Battles & Wars › Revolutions & Napoleon › French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Waterloo
June 18, 1815· Battle· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Napoleon's last battle, where Wellington's allied army and Blücher's Prussians defeated the French south of Brussels.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
After escaping exile on Elba and retaking power, Napoleon struck into Belgium to beat his enemies one by one. On June 18, 1815, near Waterloo, about 73,000 French attacked roughly 68,000 British, Dutch-Belgian and German troops under Wellington. Rain delayed the start. Wellington's squares held against massed cavalry charges while about 50,000 Prussians under Blücher hit the French right flank in the afternoon. When the Imperial Guard's final attack failed, the French army broke. Total killed and wounded: roughly 45,000–55,000; estimates vary.
Why it matters
It ended Napoleon's rule for good and 23 years of war, and opened a century without a general European war.
How we know
Wellington's dispatch, army returns, thousands of letters and memoirs, the Siborne letters from British officers, and battlefield archaeology since 2015, including a field hospital's amputated limbs and musket balls.
Still debated
Whether Napoleon's late start, Marshal Grouchy's failure to march to the guns, or Ney's unsupported cavalry charges mattered most is still argued.
Connections (2)
▸Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated at Battle of WaterlooWell documented
The connection
After abdicating in 1814, Napoleon escaped Elba, retook power in March 1815 and attacked the allied armies gathering in Belgium before they could unite. He beat the Prussians at Ligny but lost at Waterloo two days later. He abdicated again on June 22 and was exiled to remote Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
When and how
Belgium, June 15–18, 1815: Napoleon against Wellington and the Prussian marshal Blücher; second abdication in Paris on June 22, 1815.
How we know
Napoleon's own bulletins and his Saint Helena reminiscences, allied reports, and the abdication document all record the defeat.
Debates and open questions
Napoleon blamed Grouchy and Ney; historians also point to his own poor health, late start and loose delegation as causes.
▸Battle of Waterloo ended French Revolutionary and Napoleonic WarsWell documented
The connection
Waterloo was the last major battle of 23 years of war that began in 1792. With Napoleon gone for good, the Congress of Vienna and the Second Treaty of Paris set a new European order, and the great powers agreed to meet to manage disputes, the 'Concert of Europe'.
When and how
Waterloo, Belgium, June 18, 1815; the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) and the Second Treaty of Paris, November 20, 1815.
How we know
The Vienna Final Act and the Paris treaty survive, and no further coalition war against France followed.
Debates and open questions
Some historians argue the outcome was already sealed: even a French win at Waterloo would only have delayed defeat by the huge Austrian and Russian armies approaching.