Battle of Waterloo: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1815 battle of the Waterloo campaign}}

| partof            = the [[Waterloo campaign]] of the [[Hundred Days]]

| caption          = ''[[The Battle of Waterloo (painting, Sadler II)|The Battle of Waterloo]]'' <br /> [[William Sadler (painter)|William Sadler]], 1815

| coordinates      = {{Coord|region:BE-WBR_type:event|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} '''Napoleon'''

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Michel Ney]]{{#tag:ref|Ney largely exercised [[Military tactics|tactical]] control of the French army at Waterloo, namely, he led two infantry attacks, one cavalry attack and the last attack of the [[Middle Guard (Napoleonic)|Middle Guard]].{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=91}}|group=nb}}

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon|Jean-Baptiste Drouet]]

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Georges Mouton]]

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[François Étienne de Kellermann|François de Kellermann]]

* {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud|Édouard Milhaud]]

* {{flagicon|United Kingdom of the Netherlands}} [[William II of the Netherlands|William, Prince of Orange]]{{WIA}}

** 8,050 [[artillerymen|gunners]] and [[Military engineering|engineers]]

*** 7,232 gunners{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=169}}

{{tree list/end}}{{Ubl|{{*}}246{{ndash}}252 [[Cannon|guns]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=French Cannon Captured at Waterloo |url=https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/french-cannon-captured-at-waterloo/ |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=Age of Revolution |publisher=Waterloo 200 Ltd}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|246 guns according to Bodart and Clodfelter.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=487}}{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=169}}|group=nb}}}}

** 7,500 gunners{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=487}}{{tree list/end}}{{Ubl|{{*}}282{{ndash}}288 guns{{#tag:ref|Bodart's older estimate of 288 guns total for the Allies.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=487}}|group=nb}}}}<hr />

*Wellington's army: {{approximately|68,000}} soldiers<ref>{{harvnb|Hofschröer|1999|p=61}} cites Siborne's numbers.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hamilton-Williams|1994|p=256}} gives 68,000.</ref>{{#tag:ref|{{harvnb|Clodfelter|2017|pp=169–170}} gives 67,661. 49,608 infantry, 12,408 cavalry, and 5,645 artillery according to Clodfelter.|group=nb}}

** {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} 31,000{{efn|(25,000 British and 6,000 [[King's German Legion]])

}}

** {{flagicon|Nassau}} 3,000{{sfn|Barbero|2005|pp=75–76}}{{tree list/end}}{{Ubl|{{*}}156 guns{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1994|p=256}}}}<hr />Blücher's army: {{approximately|50,000}} soldiers{{Efn|

* 45,000 with 44 guns only in action{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=170}}

* 50,000{{sfn|Chesney|1874|p=4}}

* 52,300{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=487}}}}

{{Ubl|{{*}}126 guns{{sfn|Bowden|1983|p=329}}}}

| casualties2      = '''Total''': 24,000{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=419}}{{#tag:ref|French artillery inflicted 13,300 casualties with 20,760 rounds fired.{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=169}}|group=nb}}<hr />Wellington's army:<br />17,000{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=419}}{{#tag:ref|At the [[Hougoumont]] stronghold, the British and Hanoverian losses were only 847 men out of 2,200 engaged.{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=169}}|group=nb}}

{{ubl| <!-- There is an error in Clodfelter's estimate of Wellington's army losses: when counting the British, Dutch-Belgian, Hanoverian, German-Legionary, Brunswick, and Nassau losses, the figure (15,596) is different from what is shown in the book as the total (15,096). So please do not use this data. --> {{*}}3,500 killed|{{*}}10,200 wounded|{{*}}3,300 [[Missing in action|missing]]}}<hr />Blücher's army: 6,604–7,000{{Efn|

