Waterloo :: essays research papers

BATTLE OF WATERLOO The Battle of Waterloo was the final and decisive action of the Napoleonic Wars, thewars that effectively ended cut domination of the European continent and brought aboutdrastic changes in the political boundaries and the power balance of Europe. Fought on June18, 1815, near Waterloo, in modern Belgium, the battle ranks as a great turning point inEuropean history.After raising France to a position of preeminence in Europe , Napoleon met spank in1814 by a coalition of major powers, notably Prussia, Russia, Britain, and Austria. Napoleonwas then deposed and exiled to the island of Elba1, and Louis XVIII was made ruler ofFrance. In September 1814, the carnal knowledge of capital of Austria convened to discuss problems arisingfrom the defeat of France. On February 26, 1815 while the congress was in session,Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. Many veterans of his formercampaigns flocked to his side, and on March 20, 1815, he again took the throne. The Congress of Vienna, alarmed by Napoleons return to power, had reacted quickly to thecrisis. On March 17 Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia each agreed to contribute150,000 troops to an invasion force to be assembled in Belgium near the French bunt.2 Amajority of other nations present at the congress also pledged troops for the invasion ofFrance, which was to be launched on July 1, 1815.Napoleon, learning of the invasion plan, was determined to attack the allies on theirown ground before their army could form. He mobilized an army of 360,000 trainedsoldiers within cardinal months. He deployed half of these troops within France as a securityforce and sent the remainder into attack units. On June 14, 1815, Napoleon, moving withspeed and secrecy, reached the Franco-Belgian border with 124,000 of his troops. Another56,000 men were left behind in supporting positions.On June 15, 1815, Napoleon moved across the border of Belgium, and his suddenarrival caught the allied mold unp repared. Napoleon ordered his left wing, underMarshal Michel Ney, to attack a brigade of Wellingtons cavalry at Quatre-Bras, north ofCharleroi. He next ordered the proper(a) wing, to move eastward against a Prussian brigadestationed in the town of Gilly. By nightfall on that first day of fighting, Napoleons armiesheld the strategic advantage. The emperor had succeeded in placing his army between theadvance elements of the armies of both Wellington and Blcher, and his main force was in aposition to swing either left against the Anglo-Dutch army or right to fight the Prussian