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Battle of Waterloo Timeline

(June 18, 1815)

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium. It marked the final defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte by the Seventh Coalition, led by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blücher, ending Napoleon's Hundred Days return to power and ushering in decades of relative peace in Europe. Less

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Road to War

British Army reduced by 47,000 men

Dec 1814

In December 1814, the British Army had been reduced by 47,000 men as Europe settled into an uneasy peace following Napoleon's first abdication, leaving Britain with fewer seasoned troops available for the coming campaign.

Image source: Battle of Waterloo

British Army reduced by 47,000 men

Undermanned battalions on both sides

1815

The British battalions were undermanned, but the French were even worse off, with their average battalion being 145 muskets weaker: 665 men per British battalion, 610 for the Prussians, 520 for the KGL, and 520 for the French.

Scots Greys had not seen action since 1795

1815

The Scots Greys, for example, had not been in action since 1795, meaning that despite their fine mounts, many British cavalry units lacked recent combat experience going into the Waterloo campaign.

Image source: Royal Scots Greys

Scots Greys had not seen action since 1795

British heavy cavalry enters campaign with finest horses

1815

More than 20 years of warfare had eroded the numbers of suitable cavalry mounts available on the European continent; this resulted in the British heavy cavalry entering the 1815 campaign with the finest horses of any contemporary cavalry arm.

Former volunteer formations absorbed into Prussian line

1815

In 1815, the former Reserve regiments, Legions, and Freikorps volunteer formations from the wars of 1813–1814 were in the process of being absorbed into the line, along with many Landwehr (militia) regiments.

Napoleon declines conscription for the 1815 campaign

1815

Napoleon had used conscription to fill the ranks of the French army throughout his rule, but he did not conscript men for the 1815 campaign, limiting the manpower available to him.

Dutch army re-established after Napoleon's defeat

1815

The Dutch army had been re-established in 1815, following the earlier defeat of Napoleon, and would play a significant role in Wellington's forces at Waterloo.

Napoleon returns to power, beginning the Hundred Days

Mar 1815

Upon Napoleon's return to power in March 1815, the beginning of the Hundred Days, many states that had previously opposed him formed the Seventh Coalition to oppose him again and hurriedly mobilised their armies.

Image source: Hundred Days

Napoleon returns to power, beginning the Hundred Days

Congress of Vienna declares Napoleon an outlaw

Mar 13, 1815

On 13 March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw, formally branding him a threat to European peace and setting the diplomatic stage for renewed war.

Legacy and Commemoration

Battlefield terrain altered from its 1815 appearance

1815

Some portions of the terrain on the battlefield have been altered from their 1815 appearance; as Victor Hugo observed, the variously inclined undulations of the plains where Napoleon and Wellington engaged are no longer what they were on 18 June 1815.

Napoleon's planned pyramid of white stones

1815

Had the French won the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon planned to commemorate the victory by building a pyramid of white stones, akin to the pyramids he had seen during his invasion of Egypt in 1798.

Relic collecting satirized in 19th-century literature

1815 - 1900

The phenomenon of battlefield relic hunting was often satirized in 19th-century literature and criticized by French and German visitors, who viewed British gullibility as symbolic retribution for the defeat.

British convert first light cavalry regiment to lancers

1816

The effectiveness of the lance was noted by all participants and this weapon subsequently became more widespread throughout Europe; the British converted their first light cavalry regiment to lancers in 1816.

Image source: Mitsubishi Lancer

British convert first light cavalry regiment to lancers

King William I orders construction of a monument

1820

In 1820, the Netherlands' King William I ordered the construction of a monument on the battlefield, part of a wave of commemorative structures built to mark the Battle of Waterloo.

Image source: Lion's Mound

King William I orders construction of a monument

Britain's Household Cavalry adopts the cuirass

1821

Britain's Household Cavalry likewise adopted the cuirass in 1821 in recognition of their success against their armoured French counterparts at Waterloo.

Image source: Household Cavalry

Britain's Household Cavalry adopts the cuirass

No major international conflict until Crimean War

1853 - 1856

No further major international conflict occurred until the Crimean War of 1853–1856, reflecting the long peace in Europe that followed Waterloo.

Image source: Crimean War

No major international conflict until Crimean War

Remains of soldier Friederich Brandt discovered

2012

The remains of a soldier thought to be 23-year-old Friederich Brandt were discovered in 2012, one of remarkably few complete human skeletons ever found on the battlefield.

Belgium mints two-euro coin for bicentennial

2015

As part of the bicentennial celebration of the battle, in 2015 Belgium minted a two-euro coin depicting the Lion monument over a map of the field of battle.

