iberian Peninsula War.

Furthermore, 17,000 men from the Netherlands and Belgium, 11,000 from Hanover, 6,000 from Brunswick, and 3,000 from Nassau were there. During the war in the Western-Portuguese peninsula, Napoleon was very reckless with Wellington, and he himself was angered when the Emperor of France called him "general sepoy", a reference to Wellington's previous command of the British army in India. Napoleon was even sure in 1810 that the French would triumph on the Iberian peninsula. In 1815, however, Napoleon had a change: the successive victories of Wellington's army on the Iberian peninsula made him fear the Duke of Wellington.

Many of Wellington's soldiers were inexperienced. Following Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the new Dutch army was reformed. Except for the British and forces from Hanover and Brunswick who had fought alongside the British in Spain, the majority of this Union army consisted of men who had served in the ranks of the French and Napoleon's allies. Wellington also lacked cavalry, with only seven regiments from England and three regiments from the Netherlands.

The Duke of York imposed many of his officers on Wellington, including his second-in-command, the Earl of Uxbridge. Wellington gave him the freedom to carry out the army's plans as he saw fit while commanding the cavalry. William also directed that 17,000 troops be stationed at Halle, eight miles west of the battlefield, under Prince Frederik of the Netherlands (brother of the Duke of Orange). They did not take part in the combat but were stationed there in case it failed and Wellington was forced to withdraw.

The Prussian army was undergoing reform. Blücher's cavalry was relatively inexperienced and underequipped. Artillery is also reorganizing and not performing to its full potential; artillery and equipment still had to be moved from a distance during and after the fight. Despite these shortcomings, the Prussian command was very professional and capable. These officers were taught in four institutions that were largely designed for the objectives of the war with Napoleon and hence received comparable training. This firm organization stood in stark contrast to the French army's hazy and inconsistent commands.

This approach guaranteed that three-quarters of their soldiers were concentrated and ready in the 24 hours leading up to the Battle of Ligny, and even after defeat, the Prussians were able to collect their supplies, regroup, and make their way to Waterloo within minutes. 48 hours. At Waterloo, two and a half legions of Prussians (48,000 men) fought. At 16:30, Friedrich von Bülow's two brigades of the IV Corps attacked General Lobau (aka Georges Mouton), while at 18 o'clock, Count Zieten's I Corps (Hans Ernst Karl) and Georg von Pirch's II Corps joined the conflict.

How Long Did the Battle of Waterloo Last

Blücher replied, vowing to send three legions to Wellington's aid, led by Bülow. At 11:00 a.m., Napoleon devised a battle plan: Jerome's division would attack Hougoumont to draw in Wellington's reserves, artillery would fire on Wellington's center beginning at 13:00, and d'Erlon's legion would break through Wellington's left flank to encircle the coalition from east to west. The fundamental goal of this strategy was to force Wellington's army away from the Prussians and toward the sea.

Napoleon postponed the battle until noon on June 18 to allow the ground to dry off. This provided additional time for Blücher's Prussian army to support the British. Wellington's men, stationed on the slopes of the Mont-Saint-Jean mountains along the Brussels road, repelled numerous furious French attacks. The French army was not only repulsed but also heavily damaged as a result of the British army's proper positioning.

During their attacks, the French men battled valiantly, but they were unable to overcome the British infantry's strong and firm resistance. Not just infantry, but also cavalry played a significant role in the British Army's spectacular victory in this battle. The Duke of Wellington's cavalry was brave, while Napoleon I lacked an elite cavalry since his defeat in the Russian Campaign (1812). When both sides savagely slaughtered one another, La Sainte Haye and Hougoumont became the two deadliest battlegrounds at Waterloo. After the French soldiers continuously failed to attack the British, Wellington's great defensive tactic displayed the tenacity of even his army's weakest warriors.

The Prussians arrived in the afternoon and penetrated Napoleon's right flank. The British also utterly repulsed an Imperial Guards attack. Then Wellington's force counterattacked, causing the French to flee in panic. During the escape, the French sustained significant losses, and Napoleon fled to Paris. The victory at Waterloo demonstrates Wellington's line formation's efficiency.