| casualties3      = '''Both sides:''' ≥7,000 horses dead or wounded<ref name=CBA>{{Cite web |last=Dr. Fitzgerald |first=Liam |date=25 July 2024 |title=Waterloo Uncovered: Ten years of archaeology in ten discoveries |url=https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/waterloo-uncovered--ten-years-of-archaeology-in-ten-discoveries.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=[[Council for British Archaeology|CBA]] |language=en}}</ref>

| campaignbox      =  

| mark-coord5 = {{coord|50.72|4.60}}

| mark-coord8 = {{coord|-15.97|-5.70}}

The '''Battle of Waterloo''' was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near [[Waterloo, Belgium|Waterloo]] (then in the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]], now in [[Belgium]]), being the last engagement with [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]]. The [[French Imperial Army (1804–1815)|French Imperial Army]] under the command of Napoleon I was defeated by two armies of the [[Seventh Coalition]]. One was a [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]-led force with units from the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Netherlands]], [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]], [[Duchy of Brunswick|Brunswick]], and [[Duchy of Nassau|Nassau]], under the command of field marshal [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington]]. The other comprised three [[corps]] of the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] army under Field Marshal [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]]. The battle was known contemporaneously as the ''Battle of [[Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium|Mont Saint-Jean]]'' in France (after the hamlet of [[Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium|Mont-Saint-Jean]]) and ''La Belle Alliance'' in [[Prussia]] ("the Beautiful Alliance"; after the inn of [[La Belle Alliance]]).<ref>Albert Smith, Charles Dickens, William Harrison Ainsworth (eds.) (1851) ''Bentley's Miscellany'', Volume 30, Publisher, Richard Bentley, p. 57</ref>

Upon Napoleon's return to power in March 1815, the beginning of the [[Hundred Days]], many states that had previously opposed him formed the [[Hundred Days|Seventh Coalition]] to oppose him again, and hurriedly mobilised their armies. Wellington's and Blücher's armies were [[Cantonment|cantoned]] close to the northeastern border of [[First French Empire|France]]. Napoleon planned to [[Defeat in detail|attack them separately]], before they could link up and invade France with other members of the coalition. On 16 June, Napoleon successfully attacked the bulk of the [[Prussian Army]] at the [[Battle of Ligny]] with his main force, while a small portion of the [[French Imperial Army (1804–1815)|French Imperial Army]] contested the [[Battle of Quatre Bras]] to prevent the Anglo-allied army from reinforcing the [[Prussia]]ns. The Anglo-allied army held their ground at Quatre Bras but were prevented from reinforcing the Prussians, and on the 17th, the Prussians withdrew from Ligny in [[Withdrawal (military)#Withdrawal in good order|good order]], while Wellington then withdrew in parallel with the Prussians northward to Waterloo on 17 June. Napoleon sent a third of his forces to pursue the Prussians, which resulted in the separate [[Battle of Wavre]] with the Prussian rear-guard on 18–19 June and prevented that French force from participating at Waterloo.

Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the [[Waterloo campaign]] and Napoleon's last. It was the second-bloodiest single day battle of the Napoleonic Wars, after [[Battle of Borodino|Borodino]]. According to Wellington, the battle was "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life".<ref>[[q:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wikiquote:Wellington]] citing ''Creevey Papers'', ch. x, p. 236</ref> [[Abdication of Napoleon, 1815|Napoleon abdicated]] four days later, and coalition forces entered Paris on 7 July. The defeat at Waterloo marked the end of Napoleon's Hundred Days return from exile. It precipitated Napoleon's second and definitive abdication as [[Emperor of the French]], and ended the [[First French Empire]]. It set a historical milestone between serial European wars and decades of [[International relations (1814–1919)|relative peace]], often referred to as the ''[[Pax Britannica]]''. In popular culture, the phrase "meeting one's Waterloo" has become an expression for experiencing a catastrophic reversal or undoing.<ref>{{cite book |author=Anderson, M. S. |url=https://archive.org/details/historianseighte0000ande |title=Historians and Eighteenth-Century Europe, 1715–1789 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-19-822548-5 |oclc=185538307 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ribeiro, Aileen |title=Dress in Eighteenth-Century Europe 1715–1789 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-300-09151-9 |edition=revised |oclc=186413657}}</ref>

