THE Battle of Waterloo happened in June 18, 1815 and it became known as the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. In this battle, Napoleon fought against troops led by the Duke of Wellington and Blücher, being forced to withdraw after seeing his troops succumb. Days later, he resigned and was sent into new exile.
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Background to the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo marked the ultimate downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, but this decay of the French general was something that had been dragging on for some years. Everything started with the Russian Campaign, held in 1812. This campaign, which was basically the invasion of Russia, took place because the Russians decided to pierce the Continental Lock.
THE invasion of Russia was a completely disastrous decision to Napoleon Bonaparte, mainly because his army's supply service was very bad. In a place like Russia, where there were no fields to plunder—because the Russians destroyed everything—the troop situation was pretty delicate.
The lack of supplies directly affected the ability of Napoleonic troops to fight. The harsh winter and the constant Russian attack were the factors that made the French retreat. Of the more than 500,000 soldiers who marched with Napoleon, less than 50,000 returned to France.
This defeat had such a significant impact on Napoleon that, in 1813, his opponents formed a new coalition and went on the attack. This coalition was formed by Austrian, Prussian, Russian, English, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish and German troops. The result was the Napoleon's defeat.
The French emperor abdicated his position, the monarchy was restored to France, with the throne handed over to Louis XVIII, and Napoleon was sent to the island of Elba, in the Mediterranean Sea, to remain there in exile.
One Hundred Days Government
The situation changed in late February 1815 as Napoleonescaped from his captivity on Elba. Napoleon's enemy nations declared him an outlaw, and a few days later the emperor reappeared. He was received in Paris on March 20, 1815, with honors, and was applauded by the Parisian population.
Napoleon's return began what became known as the Hundred Days Government, and he soon resumed the formation of a new army. This was necessary because the British, Austrians, Prussians and Russians formed a new coalition to defeat France. Napoleon formed an army with 125,000 soldiers and went on the attack before his opponents got too strong.
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Battle of Ligny
In this attack, Napoleon invaded Belgium, on June 15, 1815, with its more than 100,000 soldiers. It had as its main target the troops led by Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon divided his troops with two of his commanders, handing the right flank to Emanuel de Grouchy and the left flank to Michel Ney.
You French had two troops for deal in belgium: one led by the Duke of Wellington and the other led by Gebhard von Blücher. Napoleon ordered Michel Ney and 24 other men to stay in the French rear guard, protecting them, while he and Grouchy would attack the Prussian troops who were in Belgium and were led by Blucher.
Michel Ney would act to repel Wellington's troops and prevent them from joining Blücher. Meanwhile, Napoleon and Grouchy destroyed the Prussian troops. This fight became known as the Battle of Ligny and in it Napoleon managed to defeat the Prussians, forcing Blücher to order the retreat of his troops.
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon then ordered Grouchy to pursue the Prussians, in order to prevent them from joining Wellington. Despite the defeat at Ligny, Blücher's retreat was strategic and allowed him to maintain contact with the English commander.
Napoleon Bonaparte set out to join Michel Ney's troops and attack Wellington's troops. The English commander took advantage of a heavy rain that occurred in the region and settled in a place known as Mont Saint Jean. Historians say that rain turned the battlefield into a quagmire.
Wellington's and Napoleon's troops had similar forces, about 70,000 soldiers, but the French troops had greater artillery potential. Wellington took a defensive position, positioning his troops with the aim of resisting Napoleon's attacks. His aim was to buy time until Blücher's troops arrived to support him.
Napoleon only managed to attack around midday, as he had to wait for the sun to dry the soil from the previous day's rain. He launched an artillery attack, concentrating attacks on the right flank of Wellington's troops. Then thousands of French soldiers were sent to attack this position.
The aim was to force Wellington to withdraw his troops from the center, but the English commander did not send reinforcements to his flank. Napoleon then began the attack on the center of the Wellington battalion. The left flank of Wellington's troops was also attacked and began to give way.
THE fight went on indefinite until at 15 hours, for in all positions Wellington's troops were able to resist French attacks. Wellington's army took many casualties, but it also caused considerable damage to the French armies, until the decisive act of that battle took place.
Prussian troops led by Blücher were sighted and marched into battle to join efforts with Wellington. Blucher had deceived Grouchy and left some troops behind, deceiving the French commander and driving him away from the battlefield. It is estimated that Grouchy had about 40,000 men at his command.
Napoleon ordered General Lobau and two other battalions to take up defensive positions on the right flank to stop the advance of Blücher's troops. While this was happening, Michel Ney made a disastrous decision and ordered his cavalry to carry out a frontal assault on Wellington's troops. Cavalry charges were unsuccessful and thousands died in these frustrated attacks.
In the late afternoon, Ney identified a chance to carry out a massive attack to decimate the defenses of Wellington and asked for reinforcements to carry out the attack, but Napoleon had no more troops to send the he. Grouchy would have been crucial at this point, but he never returned and was criticized his entire life for it.
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Defeat
In the late afternoon and early evening, Napoleon's troops began to make room on the battlefield. The greatest number of enemies was crucial for The defeat. Some French battalions were surrounded and fought to the death, and Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to leave the battlefield. At the end of the night, Wellington and Blücher teamed up and declared their victory.
At the end of the battle, Wellington and Blücher suffered about 20 thousand deaths, while the forces of Napoleon had 25 thousand deaths, in addition to prisoners and deserters. Napoleon returned to Paris to try to form a new army, but the defeat caused him to lose popular and political support. So, on June 24, 1815, he decidedabdicate the throne for the second time.
Napoleon considered fleeing to the United States, but his plan failed because French ports were blocked by English vessels. he was arrested and sent to a second exile, but this time on the distant island of Santa Helena, located in the South Atlantic. On this island, Napoleon died in 1821.
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/batalha-de-waterloo.htm