Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Waterloo 1

196 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp269–71 and pp296–7

The Battle of Waterloo, which took place
on 18 June 1815, marked the final defeat
of the French emperor Napoleon
Bonaparte. This was immediately
recognized as a pivotal event in
European history and the battlefield
became an attraction almost before the
bodies of the dead had been removed.
Memorials and exhibits were set up in
the town of Waterloo as well as at the
main scene of the battle, which lies 3 km (2 miles)
to the south. As a result, some of the exhibits are
themselves historic relics.

Église St-Joseph

This church was built

as a royal chapel in

the 17th century. On

the walls and floors

of the interior are

dozens of memorial

plaques dedicated to

British soldiers who

died at Waterloo, some

of whom had fought

loyally with Wellington

through the Peninsular

War (1808–14) in

Portugal and Spain.

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

The legendary Battle of Waterloo was the culmination of the Hundred Days – Napoleon’s

brief but explosive return to power. He had previously been defeated, after his ill-fated

invasion of Russia, and exiled to the Italian island of Elba. In February 1815, he escaped

from Elba and rallied his many supporters in a final bid for European domination. Heading

to retake Brussels, Napoleon reached Waterloo, where his army faced the British, under

the Duke of Wellington, and their allies, the Prussians and other German states, the Dutch

and Belgians. The ensuing battle lasted nine hours; the noise of gunnery could be heard

across the Channel in Britain. The

allied victory was, as Wellington

put it, “a damned near thing”,

and was only assured by the last-

minute arrival of the Prussian

cavalry under Marshal Blücher. It

had cost the lives of 13,000 men;

35,000 were wounded. Napoleon

and his defeated army fled back to

France in disarray, and Napoleon

eventually surrendered a month

later near Rochefort on the west

coast. He was exiled, this time to

the remote island of St Helena,

where he died six years later.

Charge of the Scots Greys and Gordon Highlanders at the Battle

of Waterloo, by English artist Richard Caton Woodville in c.1890

Wax models of French army generals

debating the battle plans, Musée de Cire

Bust of

Napoleon

Musée Wellington

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