The Battle Of Waterloo
...command of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Allied armies commanded by the Duke of Wellington from Britain and General Blücher from Prussia. Napoleon Bonaparte had always been driven by his desire to make France an European empire and was an experienced warlord and leader. The European powers were meeting in Vienna to re-establish the territorial balance in Europe when news came of Napoleon's escape from Elba on March 1, 1815, and his re-entry into Paris on March 20, 1815. In 1814 Napoleon had been exiled to the Island of Elba. The European powers immediately renewed their declaration of war on Napoleon and the 7th Coalition between Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia was formed on March 25, 1815. They began assembling their troops in readiness for war, intending to attack along the French borders and march on Paris from different directions with enough strength to crush the French. In the event, only the armies of Wellington and Blücher were in place in Belgium. The Austrians and Russians arrived after Napoleon had been defeated. The Allied army under the Duke of Wellington was a coalition of British, Dutch, Belgian and German soldiers. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, had never been beaten by the French and had a reputation as a talented coalition general. He came to prominence in India and then successfully directed the Peninsular Campaign of 1811 when the British went to support Portugal and Spain against Napoleon. He was made a duke at the end of that war and appointed ambassador to the restored Bourbon court in 1814. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher was the commander of the Prussian army. He was 72 at the time of the Battle of Waterloo and the only man to have beaten Napoleon more than once. Age and experience meant that Blücher was less afraid of Napoleon than any other commander. His self-confidence and career record had a positive effect on his army....
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