[[File:Field Marshal Prince von Blucher.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher]] commanded the Prussian army, one of the Coalition armies that defeated Napoleon at the [[Battle of Leipzig]]]]

Had Napoleon succeeded in destroying the existing coalition forces south of Brussels before they were reinforced, he might have been able to drive the British back to the sea and knock [[Prussia]] out of the war. Crucially, this would have bought him time to recruit and train more men before turning his armies against the Austrians and Russians.{{sfn|Siborne|1895|pp=320–323}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The campaign of 1815: a study – A fundamental choice: a defensive or offensive war |url=https://www.waterloo-campaign.nl/bestanden/files/preambles/plannen.nap.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.waterloo-campaign.nl/bestanden/files/preambles/plannen.nap.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=Waterloo Campaign NL |access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref>

The initial dispositions of Wellington, the British commander, were intended to counter the threat of Napoleon enveloping the Coalition armies by moving through [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] to the south-west of Brussels.{{sfn|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|p=82}} This would have pushed Wellington closer to the Prussian forces, led by [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher]], but might have cut Wellington's communications with his base at [[Ostend]]. In order to delay Wellington's deployment, Napoleon spread false intelligence which suggested that Wellington's supply chain from the ports in the English Channel would be cut.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|pp=136–160}}

By June, Napoleon had raised a total army strength of about 300,000 men. The force at his disposal at Waterloo was less than one third that size, but the rank and file were mostly loyal and experienced soldiers.{{sfn|Herold|1967|pp=53, 58, 110}} Napoleon divided his army into a left wing commanded by [[Michel Ney|Marshal Ney]], a right wing commanded by [[Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy|Marshal Grouchy]] and a reserve under his command (although all three elements remained close enough to support one another). Crossing the frontier near [[Charleroi]] before dawn on 15 June, the French [[Waterloo Campaign: Start of hostilities (15 June)|rapidly overran Coalition outposts]], securing Napoleon's "central position" between Wellington's and Blücher's armies. He hoped this would prevent them from combining, and he would be able to destroy first the Prussian army, then Wellington's.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Waterloo – Opening moves |url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo |publisher=National Army Museum |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404113305/https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Simner">{{cite book |last=Mark Simner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQAnCgAAQBAJ |title=An Illustrated Introduction to the Battle of Waterloo – Quatre Bras and Ligny |year=2015 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-4667-1}}</ref><ref name="Hussey2017" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Road to Waterloo: a concise history of the 1815 campaign |url=https://www.academia.edu/35009953 |last=Alasdair White |year= 2017 |publisher=Academia |access-date=19 April 2020 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822203454/https://www.academia.edu/35009953 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Only very late on the night of 15 June was Wellington certain that the Charleroi attack was the main French thrust. In the early hours of 16 June, at the [[Duchess of Richmond's ball]] in Brussels, he received a dispatch from the [[William II of the Netherlands|Prince of Orange]] and was shocked by the speed of Napoleon's advance. He hastily ordered his army to concentrate on [[Quatre Bras]], where the Prince of Orange, with the brigade of Prince [[Bernhard Carl of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach|Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar]], was holding a tenuous position against the soldiers of Ney's left wing. Prince Bernhard and General [[Hendrik George de Perponcher Sedlnitsky|Perponcher]] were by all accounts better informed of the French advance than other allied officials and their later initiatives to hold the crossroads proved vital for the outcome. General [[Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque|Constant de Rebeque]], commander of one of the Dutch divisions, disobeyed Wellington's orders to march to his previous chosen concentration area around [[Nivelles]], and decided to hold the crossroads and send urgent messages to the prince and Perponcher. This fact shows how little Wellington believed in a fast French advance towards Brussels. He did not believe in recent intelligence given to him by General Dörnberg, one of his intelligence officials warning him of numerous French outposts south of Charleroi as well as some reports sent by the intelligence of the Prussian 1st corps. Had these two generals obeyed his orders, Quatre-Bras in all probability would have fallen to the French giving them time to support Napoleon's attack on the Prussians in the Sombreffe area via the fast, cobbled road, and the history of the campaign would have been significantly different.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clayton |first=Tim. |title=Waterloo, Four days that changed Europe's destiny |publisher=Little Brown |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7481-3412-0|pages=137–140}}</ref>{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=508}}