Hougoumont and La Sainte Haye would be the places where the two sides slaughtered each other more bloodily during this fierce battle. In general, during the battle, the British achieved a great defensive victory, before the Prussians arrived to seriously disadvantage the French. Napoleon, already unable to defeat the British, failed completely in the final assault of his Guard's attack on the British army. The pursuing Coalition troops then entered France and restored Louis XVIII to the throne.

The Coalition conquered the imperial capital of Paris on July 3, 1815, promoting the great triumph at Waterloo and bringing the Napoleonic Wars to a conclusion. Napoleon was unable to preserve the crown and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. The Battle of Waterloo decided the fate of France at the time. Napoleon's Hundred Days reign began with victory and ended with a terrible defeat at Waterloo, as well as the unexpected disintegration of his army.

Hougoumont

"One interesting thing about the Battle of Waterloo is that no one knows for sure when it began," historian Andrew Robert observes. In his combat reports, Wellington stated that "at 10 a.m. (Napoleon) launched a fierce attack on our stronghold at Hougoumont." According to some stories, the battle started about 11:30 a.m. that day. Four Guard platoons patrolled the mansion and its surroundings, while the Jäger of Hanover and half of Nassau's garrison guarded the woodland and parkland.

The first assault by Bauduin's brigade cleared the forest and park, but it was repulsed by British artillery fire, and Bauduin was slain. As the British cannons battled the French fire, a second wave of attacks from Soye's brigade (and the remnants of Bauduin's division) neared the house's north gate. Before the gate was regained, a few French soldiers managed to enter the courtyard. The attack was repulsed when the 2nd Coldstream Guards Brigade and 2/3rd Guardsmen arrived.

Throughout the day, fighting raged around Hougoumont. The French rushed in and started coordinated strikes against the coalition troops at Hougoumont. Wellington's soldiers defended the property, and from there, the trail continued north. In the afternoon, Napoleon personally ordered shelling to burn down the building, destroying everything but the church. Du Plat's brigade arrived to defend the trail but without any senior officers. The British 71st Infantry Regiment eventually came to their aid. Hugh Halkett's Hanover brigade then arrived, and the Allies held Hougoumont for the remainder of the war. Wellington and General Macready made numerous remarks about the severe combat at Hougoumont.

The combat at Hougoumont is commonly seen as an offensive to draw in Wellington's reserves, but it quickly devolved into a day-long skirmish with French reserves. Indeed, it is possible that both Napoleon and Wellington saw the conquest of Hougoumont as crucial to winning the conflict. Napoleon could clearly see Hougoumont on the battlefield, and he slowly massed there and in its vicinity throughout the day (33 battalions and 14,000 men in total).

Similarly, while Wellington had never stationed a substantial number of troops inside the compound, he did send 21 battalions (12,000 men) all afternoon to guard the trail and assist in transporting troops and ammunition to the compound. He also dispatched artillery from the center to help Hougoumont and subsequently admitted that keeping Hougoumont's gates open was critical to victory.

First French Infantry Attack

Napoleon's Grande Batterie's 80 cannons were moved into the center. According to Rowland Hill (commander of the coalition's II Corps), they began firing around 11:50 a.m., but other resources place the actual time between the afternoon and 13:30. These cannons were relatively far away, making accurate shooting difficult, and only the Dutch division could be seen from their positions (most of the coalition troops had been positioned by Wellington on the other side of the hill, out of reach of the French army).

Furthermore, the soft ground prevented bullets from bouncing far, and the French artillery was arranged to divide and surround the coalition forces, so the density of rounds was not dense. Napoleon's goal was not to inflict great damage on his opponent (for that, he needed to acquire a better firing position), but to surprise and demoralize them.

Napoleon observed the first Prussian attack at Lasne-Chapelle-Saint-Lambert, four or five miles from his right flank (about three hours' march), at 13 o'clock. Napoleon immediately directed General Soult to send a letter to Grouchy asking him to dispatch troops to the battlefield to attack the Prussian force. However, Grouchy was carrying out Napoleon's earlier orders and following the Prussians to Wavre, which was too far from the action at the time.

