Albion Triumphant Pt2: Waterloo

On a damp, overcast Sunday in June 1815, twenty years of continuous warfare the Napoleonic Wars came to a violent and bloody conclusion on a rain-soaked field in Belgium. These wars were truly a world affair, with European powers fighting battles not only on the mainland of Europe but as far as India, Egypt, the Caribbean and America.

The greatest generals of the age finally faced each other on the field of battle; The Duke of Wellington, rooted to a little-known ridge, faced, the Emperor of the French. Napoleon Bonaparte, master of the attack, opposed brigades of British, Germans, Dutch and Belgians; brigades of an infamous army that, despite horrific casualties, clung to the ridge for over nine hours to ensure that the arrival of BlǬcher's Prussian army would put the Duke victory beyond doubt.