Ney's orders were to secure the crossroads of Quatre Bras so that he could later swing east and reinforce Napoleon if necessary. Ney found the crossroads lightly held by the Prince of Orange, who repelled Ney's initial attacks but was gradually driven back by overwhelming numbers of French troops in the [[Battle of Quatre Bras]]. First reinforcements, and then Wellington arrived. He took command and drove Ney back, securing the crossroads by early evening, too late to send help to the Prussians, who had already been defeated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Battle of Quatre Bras (June 16th 1815) |url=http://waterloobattletours.users.btopenworld.com/page14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125023608/http://waterloobattletours.users.btopenworld.com/page14.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 November 2006 |publisher=Archive Org |access-date=17 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Simner" /><ref name="Perr2013">{{Cite book |last=Bryan Perrett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b8o7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |title=Why the Germans Lost: The Rise and Fall of the Black Eagle |year=2013 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-78159-197-0 |pages=51–}}</ref>

With the Prussian retreat from Ligny, Wellington's position at Quatre Bras was untenable. The next day he withdrew northwards, to a defensive position that he had reconnoitred the previous year—the low [[ridge]] of [[Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium|Mont-Saint-Jean]], south of the village of [[Waterloo, Belgium|Waterloo]] and the [[Sonian Forest]].{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=527}}

Napoleon, with the reserves, made a late start on 17 June and joined Ney at Quatre Bras at 13:00 to attack Wellington's army but found the position empty. The French pursued Wellington's retreating army to Waterloo; however, due to bad weather, mud and the head start that Napoleon's tardy advance had allowed Wellington, there was no substantial engagement, apart from a cavalry [[action at Genappe]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Waterloo – A damned near-run thing. The nearest run thing you ever saw in your life. |url=https://www.history.co.uk/history-of-the-battle-of-waterloo/waterloo |publisher=AETN UK |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924221219/https://www.history.co.uk/history-of-the-battle-of-waterloo/waterloo |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mikaberidze2020">{{cite book |last=Mikaberidze |first=Alexander |title=The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSvJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA858 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2020 |pages=608– |isbn=978-0-19-939406-7}}</ref>

Before leaving Ligny, Napoleon had ordered Grouchy, who commanded the right wing, to follow the retreating Prussians with 33,000 men. A late start, uncertainty about the direction the Prussians had taken, and the vagueness of the orders given to him meant that Grouchy was too late to prevent the Prussian army reaching Wavre, from where it could march to support Wellington. More importantly, the heavily outnumbered Prussian rearguard was able to use the River Dyle to fight a savage and prolonged action to delay Grouchy. Napoleon would get this information from Grouchy on the early morning of 18 June at a nearby farmhouse, La Caillou, where he was staying for the night; he responded to the message in mid-day.<ref name="Waloo">{{cite book |last=Battle of Waterloo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2oUAAAAQAAJ |title=The battle of Waterloo, containing the series of accounts published by authority, British and foreign pp.=45 |year=1815}}</ref>{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|p=64}}<ref name="Mikaberidze2020" />{{sfn|Cornwell|2015|p=122}}