Grouchy was now advised by his general, Gérard, to "go in the direction of the gunfire", but he did as per the old command and encountered the Prussian rear III Corps at the Battle of Wavre. Another issue is that Soult's mail does not arrive in Grouchy for 18 hours. Grouchy's rigidity prevented him from arriving at Waterloo in time to intercept the Prussians, instead following their tails and failing to affect the course of the war.

Napoleon attacked, believing that he could beat the British before the Prussians arrived. The French I Corps began to approach shortly after 13 o'clock. d'Erlon, like Ney, had seen Wellington in Spain and was familiar with the British general's favorite technique of using vertical infantry formations with vast numbers of short-range snipers. Instead of a close-up nine-story formation, each division was told to advance battalion by battalion, with close spacing between battalions. This allows them to concentrate their fire while also preventing them from changing formation.

This strategy initially worked. Donzelot's division on the extreme left has advanced to La Haye Sainte. When one battalion engaged the enemy, the subsequent battalions moved out to either side and successfully isolated the farm, aided by heavily armored cavalrymen. When the Duke of Orange saw that the La Haye Sainte had been cut, he sent in the infantry of Hanover to assist. The heavily armored French cavalry noticed and rapidly annihilated the force, then rushed behind La Haye Sainte as close to the summit of the hills as possible, where they proceeded to defend the left side. by d'Erlon.

At 13:30, d'Erlon launched three more divisions, totaling approximately 14,000 troops spread across a 1,000-meter radius, at Wellington's left flank. They were pitted against 6,000 Coalition troops. Bijlandt's 1st Dutch brigade was on the front lines. The British and Hanoverian troops led by Thomas Picton formed the second line, with soldiers hidden behind the summits of the hills. Bijlandt's brigade was ordered to position some harassing shooters on the trail while the remainder of the brigade would hide just behind the road (this order was given at 9 a.m.).

As the French Army advanced, Bijlandt's gunmen retreated to the rear and returned fire with their battalion, but were then driven back by d'Erlon's troops. As the French pushed up the slope, Picton's troops arose and opened fire on them. The French returned fire and succeeded in putting pressure on the British. Despite a shaky center, d'Erlon's left wing began to smash the British Army. Picton died shortly after giving the order to counterattack, and the British and Hanoverians began to give way to the large number of French troops.

The British Cavalry Attack

At this crucial juncture, Uxbridge ordered his two brigades of British heavy cavalry—formed unseen behind the ridge—to charge in support of the hard-pressed infantry. The 1st Brigade, known as the Household Brigade, commanded by Major-General Lord Edward Somerset, consisted of guard regiments: the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, the Royal Horse Guards (the Blues), and the 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards. The 2nd Brigade, also known as the Union Brigade, commanded by Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, was so named as it consisted of an English regiment (the 1st, or The Royals), a Scottish regiment (2nd Scots Greys), and an Irish (6th, or Inniskilling) regiment of heavy dragoons.

This brigade was named after three heavy cavalry dragons from three distinct countries: the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Ireland. Historians claim that the British had the greatest horses of the time (due to the continent's warring for the previous 20 years, which resulted in numerous horse losses) and were well-schooled in the technique of using swords on their horsebacks.

However, the British cavalry lacked tactical competence and was severely outmatched by the French in terms of troop deployment in huge formations. "Our cavalry officers have a knack for galloping at anything," Wellington once said. They never think about the situation, never consider dispatching men when they confront an opponent, and never leave a reserve."

More than 20 years of warfare had eroded the numbers of suitable cavalry mounts available on the European continent; this resulted in the British heavy cavalry entering the 1815 campaign with the finest horses of any contemporary cavalry arm. British cavalry troopers also received excellent mounted swordsmanship training. They were, however, inferior to the French in maneuvering in large formations, were cavalier in attitude, and, unlike the infantry, some units had scant experience of warfare.

The Scots Greys, for example, had not been in action since 1795.  According to Wellington, though they were superior individual horsemen, they were inflexible and lacked tactical ability. "I considered one squadron a match for two French, I didn't like to see four British opposed to four French: and as the numbers increased and order, of course, became more necessary, I was more unwilling to risk our men without having a superiority in numbers."

