The Battle of Waterloo as the Great Turning Point in Modern History - Essay Example

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815. The battle took place approximately thirteen kilometers south of Brussels. The main players of one of history's most famous battles were Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France, against the Allied armies commanded by the 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley and Field Marshal General Leberecht Prince Blucher von Wahlstadt of Prussia (Hofschroer). The outcome was the defeat and virtual destruction of the French Army and the subsequent exile of their beloved emperor to the island of St. Helena, a British colony located in the South Atlantic Ocean. To better understand and appreciate the actions and the ensuing results of the actual battle fought at Waterloo, it is imperative that the intervening events which transpired and eventually led to that historic battle be discussed first. France has found a charismatic and ambitious leader in the person of Napoleon Bonaparte. His string of victories in the battlefields of Europe all the more contributed to his steady rise and prominence among the French people. Consequently, France's rise to power brought unease among other European nations. Assured of his prominent status and support among the people, Napoleon launched a coup in 1799 that overthrew the Bourbon king and established himself as ruler and First Consul. Later on, he would declare himself emperor for life ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Napoleon had wanted to make France the most powerful country in Europe and to achieve this; he waged a campaign of annexation and colonization of lands which resulted in many victories for his army. The wars were later called the Napoleonic Wars. A coalition of major powers in Europe, notably the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria mobilized an army to meet the threat posed by Napoleon's army. After a series of wars, the Allied army finally defeated Napoleon in 1814 thereby effectively checking his ambition of establishing France as the dominant power in Europe. Napoleon was subsequently deposed and exiled to the island of Elba along with some 600 of his loyal guards in accordance with the Treaty of Fontainbleau. The bourbon king, Louis XVIII was made ruler of France by the victorious European powers ("Battle of Waterloo"). The Congress of Vienna was convened by the nations of Europe that defeated Napoleon to discuss the problems that arose after the fall of France. The Congress also wanted to re-establish the territorial balance in Europe wherein the future and status of the nations conquered and annexed by Napoleon's campaign in Europe were to be discussed. The unpopularity and ineptness of Louis XVIII resulting in economic and social unrest left many veterans who fought with Napoleon and many citizens as well clamoring for change. The men who had fought alongside Napoleon remained a potent force and many felt that their past efforts were wasted because of the government's corruption and insensitiveness to the needs of the people. Many were hoping that their deposed emperor would return and liberate them. Napoleon, believing that many in France would allow his return while others would not dare oppose it, decided to risk a return and put forth plans to establish himself again as the ruler of France ("Waterloo"). On Feb. 26, 1815, Napoleon together with less than a thousand of his men, left Elba and landed on an unpopulated beach near Antibes. Napoleon is determined to return to Paris and early on the next day, he marched toward Grenoble with his men. Soldiers who were stationed in outposts outside Paris initially barred his advance but after offering the guards to shoot him because he has no intention of turning back, instead joined him. Everywhere Napoleon marched, veteran soldiers and those soldiers serving the government joined his ranks. At Auxerre, Marshal Ney, Napoleon's old comrade whom he once called the "bravest of the brave," was overwhelmed by the presence of his former emperor. He embraced him and turned over to Napoleon the command of his 6,000 troops. Because of developments moving too fast, King Louis XVIII along with French government officials fled in panic to Belgium ("Waterloo"). Napoleon entered Paris on March 20 and proclaimed himself once more the emperor of France. Immediately, the European powers proclaimed Napoleon's newly established government an outlaw and declared war on France. The 7th Coalition was formed led by Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia. Other European powers Spain, Portugal and Sweden along with the exiled government of the king of France subsequently declared war on Napoleon ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The Allied powers began to mobilize their armies with the aim of invading France and subduing Napoleon's army. It was estimated that the European allies would be able to raise an army of 700,000 against Napoleon's estimated 200,000. In Paris, Napoleon learned of the invasion plan and quickly devised an attack that would bring the war on the Allies' own ground even before they could mobilize the whole of their army. With vigor and decisiveness, Napoleon was able to mobilize in two months' time an army numbering 360,000. He put forth a defensive force within France and the remainder he organized into attack units. On June 14, 1815, with audacious speed and utmost secrecy, Napoleon and his army of 124,000 reached the Franco-German border. Another 56,000 were stationed as secondary and support units ("Battle of Waterloo"). The Allies planned to attack along the French borders and march on to Paris from different directions with enough firepower and manpower to crush the outlawed French government. There was, however, one problem for the Allies. The Austrian and Russian troops were still miles away. Their movement into the scene of the