The most feared army in the world broke and ran in a single afternoon.

Waterloo: Napoleon's Final Defeat

The Duke of Wellington ends the Napoleonic era in a single afternoon

The Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 ended Napoleon's rule, reshaped Europe, and established 'Waterloo' as a global synonym for decisive defeat.

On June 18, 1815, in fields south of Brussels, the fate of Europe was decided in a single day. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had escaped exile on Elba and reclaimed power in France in what became known as the Hundred Days, faced a coalition army commanded by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Blücher.

Napoleon had won dozens of battles and controlled most of Europe. He needed one more decisive victory to break the coalition and consolidate his position. He nearly got it. Wellington's Allied forces were hard pressed all afternoon, their lines stretched to breaking point.

The arrival of Prussian reinforcements in the late afternoon changed everything. Attacked on two sides, Napoleon ordered the Imperial Guard — his elite troops, never before defeated — to break through the Allied center. They were repulsed. The sight of the Guard retreating sparked panic. Napoleon's army collapsed.

Napoleon fled the battlefield. Captured by the British, he was exiled to the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. Wellington called Waterloo "the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life." The battle's outcome ended 20 years of nearly continuous warfare and established…

💡 Napoleon's campaign returned to power lasted exactly 100 days before Waterloo ended it — hence 'The Hundred Days.'