As 17 June drew to a close, Wellington's army had arrived at its position at Waterloo, with the main body of Napoleon's army in pursuit. Blücher's army was gathering in and around Wavre, around {{convert|8|mi}} to the east of the town. Early the next morning, Wellington received an assurance from Blücher that the Prussian army would support him. He decided to hold his ground and give battle.<ref name="Watl1815">{{cite book |last=Battle of Waterloo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDwIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR6 |title=A short detail of the battle of Waterloo |year=1815 |page=13}}</ref><ref name="Mikaberidze2020" />

The French army of around 74,500 consisted of 54,014 infantry, 15,830 cavalry, and 8,775 artilleries with 254 guns.<ref>{{harvnb|Hofschröer|1999|p=68}} gives 73,000.</ref><ref>Bowden, in ''Armies at Waterloo'' gives 74,500 men and 254 guns. p. 134</ref> 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. His troops were mainly veterans with considerable experience and a fierce devotion to their Emperor.{{sfn|Glover|2014|page=30}} The cavalry in particular was both numerous and formidable, and included fourteen regiments of armoured [[heavy cavalry]], and seven of highly versatile [[lancers]] who were armed with lances, sabres and firearms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elite Units and Shock Tactics: How Napoleon (Almost) Conquered Europe |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/elite-units-and-shock-tactics-how-napoleon-almost-conquered-europe-123346 |last=T.S. Allen |date=14 February 2020 |publisher=National Interest |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215171052/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/elite-units-and-shock-tactics-how-napoleon-almost-conquered-europe-123346 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=L'Armée du Nord |url=http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/Waterloo_OB/French.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717034251/http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/Waterloo_OB/French.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2012 |publisher=web archive |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Sib">{{cite book |last=Siborne |first=William |author-link=William Siborne |title=The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxQazrQnHSkC |publisher=E. Arber |year=1848 |page=55}}</ref>

However, as the army took shape, French officers were allocated to units as they presented themselves for duty, so that many units were commanded by officers the soldiers did not know, and often did not trust. Crucially, some of these officers had little experience in working together as a unified force, so that support for other units was often not given.<ref name="emo">{{cite web |title=The Causes of Napoleon Bonaparte's Loss at Waterloo 1815 |pages=170–178 |url=http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume5/gunpowder-age-v-huh.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume5/gunpowder-age-v-huh.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |last=Eric Huh |publisher=Emory Endeavors |access-date=17 April 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Roberts|2001|p=133}}

In December 1814, the British Army had been reduced by 47,000 men.{{sfn|Fortescue|2004|p=228}} This was largely achieved by the disbandment of the second battalion of 22 infantry regiments.<ref>{{cite journal |last=MacArthur |first=Roderick |title=British Army establishments during the Napoleonic Wars (Part 1) |journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |volume=87 |year=2009 |issue=350 |pages=150–172|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44232822 |url-access=subscription |jstor=44232822}}</ref> Wellington later said that he had "an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced [[Staff (military)|Staff]]".{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=485}} His troops consisted of 74,326 men: 53,607 infantry, 13,400 cavalry, and 5,596 artillery with 156 guns plus engineers and staff.<ref>Bowden, Scott. Armies at Waterloo. pag.272</ref> Of these, 27,985 (38%) were British, with another 7,686 (10%) from the [[King's German Legion]] (KGL). In addition, there were 21,035 (28.3%) Dutch-Belgian and Nassauer troops, 11,496 (15.5%) from [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and 6,124 (8.2%) from [[Brunswick-Lüneburg#Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Brunswick]].<ref>Bowden, Scott. ''Armies at Waterloo''. p. 272</ref> All [[British Army]] troops were regular soldiers, and most had served in the Peninsula. Of the 23 British line infantry regiments in action, only four (the 14th, 33rd, 69th, and 73rd Foot) had ''not'' served in the Peninsula, and a similar level of experience was to be found in the British cavalry and artillery. Some authors (incl. Chandler and de Lancey) assert that most of the British veterans of the [[Peninsular War]] were being transported to North America to fight in the [[War of 1812]], which is called an "incorrect statement." The British battalions were, however, undermanned; but the French were even worse off, with their average battalion being 145 muskets weaker; 665 men for the British's battalion, 610 men for the Prussians, 520 men for the KGL, and 520 men as well for the French. In terms of the average cavalry squadron, there was almost parity, but in favor of the Briton: 145 for Wellington and 135 for Bonaparte. Blücher had an average of 115 horses per squadron.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=1093}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allied Order of Battle: Waterloo Campaign 1815 |url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/British_Order_of_Battle_WATERLOO.html |access-date=2025-10-11 |website=napoleonistyka.atspace.com |postscript=&period;{{snd}}Bibliography included.}}</ref>