Bicentenary prompts renewed attention to Waterloo's legacy

2015

The bicentenary of Waterloo prompted renewed attention to the geopolitical and economic legacy of the battle and to the century of relative transatlantic peace which followed.

Second skeleton found near former field hospital

2022

In 2022 a second skeleton was found in a ditch near a former field hospital by the Waterloo Uncovered charity; remarkably, there is no record of any such mass grave being discovered in the 20th and 21st centuries, with only two complete human skeletons found.

Historians prove battlefield has drawn tourists since 1815

Dec 2022

In December 2022, historians Bernard Wilkin and Robin Schäfer proved in an article published by Napoleonica that since the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the battlefield has been a focal point for tourism and relic collecting.

The Battle

Neither army beat Napoleon alone

1815

Parkinson (2000) adds: "Neither army beat Napoleon alone," emphasizing that the combined efforts of Wellington's Anglo-allied army and Blücher's Prussians were necessary to secure victory.

Clausewitz disagrees with Wellington's assessment

1815

In his famous study of the Campaign of 1815, the Prussian Clausewitz does not agree with Wellington on this assessment, offering a differing analysis of the battle and its conduct.

Wellington's maps more up to date than Napoleon's

Jun 18, 1815

It has also been noted that Wellington's maps of the battlefield were based on a recent reconnaissance and therefore more up to date than those used by Napoleon, who had to rely on Ferraris-Capitaine maps of 1794.

Battle of Waterloo fought near Waterloo

Jun 18, 1815

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), being the last engagement with Napoleon I and decisively ending his rule.

Blücher's arrival forces Napoleon to accelerate his effort

Jun 18, 1815

Steele (2014) writes: "Blücher's arrival not only diverted vital reinforcements, but also forced Napoleon to accelerate his effort against Wellington," underscoring how the Prussian intervention shaped the battle's outcome.

Aftermath and Peace

Napoleon advised to rule France as military dictator

Jun 1815

Napoleon's brother Lucien and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout advised him to continue fighting, dissolve the Chamber of Deputies from Louis XVIII's constitutional government, and rule France as a military dictator, as he had done from 1804 until 1814.

General Trip praised in Wellington's dispatch

Jun 19, 1815

There is no support in Dutch or Belgian sources for claims criticizing General Trip; Wellington wrote in his Dispatch to Secretary for War Bathurst on 19 June 1815 that General Trip had "conducted himself much to my satisfaction".

Wellington sends official dispatch describing the battle

Jun 19, 1815

Wellington sent his official dispatch describing the battle to England on 19 June 1815; it arrived in London on 21 June 1815 and was published as a London Gazette Extraordinary on 22 June.

Image source: Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch

Wellington sends official dispatch describing the battle

Napoleon announces his second abdication

Jun 24, 1815

Napoleon announced his second abdication on 24 June 1815, bringing his brief return to power during the Hundred Days to an end.

Image source: Abdication of Napoleon, 1815

Napoleon announces his second abdication

Louis XVIII restored; Napoleon exiled to Saint Helena

Jul 1815

Louis XVIII was restored to the throne of France and Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

Image source: Saint Helena

Louis XVIII restored; Napoleon exiled to Saint Helena

Vandamme defeated by Blücher at Issy

Jul 3, 1815

In the final skirmish of the Napoleonic Wars, General Dominique Vandamme was defeated by Blücher at Issy on 3 July 1815, effectively closing out hostilities.

Image source: Battle of Issy

Vandamme defeated by Blücher at Issy

Longwy capitulates, last French fortress to hold out

Sep 13, 1815

There was a campaign against French fortresses that still held out; Longwy capitulated on 13 September 1815, the last to do so.

Image source: Longwy

Longwy capitulates, last French fortress to hold out

Treaty of Paris signed

Nov 20, 1815

The Treaty of Paris was signed on 20 November 1815, formally concluding the Napoleonic Wars and reshaping the European order after Waterloo.

Image source: Treaty of Paris (1815)

Treaty of Paris signed

Key Facts

  1. The Battle of Waterloo took place on June 18, 1815, near the town of Waterloo in present-day Belgium.
  2. Napoleon's French army was defeated by British forces under the Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops led by Gebhard von Blücher.
  3. The battle ended Napoleon's 'Hundred Days' campaign after his escape from exile on Elba.
  4. Napoleon abdicated four days later and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
  5. Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and began a period of European peace known as the Concert of Europe.

Source

This Battle of Waterloo timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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