The two brigades had a combined field strength of about 2,000 (2,651 official strength); they charged with the 47-year-old Uxbridge leading them and a very inadequate number of squadrons held in reserve. There is evidence that Uxbridge gave an order the morning of the battle to all cavalry brigade commanders to commit their commands on their own initiative, as direct orders from himself might not always be forthcoming, and to "support movements to their front". It appears that Uxbridge expected the brigades of Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur, Hussey Vivian, and the Dutch cavalry to provide support to the British heavies. Uxbridge later regretted leading the charge in person, saying "I committed a great mistake" when he should have been organizing an adequate reserve to move forward in support.

 The Household Brigade crossed the crest of the Anglo-Allied position and charged downhill. The cuirassiers guarding d'Erlon's left flank were still dispersed, and so were swept over the deeply sunken main road and then routed.

The blows of the sabres on the cuirasses sounded like braziers at work.

— Lord Edward Somerset.

Sir Walter Scott, in Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk, described the following scene:

Sir John Elley, who led the charge of the heavy brigade, was at one time surrounded by several of the cuirassiers; but, being a tall and uncommonly powerful man, completely master of his sword and horse, he cut his way out, leaving several of his assailants on the ground, marked with wounds, indicating the unusual strength of the arm that inflicted them. Indeed, had the ghastly evidence not remained on the field, many of the blows dealt on this occasion would have seemed borrowed from the annals of knight-errantry.

Continuing their attack, the squadrons on the left of the Household Brigade then destroyed Aulard's brigade. Despite attempts to recall them, they continued past La Haye Sainte and found themselves at the bottom of the hill on blown horses, facing Schmitz's brigade formed in squares.

To their left, the Union Brigade suddenly swept through the infantry lines, giving rise to the legend that some of the 92nd Gordon Highland Regiment clung onto their stirrups and accompanied them into the charge. From the center leftward, the Royal Dragoons destroyed Bourgeois' brigade, capturing the eagle of the 105e Ligne. The Inniskillings routed the other brigade of Quoit's division, and the Scots Greys came upon the lead French regiment, 45e Ligne, as it was still reforming after having crossed the sunken road and broken through the hedge row in pursuit of the British infantry. The Greys captured the eagle of the 45e Ligne and overwhelmed Grenier's brigade. These would be the only two French eagles captured by the British during the battle. On Wellington's extreme left, Durutte's division had time to form squares and fend off groups of Greys.

As with the Household Cavalry, the officers of the Royals and Inniskillings found it very difficult to rein in their troops, who lost all cohesion. Having taken casualties, and still trying to reorder themselves, the Scots Greys and the rest of the Union Brigade found themselves before the main French lines. Their horses were blown, and they were still in disorder without any idea of what their next collective objective was. Some attacked nearby gun batteries, including the Grande Battery. Although the Greys had neither the time nor means to disable the cannons or carry them off, they put very many out of action as the gun crews were killed or fled the battlefield. Sergeant Major Dickinson of the Greys stated that his regiment was rallied before going on to attack the French artillery: Hamilton, the regimental commander, rather than holding them back, cried out to his men, "Charge, charge the guns!"

Napoleon promptly responded by ordering a counter-attack by the cuirassier brigades of Farine and Travers and Jaquinot's two Chevau-léger (lancer) regiments in the I Corps light cavalry division. Disorganized and milling about the bottom of the valley between Hougoumont and La Belle Alliance, the Scots Greys and the rest of the British heavy cavalry were taken by surprise by the countercharge of Milhaud's cuirassiers, joined by lancers from Baron Jaquinot's 1st Cavalry Division.

As Ponsonby tried to rally his men against the French cuirassiers, he was attacked by Jaquinot's lancers and captured. A nearby party of Scots Greys saw the capture and attempted to rescue their brigade commander. The French lancer who had captured Ponsonby killed him and then used his lance to kill three of the Scots Greys who had attempted the rescue.

By the time Ponsonby died, the momentum had entirely returned in favor of the French. Milhaud's and Jaquinot's cavalrymen drove the Union Brigade from the valley. The result was very heavy losses for the British cavalry. A countercharge by British light dragoons under Major-General Vandeleur and Dutch-Belgian light dragoons and hussars under Major-General Ghigny on the left wing, and Dutch-Belgian carabiniers under Major-General Trip in the center repelled the French cavalry.