battle was further hampered by the rains which made the ground muddy and hard to march on with. The Allies' only available armies were those already in Belgium and the Prussian army commanded by Blucher. The total strength of the Allied army that was to face Napoleon was 213,000 strong. In the end, the Austrians and Russians arrived too late. Napoleon had already been defeated when they reached Belgium ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The Allied army that faced Napoleon was commanded by the Duke of Wellington of Britain and Marshal Blucher of Prussia. Wellington's troops were a mixture of Germans, Dutch, Belgians and British. Blucher's troops were largely Germans recruited from German provinces and some ethnic Poles (Hofschroer). Wellington is the designated overall commander in chief of the Allied forces. Blucher was the commander of the Prussian army. He carried with him the distinction of being the only man to have beaten Napoleon more than once in previous engagements. Because of his age at 72 and vast military experience, Blucher was more confident than any other Allied commander to face Napoleon. His military record also helped put a positive effect on the morale of his Prussian officers and men ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was himself an accomplished military officer. He had proven his capability as an effective coalition general when he commanded the same Allied armies before. In the Peninsular campaign of 1811, the French was not able to defeat him in any single battle when the British supported Portugal and Spain against Napoleon ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Wellesley distinguished himself in the battlefields of Portugal and Spain trying to expel the French from the Peninsula. He campaigned against the French relentlessly and although forced to retreat because of French superiority in numbers, he never lost a battle because of tactical ineffectiveness. Not even single cannon of his army were lost to the French. And the fact that he was always outnumbered by the French made his victories more celebrated. His men respected him because of his leadership skills. His reputation on expecting the best from his men and for being a strict disciplinarian were never resented by his men because his troops also knew that he was the kind of a leader who would never risk the lives of his men unnecessarily (Roberts). Wellesley was made duke after the Peninsular war and appointed ambassador to the Bourbon court that was restored in 1814 after the defeat of France and the exile of Napoleon. Wellesley was made the 1st Duke of Wellington after his exploits in the Peninsular campaign. Wellesley, after learning of Napoleon's escape from Elba, immediately took up command of the Allied army in Brussels and made preparations to launch attacks against the latter's forces. Before the main battle at Waterloo between the two opposing armies, two significant battles were fought-the battles at Ligny and Quatre-Bras. These two engagements were important in the context of the penultimate battle at Waterloo because these battles could have altered the results of Waterloo. Napoleon knew that he would he hard-pressed to defeat the two allied armies simultaneously. For him to destroy the two armies, he devised a plan to separate them and deal with them in two different stages of the battle. One advantage that Napoleon used was to keep the allies guessing as to where he's main point attack was going to take place. To keep this advantage, Napoleon used his network of spies in Paris to send false information to Brussels regarding his troop movements. He even ordered large concentration of his troops to march and counter-march, particularly in Lille to keep Wellington's attention on his right flank (Hofschroer). Napoleon divided his army into two attacking wings with a strategic reserve. For their part, Wellington and Blucher knew that to defeat Napoleon, they have to unite their forces. They were very much aware of the danger facing them. They knew that the key to the battle was the defense of Brussels, and although it was a highly risky strategy, the two allied commanders agreed to the importance of Brussels. Their planned strategy was to advance and meet the threat head-on. They planned to wait when Napoleon would launch his main point of attack and respond by moving rapidly toward this point, linking their armies in the process within 24 hours and a further 48 hours to combine their forces. If successful, their superior number would overwhelm Napoleon's army and defeat him (Hofschroer). On June 15, 1861, Napoleon moved his army across the border of Belgium. Advance elements of Blucher's army were caught unprepared. A Prussian advance guard was routed by the French troops crossing from the Sambre River. To carry out his plan of dividing the two allied armies of Wellington and Blucher, Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney positioned at his left wing, to commence attack on Quatre Bras, defended by a brigade under Wellington's forces. Simultaneously, Napoleon marched to Ligny and attacked the Prussian forces there. His reserve force would either move to the east or west at moment's notice depending on which attacking force would need reinforcements ("Battle of Waterloo"). The first major engagements of the opposing armies happened at Ligny and Quatre Bras. At Ligny, the Prussians under Blucher faced the forces commanded by Napoleon while Wellington's forces fought the French forces under Marshal Ney. The Prussians had the advantage of position at Ligny. The hills were used by Blucher as cover for his reserves. The villages of St. Armand and St. Armand Haye with its stone houses and farmhouses offered strong defensive points for the Prussians. Blucher intended to hold the villages where he hoped to put up an effective resistance until Wellington's troops were able to reinforce him. Successive attacks by the French were