(predominantly German) and so in this context, the victory at Waterloo was a
victory won by superior British generalship and discipline which effectively
harnessed the courage and enthusiasm of mostly inexperienced German and
Dutch-Belgian troops. This breakwater held on long enough against the tide of
French blue until sufficient Prussian support arrived to extinguish Napoleon’s fire
for renewed European conquest.
For me, Waterloo perches rather awkwardly on my imaginary shelf of key
historical battles. In many ways, it certainly was a glorious finale to the arguably
18 year long war against French territorial aggression. In my nostalgic, and
probably archaic eyes, the most admirable element of the battle was that it was
the last major battle to be fought for glory. Yes, Napoleon had hoped to be
victorious. Yes, he did want to re-establish French dominion over Europe. Yes,
he wanted to regain influence
over his many political enemies
in Paris through a decisive
military victory. But ultimately,
even he must have recognised
how dire his situation was before
crossing the Belgian border. Had
he crushed the Prussians
(130,000 troops), and mauled
the British (112,000 troops), he
still would have faced a vengeful
200,000 strong Russian Army,
and a 210,000 strong Austrian
Army advancing from the East.
Bearing in mind that Napoleon’s
Napoleon
Army of the North numbered
20
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