All figures quoted for the losses of the cavalry brigades as a result of this charge are estimates, as casualties were only noted down after the day of the battle and were for the battle as a whole. Some historians, like Barbero, believe the official rolls tend to overestimate the number of cavalrymen present in their squadrons on the field of battle and that the proportionate losses were, as a result, considerably higher than the numbers on paper might suggest.

The Union Brigade lost heavily in both officers and men killed (including its commander, William Ponsonby, and Colonel Hamilton of the Scots Greys) and wounded. The 2nd Life Guards and the King's Dragoon Guards of the Household Brigade also lost heavily (with Colonel Fuller, commander of the King's DG, killed). However, the 1st Life Guards, on the extreme right of the charge, and the Blues, who formed a reserve, had kept their cohesion and consequently suffered significantly fewer casualties. On the rolls, the official, or paper, strength for both brigades is given as 2,651, while Barbero and others estimate the actual strength at around 2,000 and the official recorded losses for the two heavy cavalry brigades during the battle were 1,205 troopers and 1,303 horses.

Some historians, such as Chandler, Weller, Uffindell, and Corum, assert that the British heavy cavalry was destroyed as a viable force following their first, epic charge. Barbero states that the Scots Greys were practically wiped out and that the other two regiments of the Union Brigade suffered comparable losses. Other historians, such as Clark-Kennedy and Wood, citing British eyewitness accounts, describe the continuing role of the heavy cavalry after their charge. The heavy brigades, far from being ineffective, continued to provide valuable services. They countercharged French cavalry numerous times (both brigades), halted a combined cavalry and infantry attack (Household Brigade only), was used to bolster the morale of those units in their vicinity at times of crisis, and filled gaps in the Anglo-Allied line caused by high casualties in infantry formations (both brigades).

This service was rendered at a very high cost, as close combat with French cavalry, carbine fire, infantry musketry, and—more deadly than all of these—artillery fire steadily eroded the number of effective in the two brigades. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, the whole Union Brigade could field only three squadrons, though these countercharged French cavalry, losing half their number in the process. At the end of the fighting, the two brigades, by this time combined, could muster one squadron.

Fourteen thousand French troops of d'Erlon's I Corps had been committed to this attack. The I Corps had been driven back across the valley, costing Napoleon 3,000 casualties, including over 2,000 prisoners taken. Also, some valuable time was lost, as the charge had dispersed numerous units and it would take until 16:00 for d'Erlon's shaken corps to reform. And although elements of the Prussians now began to appear on the field to his right, Napoleon had already ordered Lobau's VI corps to move to the right flank to hold them back before d'Erlon's attack began.

The French Cavalry Attack

Ney noticed an evacuation in the center of Wellington shortly before 4 p.m. It was just the movement of wounded soldiers, but he mistook this for the coalition withdrawal and sought to take advantage of it. Ney could only prepare a cavalry attack since d'Erlon's legion had been beaten, while most of the French infantry was engaged in fighting at Hougoumont or protecting the French right flank (against Prussia).

His force initially comprised Milhaud's reserve cavalry corps and Lefebvre-Desnottes' light cavalry division of the Royal Guard, which was later bolstered with General François Étienne de Kellermann and Guyot's heavy cavalry corps, for a total of approximately 9,000 cavalry. Wellington's army formed a square infantry to defend. Although vulnerable to artillery or infantry, this square formation was effective against cavalry since it couldn't be flanked and horses couldn't raid past bayonets. Allied artillery was stationed in the square formation's middle.

The British infantry reported 12 attacks, but it seems they included small waves in the same attack, so the real number was certainly much smaller. Kellerman felt the offensive was pointless and wanted to hold back his elite shooter unit, but Ney was adamant about sending them into battle. When he saw the French army's powerful offensive position, a British officer documented his emotions.

The dread of the enemy was critical to the success or failure of this huge cavalry attack. The cavalry would not inflict much damage if the infantry could hang on to the defensive formation and not panic. In fact, if the French artillery could break through the ranks of these square formations, the cavalry could penetrate and destroy them.