repeatedly beaten off by the Prussians for most of the day but the defenders were forced to withdraw during the night when a stronger and renewed French attack dented Blucher's center position ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The attack on Quatre Bras did not share the same victory as that of Napoleon's at Ligny. Although Wellington was not around when the attack took place, Prince William of Orange ably took charge of the battle at Quatre Bras and was successful in holding off the French attack and when Allied reinforcements arrived, Marshal Ney was forced to call off his offensive ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The next morning, June 17, Wellington received a message on the Prussian defeat at Ligny. Realizing that the French had outflanked him because of the defeat at Ligny, Wellington sent for Blucher to swing his retreating troops northwest and unite their armies to face Napoleon's flanking threat at Mont-Saint-Jean, south of the town of Waterloo ("Battle of Waterloo"). The same morning at Ligny, Napoleon ordered Marshal Grouchy to take 30,000 men and pursue Blucher's retreating troops. At the same time, Napoleon also sent messages to Marshal Ney at Frasnes ordering him to commence the attack immediately on Wellington's forces. Ney, for unknown reasons, failed to obey his order for an attack on Wellington. He was not even aware that Wellington's troops were on the retreat. Napoleon proceeded to Frasnes on the afternoon and assumed command of Ney's forces. He attacked the forces still left at Quatre Bras and set off in pursuit of Wellington. Napoleon caught up with Wellington's army in the early evening. The Allied army was already dug in along the plain of Mont-Saint-Jean. Napoleon then decided to organize and prepare his army for the battle ahead of them ("Battle of Waterloo"). While Napoleon moved his army with audacious speed, Grouchy was in stark contrast. Grouchy's troops failed to overtake Blucher and worse, he allowed the Prussian army to swing northwest to link with Wellington's army. These two battles were significant because the results would have altered the course of the entire campaign from both sides. Many scholars believed that had Marshal Grouchy of the French army vigorously pursued the retreating Prussians at Ligny, he would have routed the entire Prussian army and prevented them from reforming thereby their army would not have been able to participate at Waterloo. Later on, Napoleon would blame Grouchy for this blunder. Also, an entire corps, D'Erlon's 1st Corps with some 19,000 men was not able to participate in either Quatre Bras or Ligny because of poor communications. Had D'Erlon's corps participated in either Ligny or Quatre Bras, it would have resulted in either one of the Allied armies being crushed. And now the stage is set for one of the most significant battles in the annals of military history. On the morning of June 18, the French and the Allied armies were in battle position ready to commence attack on each other. The French started the battle at 11 a.m. with a fierce bombardment of Hougoumont Farm, the site of the Allies' extreme right. Behind the ridge, British artillery replied, concentrating their fire on the French infantry poised for the advance on the far side of the valley. For the next several minutes, fierce bombardment from both sides continued. It was estimated that the French had more guns than the Allied. French guns were about 250 as against the Allies' 160 ("The Battle of Waterloo"). At around midday, Prince Jerome, brother of Napoleon, launched the assault on Hougoumont. His infantry moved forward and engaged the defenders positioned inside farm buildings. At about 1:30 p.m., Marshal Ney ordered 74 French guns to be brought forward over the ridge opposite La Haye Sante. D'Erlon's corps of 17,000 infantry began the attack on Wellington's center and left after the fierce bombardment. The French bombardment was so ferocious that later on, veterans from the campaign described it as the heaviest they had experienced ("The Battle of Waterloo, 1815"). Capt. J.H. Gronow of the British Army, who was only 19 at the time of Waterloo, noted in his later account of the battle his brigade could hear the incessant and measured boom of artillery combined with musket fires that seem to fire ceaselessly. Gronow further wrote that the shot and shell were whistling around them, killing and wounding so many in their ranks. He believed that the French artillery that day inflicted terrible havoc on the Allies ("The Battle of Waterloo, 1815"). After almost half an hour, the tremendous artillery barrage finally relented. The sound of advance was commenced with Ney's columns spearheading the attack. The bulk of the French infantry bypassed La Haye Sante and marched forward to a crest of the ridge, where Picton's division was lying in wait. Another French force launched a furious assault at La Haye Sante defended by the King's German Legion. For the rest of the day, the King's German Legion would distinguish itself for the defense of La Haye Sante. Only when the German troops ran out of ammunition were they were finally overwhelmed but at a very great cost on the French infantry ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The French infantry that advanced on the ridge were met by British infantry with a bayonet charge after discharging their first volley of fire. The French columns, unexpecting the surprise charge, were scattered. Allied cavalry composed of the Household Brigade, the Union Brigade and Vivian's Hussar Brigade were ordered to reinforce the British infantry's charge on the French columns to press on the attack. Most of the cavalry, already engaged in a charge in a different direction were not able to change directions. The Union Brigade, for example, continued its charge up to the position of one of the French guns on the far ridge but were overwhelmed by French cavalry and in the