The Battle from Waterloo took place in the territory of present-day Belgium, on June 18, 1815, being fought by Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops against the armies of the Seventh Coalition. This battle was marked as the ultimate defeat of Bonaparte , who abdicated the throne and was sent into exile on the distant island of Saint Helena.
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Background:Napoleonic Era
The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic period, ending the 16 years that Napoleon Bonaparte was in command of France. During this period, Napoleon had won numerous victories, expanding his domain to other countries in Europe. All that began to change in 1812.
That year, Napoleon started the Campaign da Russia , a military campaign against the Russian Empire, in reprisal for the Russians breaking through the Continental Blockade. Napoleon formed an army of about 600,000 soldiers and led the invasion of Russian territory, but that campaign was a major disaster.
Napoleon had to deal with the scorched earth tactic of the Russians, and the further he advanced, the more complicated the supply of his troops became. This is because the supply of Napoleonic troops depended on the looting of the places where they passed. However, in Russia, there was nothing to plunder.
Lack of supplies, small Russian attacks and winter weather made the French situation untenable. At the end of this campaign, some 30,000 soldiers returned to Paris with Napoleon. The disaster was so great that the sixth coalition was formed, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate the French throne on April 11, 1814.
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Exile and Rule of the Hundred Days
With the abdication, Napoleon was sent into exile and the absolutist monarchy was restored in France with the enthronement of Louis XVIII. Napoleon was sent to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea off the French coast.
Napoleon's exile lasted 10 months. On February 26, 1814, he noticed a security breach on the island and took advantage of it to flee. Napoleon returned to France and started a march in direction a Paris , being welcomed wherever he went.
King Louis XVIII decided to flee France and Napoleon was welcomed as a hero by the Parisian population. This marked the beginning of the “Government of the Hundred Days” and Napoleon Bonaparte's effort to form an army that would secure his position in French power.
As a result, United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia formed the S etima C the aliization and set out to defeat Napoleon. It was the beginning of the decisive struggle in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Key Events
Napoleon's troops invaded Belgium on June 15, 1815 and they had two great adversaries to face. There was the force led by Arthur Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington, and the other significant force was the Prussian, led by Gebhard von Blücher.
Napoleon had to defeat these two forces, although his greatest adversary was indeed the Duke of Wellington. However, first he needed to neutralize the Prussian threat, so he divided his army into three groups. One of them, led by Michel Ney, was placed in the rear to keep Wellington away from the French.
Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte and the soldiers led by Emanuel de Grouchy would attack the Prussians. This attack, which took place on June 16, 1815, became known as the Battle of Ligny. In that battle, the Prussians took up defensive positions and resisted French attacks, but were defeated.
Blücher then made an important decision, ensuring that his troops retreated. The retreat was strategic and the Prussian commander maintained contact with the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon, to make sure that the Prussians would not return to help the English, sent the 30,000 troops under Grouchy to keep Blücher out of the fight.
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Waterloo
Then Napoleon Bonaparte joined forces with Michel Ney and together they set out to attack Wellington's troops. Both forces had around 70,000 troops, but Napoleon had more artillery strength. The English commander positioned his troops in a favorable position along the rise of Mont Saint Jean.
Also, he had a rain in his favor, which turned the battlefield into a quagmire and delayed Bonaparte's attack. The French commander had to wait for the sun to dry the ground before he could launch his attack, which took place around noon. Every minute the French wasted proved useful to Wellington.
When the attack was launched, Napoleon sought to carry out a distracting attack to deceive Wellington. He ordered the opposing army's right flank to be attacked, with the aim of forcing Wellington to deploy soldiers to protect the flank. The Englishman didn't fall for the maneuver and the fight on the right flank was tough and even.
After that, the central positions and the left flank of Wellington's troops were attacked and, in the early afternoon, some positions began to be ceded. On the left flank, Wellington's forces became more vulnerable and the English commander sent soldiers to reinforce that position.
Reinforcements were also sent to the central positions and soldiers led by Wellington began to recover positions. A counter-attack by Wellington was defeated with heavy attack from Napoleon's artillery. The battle was fierce on all fronts until the decisive actor emerged.
Blücher managed to pull off a stunt and tricked Grouchy . He singled out some soldiers to elude the French, who thought he was chasing the bulk of the Prussian troops. While Grouchy was tricked, the Prussian army rushed into battle to the rescue of Wellington.
Napoleon divided his troops, sending two battalions to hold the Prussian advance, but the greater number of opponents was decisive and, little by little, Napoleon's forces were being defeated. Still, French resistance was strong and many historians suggest that if Grouchy's forces had come to the aid, Napoleon would have won the battle.
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Napoleon's Downfall
Napoleon was forced to withdraw from the battlefield while his last troops fought to the death. At night, Wellington and Blücher met on the battlefield and announced their victory. The battle that marked the end of Napoleon's trajectory was so named because Waterloo was the last place the Duke of Wellington had slept before the fight.
Napoleon abdicated the throne on June 24, 1815 and was sent back into exile. The chosen location was the island of Saint Helena, an island far away from Europe and which is located almost two thousand kilometers from the African coast. Napoleon Bonaparte died there, from stomach cancer, in 1821.