The Battle of Waterloo

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Waterloo and why Napoleon lost that battle, noting the character of the man, the character of his opponent Wellington, and the events leading up to the battle, as well as some of the events of the battle. It looks at how Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was not merely a matter of superior military action on the part of the British but must be traced to his uneasy time at Elba and the slights that caused him to escape and undertake another military campaign as soon as he had.

From the Paper:

"In 1815, Napoleon was defeated by Lord Wellington at Waterloo. Prior to this, Napoleon had been highly successful in his military campaigns, and his career had been stopped only by the combined actions of several European powers and certain French factions that exiled him to the island of Elba. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was not merely a matter of superior military action on the part of the British but must be traced to his uneasy time at Elba and the slights that caused him to escape and undertake another military campaign as soon as he had. Waterloo has become the symbol for any major defeat, while the original Waterloo was a final defeat for Napoleon. The battle has been studied by many scholars to determine why Napoleon failed in spite of his military acumen, and some of those theories are included here."

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