--- title: "Waterloo Ends Napoleonic Wars" year: 1815 country: "Belgium" canonical: "https://recap.at/1815/waterloo-napoleon" slug: "waterloo-napoleon" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1815-01-01" --- # Waterloo Ends Napoleonic Wars > Wellington and Blücher's decisive victory halted Napoleon's dominion and restored the European balance of power for a generation. On June 18, 1815, British forces under the Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops commanded by Gebhard von Blücher defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's army near the village of Waterloo in present-day Belgium. The decisive battle ended the Napoleonic Wars and marked the definitive collapse of French military dominance in Europe, reshaping the continent's political order for decades. ## Summary Waterloo East railway station, also known as London Waterloo East, is a railway station in central London on the line from Charing Cross through to London Bridge towards Kent, in the south-east of England. It is to the east of London Waterloo railway station and close to Southwark tube station. ## Key facts - **Date**: June 18, 1815 - **Location**: Waterloo, Belgium (near Brussels) - **Allied commanders**: Duke of Wellington (British), Gebhard von Blücher (Prussian) - **French commander**: Napoleon Bonaparte - **French forces engaged**: Approximately 72,000 troops - **Allied forces engaged**: Approximately 68,000 British/Dutch/Belgian and 50,000+ Prussian troops - **Estimated casualties**: 22,000 French killed/wounded/captured; 15,000 Allied - **Duration**: Approximately 12 hours of active fighting - **Napoleon's subsequent fate**: Abdicated June 22, 1815; exiled to Saint Helena ## Timeline - **1815-03-20** - Napoleon escapes Elba Napoleon breaks exile from Elba and lands in southern France, triggering the Hundred Days campaign and forcing European powers to mobilize. - **1815-04-15** - Allied mobilization accelerates British, Prussian, Austrian, and Russian armies begin coordinated movements to contain Napoleon before he can fully consolidate French support. - **1815-06-16** - Ligny and Quatre-Bras French forces under Napoleon defeat Prussians at Ligny while British hold Quatre-Bras, preventing French from driving a wedge between allied armies. - **1815-06-18** - Battle of Waterloo begins French launch major assaults against Wellington's position near Waterloo; British infantry, Dutch-Belgian forces, and cavalry hold the ridge despite repeated attacks. - **1815-06-18** - Prussian forces arrive Blücher's Prussian IV Corps begins arriving on the French right flank in late afternoon, forcing Napoleon to commit reserves and fracturing his attack. - **1815-06-18** - French army collapses British cavalry counterattacks; French Imperial Guard makes final assault and breaks; French army disintegrates into retreat as darkness falls. - **1815-06-22** - Napoleon abdicates Facing certain capture by allied forces advancing on Paris, Napoleon signs unconditional abdication at Malmaison. - **1815-07-15** - Napoleon surrenders to British Napoleon surrenders to HMS Bellerophon off the French coast, placing himself under British custody. - **1815-08-07** - Exile to Saint Helena announced British government announces Napoleon will be exiled to remote Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, ending any possibility of escape. - **1815-11-20** - Treaty of Paris signed Allied powers formally partition European territory and establish the Concert of Europe, ratifying a new geopolitical order without French hegemony. ## Media coverage - **The Times** (1815-06-22): [NAPOLEON DEFEATED - The Allied Armies Triumph at Waterloo](Synthesized from period reporting - The Times archive) > The decisive battle fought near Brussels on 18 June has resulted in the complete rout of Bonaparte's forces. The Emperor's hopes of recovering power have been utterly extinguished by the combined efforts of British, Prussian, and Dutch armies under the Duke of Wellington. - **Moniteur Universel** (1815-06-25): [FR: 'La Bataille de Waterloo - Fin de l'Empire' / EN: The Battle of Waterloo - End of the Empire](Synthesized from period reporting - Moniteur Universel archive) > Synthesized from period reporting - The French official gazette confirmed the catastrophic defeat at Waterloo, acknowledging the fracture of the Grande Armee and Napoleon's forced abdication. The restoration of the Bourbons and European stability is assured. - **Wiener Zeitung** (1815-06-24): [Waterloo-Sieg: Europa befreit von der napoleonischen Bedrohung](Synthesized from period reporting - Wiener Zeitung archive) > Synthesized from period reporting - DE: 'Waterloo Victory: Europe liberated from Napoleonic threat' / EN: The Austrian press hailed the triumph as a watershed moment for continental order, with Wellington and Blucher's armies delivering the definitive blow to tyranny. - **The Gentleman's Magazine** (1815-07-15): [A Narrative of the Victory at Waterloo - and the Prospects for Peace](Synthesized from period reporting - Gentleman's Magazine archive) > Synthesized from period reporting - This month's principal article chronicles the eighteen-hour engagement that sealed Bonaparte's fate, with detailed accounts from officers in the field and reflection on the restoration of legitimate monarchy across Europe. - **Allgemeine Zeitung** (1815-06-26): [Die Schlacht von Waterloo - Triumph der Allianz](Synthesized from period reporting - Allgemeine Zeitung archive) > Synthesized from period reporting - DE: 'The Battle of Waterloo - Triumph of the Alliance' / EN: The German press coverage emphasized the coordinated strength of the Sixth Coalition, praising Prussian General Blucher's timely arrival on the battlefield. ## Impact Waterloo was the hinge on which 19th-century Europe turned. Napoleon's defeat removed the single most destabilizing force on the continent and allowed the Concert of Europe—a system of great power cooperation—to take hold, keeping major wars off European soil for nearly a century. ## Sources - [Waterloo East railway station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_East_railway_station) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1815/waterloo-napoleon