However, cooperation between the artillery and the French cavalry was poor throughout these attacks, as the artillery did not get near enough to fire efficiently. The French were stopped by British troops, artillery fire (which forced them to retreat down the hill to regroup), and counterattacks by the remaining British cavalry. They sustained significant losses after numerous waves of strikes, and many officers were injured while directing at the front line.

Ney ultimately realized that cavalry alone could not solve the problem. He began planning a coordinated offensive with Bachelu's division and Tissot's regiment from Reille's II Corps (about 6,500 infantry). This raid proceeded in the same manner as the previous ones. Uxbridge commanded the Household Brigade to halt them, but they were unable to break through the French infantry and were forced to retreat with French gun casualties.

Major General Frederick Adam's artillery and infantry brigade continued to intercept the French cavalry-infantry combination, forcing it to withdraw. Although the French cavalry inflicted few fatalities on Wellington's center along the shelling of the square formations. With the exception of one detachment on the extreme left, all of Wellington's cavalry on this front suffered heavy casualties. Because of the British forces' perilous predicament, the hussar brigade of Cumberland of Hanover fled the battlefield and ran straight to Brussels, conveying the warning word as they ran.

At 6 p.m., the rest of d'Erlon's I Corps captured the Haye Sainte concurrently with Ney's joint attack in the center. At this time, Ney directed the horse-drawn cannons to march into Wellington's center and begin severe pounding on the square infantry lines. The 27th Regiment was annihilated, and the 30th and 73rd Regiments took significant losses and were forced to work together to form a square formation in order to stand.

The British were in a bad position after losing the Haye Sainte, and General Wellington notified Uxbridge that "we are probably losing the battle." On the French side, ecstatic with the victory, Napoleon hurriedly requested that his entourage officer, Soult, compose a letter to Paris alerting the people that the French had won.

Prussians Enter the War: the Legions of Bülow and Zieten Attack

Bülow's IV Corps was the first Prussian corps to enter the war. He intended to use Plancenoit as a fulcrum for an attack on the French rear. Blücher's aim was to use the Bois de Paris to take Frichermont. Blücher and Wellington had been in contact since 10 a.m., and they had agreed that if Wellington's center was attacked, the Prussians would enter Frichermont.

Bülow observed that the road to Plancenoit was open and that the time was 16:30. At a time when the French cavalry in the center was at its heaviest attack, the 15th brigade of the IV Corps of Prussia was dispatched to connect. At Frichermont-La Haie, they joined Nassau's force on Wellington's left flank, with a horse-drawn artillery battery and another artillery brigade deployed to their left to provide support.

Napoleon dispatched Lobau's legion to confront Bülow. The Prussian 15th Brigade dislodged Lobau from Frichermont and advanced to the Frichermont Heights, shelling the French and then advancing to Plancenoit. This forced Lobau to retreat to the area around Plancenoit, that is, behind the right flank of the French army, and threatened their only route of retreat. Napoleon dispatched all eight New Guard battalions to reinforce Lobau, followed by two further Guard battalions. The French briefly reclaimed the village before 30,000 Prussians from Bülow's IV Corps and Pirch's II Corps rushed in to retake Plancenoit. The conflict here was still ongoing.

Zieten's formidable I Prussian corps arrived north of The Hague late in the afternoon. He intended to advance toward the Prussian army near Plancenoit, but the Duke of Wellington's general, Müffling, advised him to come and support Wellington's left flank. With the arrival of General Zieten, Wellington was able to reduce his cavalry on the left flank in order to help the center. The arrival of the Prussians caused a sudden turn of the tide to the disadvantage of France. Napoleon's army was only half as large as the enemy's by a ratio of 2 to 1, and the French could not have enough strength to protect the flanks of the formation against the Prussian raids.

The Prussian I Corps attacked the French in front of Papelotte, and by 19:30, the French position had been bent into a horseshoe, with Hougoumont on the left flank, Plancenoit on the right, and La Haie in the middle. Durutte's French were forced to retreat behind Smohain, only to be repulsed again by Prussian reinforcements. The Prussian 13th and 15th brigades came to force the French totally out of Frichermont. The Prussian I Corps moved to take the Brussels road, which was also the only French retreat.

