The Battle of Waterloo and Wellington
One of the most studied battles in history
On June 18, 1815, with 30,000 of his men off on a wild goose
chase after the Prussians, Napoleon faced Wellington at Waterloo.
The battle raged for hours, and Napoleon seemed on the verge
of victory. "I've got them," he shouted. "They're ours."
Then the Prussians showed up to relieve Wellington, while the
30,000 French reinforcements never arrived. By nightfall
Napoleon had gone down to defeat. A broken man, he raced back
to Paris in tears. His return to power, the Hundred Days,
was over.
Napolean Bonaparte Battle of Waterloo and British Wellington
The Battle of Waterloo is one of the most studied
battles in history, and there are numerous theories as to why
Napoleon Bonaparte lost. For one thing, the duke of Wellington
was a remarkable strategist who possessed much courage, good
sense, and willpower. For another, he had excellent field
positions and more troops than Napoleon. But even he called
Waterloo "a damned nice thing," which is the British
way of saying that it was a close call.
Napoleon left his throne for the last time on June 22, 1815.
He decided to sail for America and start a new life, but he was
intercepted by the British. This time they wanted to make sure
that he would be out of the way for good.
In October 1815 Napoleon disembarked from a British ship at
St. Helena, a speck of an island in the middle of the
South Atlantic, thousands of miles from the nearest continent.
He spent the rest of his life there, alone except for a few devoted
followers. Josephine had died in 1814. Maria Louise Walewska had taken to
her heels during the first abdication crisis. She returned to
Austria with Napoleon's beloved son and heir, Francios-Charles-Joseph,
who had a short and unhappy life. Back at home she quickly forgot
Napoleon and started an affair with an Austrian count.
When Napoleon learned that he was to be stripped of his title and
exiled to St. Helena, he had protested, "I appeal to history!"
On St. Helena he devoted himself to laying the groundwork for that
appeal. He dictated his memoirs and spent long hours justifying
his every action. As always, he was his own best propagandist.
Taken from an Essay on Leadership
by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
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