Essay about The Battle of Waterloo - 1151 Words

The Battle of Waterloo is one of the most famous battles in European history. The battle itself started when Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. The battle was fought at Waterloo (Spielvogel 600). The battle was fought between the French army and their allied forces, which consisted of the Dutch, Prussians, Germans, Belgians, and British. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was in control of the French Grande Armà ©e (The Battle of Waterloo 1). The Duke of Wellington, of Britain, and General Blà ¼cher from Prussia took control over the Allied Army (BBC 1). With shots being fired the afternoon of June 18, 1815 across the battlefield, The Battle of Waterloo had begun. â€Å"On 26th February 1815 Napoleon absconded from his exile on the island†¦show more content†¦The battle plan was to take an offensive attack on the Allied forces that were already in Belgium and completely destroy them (3). He figured the only way he could do this was to divide their army before they all came together as one large army. He wanted to force â€Å"Wellingtons army to retreat back to the Belgian coast in the west and the Prussians to retreat to the east† (BBC 3). He had to act with intention if he wanted his objective to go through. Moving quickly he mobilized his army to the French borders. With this fast action he was ready for battle June 15, 1815 as they were in motion towards Brussels (Creasy 360). To go through with his goal of separating Wellington and Blà ¼chers troops: Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney to advance on Quatre-Bras, a crossroads on the roads between Brussels and Charleroi and Nivelles and Namur. Allied Dutch-Belgium troops under Prince William of Orange were already positioned around the area and succeeded in holding off the French attack until reinforcements arrived (BBC 3). When Wellington heard that the French army was ready to attack the Prussians, â€Å"he sent forward a brigade to Quatre Bras, which is about halfway between Brussels and Charleroi, and ordered a general advance† (Historical Events 1). On the night of June 15, Wellington and a couple of his officers were at a ball held in Brussels when cannon shots were just loud enough to be heard faintly. Duke did not seemed threatened as he â€Å"was very cheerful andShow MoreRelatedComparing The Battle Of Waterloo And The Battle Of Agincourt Waterloo997 Words   |  4 Pagesvictory in battle. If warriors going into battle are not accurately trained in the practice of drill and discipline it can result in a mere senseless blood brawl ending with large amounts of casualties and grave losses. 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