process, its commander General Ponsonby, was killed ("The Battle of Waterloo"). By 3 p.m., there was a momentary lull in the battle but the fighting on Hougoumont at the western end of the line was still continuing. Up until then, the tide of the battle can still swing in either side's favor. The battle slowly began to tilt in the favor of the Allies when Blucher's reorganized Prussian army arrived on the scene of the battle, appearing in the south east side. Blucher was able to reorganize his retreating army and turned them into a potent attack force once more primarily because of the failure of Marshal Grouchy to pursue the disorganized Prussians then. Napoleon, alarmed by the sudden reappearance of the Prussians, ordered Ney to capture La Haye Sante at all cost, realizing the value of the place as a stronghold. Through the chaos and confusion, Ney launched a massive cavalry attack on the allied line. Wellington's infantry immediately formed squares behind the ridge to receive the French cavalry. According to the account of Captain Gronow, not a single man would have forgotten the spectacle of the massive cavalry advance and grandeur of that charge. He further wrote that as the cavalry charged nearer and nearer to their position, the troops hugging the ground could feel the vibration caused by the thunderous hoofs of the cavalry ("The Battle of Waterloo, 1815"). The French cavalry was met by the formed squares of Allied infantry along with artillery batteries. The charge of the cuirassiers tried to penetrate the squares with no success. Wellington's formation stood fast and the charge made little impact but suffered high casualties. Again and again, the French cavalry attacked but was also repeatedly repulsed with massive losses. At around 5:30 p.m., Ney launched his final cavalry assault. Again the charge failed to break the Allied line. Ney finally launched an infantry assault that successfully overwhelmed the defenders of La Haye Sante but not without inflicting heavy losses on the French infantry. And still, the capture of La Haye Sante came far too late. Napoleon was now preoccupied with the Prussians who were attacking his left flank. He deployed his Imperial Guard to drive the Prussians back to Plancenoit. If successful, Napoleon would launch the Guard at the "major line of the Allied" ("The Battle of Waterloo"). During this time, Wellington was now able to reorganize his troops and was poised to prepare for the final attack and crush Napoleon's army. The resulting charge of both armies resulted in massive casualties from both sides. Both armies showed great courage and bravery in the battlefield. As the Imperial Guard marched up the ridge, batteries of artillery met them opened a tremendous volley of fire cutting many to pieces. Other Guard elements were able to throw back elements of Halkett's Brigade but were turned back by the Belgian and Dutch troops under General Chasse and Colonel Detmers who pursued them down the hill ("The Battle of Waterloo"). For the next several hours, the battle would swing either way. The turning point came when Wellington ordered the Maitland Brigade to charge on the French Guard. The French were caught by surprise and fled. The Guard formed squares to block the Allied advance and screen their Emperor's retreat. For the first time ever, the Imperial Guard was forced to retreat in battle. Wellington took the advantage and pressed on with the assault with the Prussians advancing on his left. The Prussians were able to retake Plancenoit and Papelotte ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Seizing the moment, Wellington rode on his horse and waved his hat to give the signal for a general advance in the pursuit of the retreating French troops. The British, Dutch, Belgian and German troops rallied to him and poured forward cutting down the retreating French troops and finally routed the enemy. Three battalions of the Imperial Guard fought bravely to enable their Emperor to escape while the enemies, now reinforced by the Prussians, completed the route of the French forces. The Battle of Waterloo was won ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Blucher met Wellington at La Belle Alliance. Blucher suggested that the battle be named La Belle Alliance but Wellington insisted that the battle be named in honor of the place where it took place, Waterloo ("The Battle of Waterloo"). Napoleon subsequently abdicated and surrendered to the British. He was exiled in the island of St. Helena where he spent the rest of his days up unto his death on May 5, 1821. The Battle of Waterloo is considered to be one of the bloodiest in modern history. During the battle on June 18, British, Belgian, German and Dutch casualties were about 15,000. The Prussians, about 7,000. On the French side, casualties were estimated at 25,000 dead and wounded with 8,000 more taken prisoners and a total of 220 guns lost or destroyed ("The Battle of Waterloo"). The Battle of Waterloo ranks among the great turning points in modern history. The outcome of the battle effectively ended French domination of Europe. The political boundaries and the power balance in Europe were drastically changed. Waterloo saw the end of the Napoleonic wars and the resulting emergence of Germany. Waterloo, for the British, is not just a battle. It is an institution. Works Cited "Battle of Waterloo." The History Channel website. 2006. History.com. 3 Nov. 2006 . Bunting III, J. "Bonaparte's Last Stand." The Weekly Standard Oct. 2, 2005. 3 Nov. 2006 . Hofschroer, P. "Waterloo: The Three Commanders." BBC June 9, 2005. 4 Nov. 2006 . Roberts, A. "The Duke of Wellington: Soldiering to Glory." BBC Jan. 1, 2001. 4 Nov. 2006 . "The Battle of Waterloo." BritishBattles. 2006. BritishBattles.com. 4 Nov. 2006 . "The Battle of Waterloo." Empire and Sea Power. 2005. bbc.co.uk. 3 Nov. 2006. . "The Battle of Waterloo, 1815." EyeWitness to History. 2004. eyewitnesstohistory.com 4 Nov. 2006. . Read More