The Battle of Waterloo
Wellington holds the ridge until Blucher's Prussians arrive, ending Napoleon's rule for good
Quick facts
- Location
- Waterloo, near Brussels (modern Belgium)
- Date
- 18 June 1815
- Commanders
- Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher
- Result
- Napoleon defeated; abdicates four days later
What happened
On 18 June 1815, near the village of Waterloo south of Brussels, Napoleon's French army faced a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher, whose Anglo-Allied and Prussian forces together outnumbered the French. Napoleon's strategy was to strike before Wellington and Blucher could combine their armies, but Wellington withdrew to a defensive ridge and held off repeated French attacks throughout the day, buying time for Blucher's Prussians to force-march to the battlefield after their own defeat two days earlier at Ligny. The arrival of Blucher's army in the late afternoon broke Napoleon's last reserves, and Wellington later called the outcome 'the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.'
Why it matters
Waterloo concluded 23 years of near-continuous war between France and the rest of Europe and ended Napoleon's imperial power permanently, this time with no third act. Wellington and Blucher's coordination, an alliance holding together under direct pressure rather than collapsing as coalitions against Napoleon so often had, is what finally closed the door Elba had left open.
How we know
The National Army Museum's account of Waterloo documents the opposing commanders, the battle's date, and Wellington's own assessment of how close the outcome was, drawn from the museum's collection and its published battle history.
Sources
- National Army Museum. Battle of Waterloo · Reputable sourcenam.ac.uk · The domain "nam.ac.uk" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Fondation Napoleon. Blucher and the Prussians at Waterloo · General sourcenapoleon.org · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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