Attack of Emperor Napoleon's Guards

With Wellington's center open after the loss of The Hague and Plancenoit briefly holding out, Napoleon summoned his final reserve, as well as the most skilled. The Emperor's Guard (Garde impériale). This 19:30 onslaught was designed to pierce the Duke of Wellington's center and cut him off from the Prussians. Despite its prominence in military history, it is unclear how many forces were involved in this attack. Three battalions of the Old Guards (Vieille Garde) followed this army, although solely as reserves, and did not engage the coalition immediately.

The three thousand guards marched west of the Haye Sainte amid a shower of shots, splitting into three groups to attack. Wellington's advance of British, Brunswick, and Nassau soldiers was defeated by a group consisting of two battalions of Grenadiers. Chassé's zealous Dutch cavalry division was summoned to the conflict. Chassé shelled them but was unable to halt the Guards' advance. Using his outnumbered superiority, he sent his troops to attack and repel them.

In the west, one and a half thousand British soldiers commanded by Major General Peregrine Maitland lay down to avoid the French. When the Guards' second assault force came, they leaped to their feet and opened fire on the enemy, killing numerous French soldiers. The French soldiers scattered out to fight back, but their formation was broken. The Third Guards came to support and repel the British troops but were defeated when the British 52nd Light Infantry Regiment closed in on the flanks and destroyed the enemy.

The guard's survivors began to flee down the hill. It was the first and only occasion on which the guards were forced to retreat without orders. The French were terrified: "The Guard has retreated. "Help yourselves!" ("La Garde retreats. "Save who can!") Wellington stood up and ordered a general assault. His men charged forward and attacked the fleeing French.

The French Army Was Broken

The Prussian II and IV Corps focused their forces on attacking Plancenoit's main position. The French battled hard here but were forced to flee, and the Prussians took this strategic position. To lose this position also meant that the center of the French army was approaching. At this point, the French army's right, left, and center wings had all been defeated. The only intact French army that remained at La Belle Alliance were two battalions of the Old Guards, and the last reserves were Napoleon's escorts.

Napoleon hoped to rally the French, but when the withdrawal became chaotic, they were forced to flee as well, each group withdrawing in square formations against the Coalition cavalry. Accepting defeat, Napoleon realized he had no choice but to withdraw. The French army on the left of the La Belle Alliance inn was attacked by Adam's brigade, while the Prussians attacked the remaining troops.

The two French square formations were gradually pushed back towards dusk, still holding their lines, but the cannons and everything else had fallen into the hands of the Coalition soldiers. Around these guards were thousands of French soldiers fleeing in chaos. Allied cavalry chased the enemy until 23 o'clock, capturing Napoleon's chariot, which contained diamonds that would be added to the crown of King Frederick the Great of Prussia later. The alliance took 78 pieces of artillery and 2,000 prisoners, including numerous French generals. Ney's notes depict a disorganized yet brave French withdrawal.

In fact, throughout the history of the modern period, it was rare for a mighty army full of elite warriors, of the same people, to be loyal to their master, but to flee like the French troops following their defeat at Waterloo. In most cases, the army retreated or was aided by the rear army, but the French in this case just fled; there was no such thing as a retreat. Nobody thought about reorganizing and changing the ranks on the battlefield. Blücher and Wellington, the Union's two supreme generals, met in the dark, greeting each other as conquerors. Meanwhile, many soldiers deserted, making life much more difficult for the French survivors.

The Outcome of Military Conflict Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon had to abdicate a second time on June 24. On July 3, 1815, building on the great victory at Waterloo, the Allies captured Paris. Peronne, Cambray, and many more French fortresses have also fallen. On November 20, 1815, the Treaty of Paris was signed. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821, and Louis XVIII was restored to the throne. And a few French generals retreated. The majority of those who returned to serve Louis XVIII were executed for treason.

Marshal Blücher, the Prussian commander, requested harsh retribution for France following the Battle of Waterloo, but his request was mostly denied. Already old, weak, and illustrious, he quietly retired. The commander who won the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington went on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. And the win at Waterloo is also regarded as his epic career's final triumph. With this enormous triumph at the Battle of Waterloo (after Admiral Horatio Nelson's stunning victory at the Naval Battle of Trafalgar in 1805), he gave England the second decisive victory of the Napoleonic Wars.