Wellington was also acutely short of heavy cavalry, having only seven British and three Dutch regiments; nevertheless, the British forces had the best horses in Europe at the time, as the twenty years' war had taken a greater toll on the other great powers.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=140–142}} The [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]] imposed many of his staff officers on Wellington, including his second-in-command, the [[Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey|Earl of Uxbridge]]. Uxbridge commanded the cavalry and had [[Blank cheque|''carte blanche'']] from Wellington to commit these forces at his discretion. Wellington stationed a further 17,000 troops at [[Halle, Belgium|Halle]], {{convert|8|mi|km}} away to the west. They were mostly composed of Dutch troops under the Prince of Orange's younger brother, [[Prince Frederick of the Netherlands]]. They were placed as a guard against a wide flanking movement and also to act as a rearguard if Wellington was forced to retreat towards Antwerp and the coast.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1993|pp=239–240}}{{efn|The straight-line distance from Halle to Braine-l'Alleud, Wellington's far right flank is nearly the same as the straight-line distance from Wavre to [[Frichermont]], Wellington's far left flank, around {{convert|8|mi|km}}.}}

The Prussian army was in the throes of reorganisation. In 1815, the former Reserve regiments, [[Military legion|Legions]], and ''[[free corps|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. The ''Landwehr'' were mostly untrained and unequipped when they arrived in Belgium. The Prussian cavalry were in a similar state.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|p=59}} Its artillery was also reorganising and did not give its best performance—guns and equipment continued to arrive during and after the battle.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|pp=60–62}}

In the right rear of the French position was the substantial village of [[Plancenoit]], and at the extreme right, the Bois de Paris wood. Napoleon initially commanded the battle from Rossomme farm, where he could see the entire battlefield, but moved to a position near La Belle Alliance early in the afternoon. Command on the battlefield (which was largely hidden from his view) was delegated to Marshal Ney.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=91}}

From 06:00 Wellington was in the field supervising the deployment of his forces. At Wavre, the Prussian IV Corps under Bülow was designated to lead the march to Waterloo as it was in the best shape, not having been involved in the Battle of Ligny. Although they had not taken casualties, IV Corps had been marching for two days, covering the retreat of the three other corps of the Prussian army from the battlefield of Ligny. They had been posted farthest away from the battlefield, and progress was very slow.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=141}}<ref name="Gre2015">{{cite book |last=John Grehan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0KuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA342 |title=Voices from the Past: Waterloo 1815: History's most famous battle told through eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, parliamentary debate, memoirs and diaries |year=2015 |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=978-1-78383-199-9 |pages=105–}}</ref>

[[File:North gate Hougoumont.jpg|thumb|The gate on the north side assaulted by the ''1st Légère'' who were led by ''Sous-lieutenant'' Legros{{sfn|Lamar|2000|p=119}}]]

Grouchy was advised by his subordinate, [[Étienne Maurice Gérard|Gérard]], to "march to the sound of the guns", but stuck to his orders and engaged the Prussian III Corps rearguard, under the command of Lieutenant-General Baron [[Johann von Thielmann|von Thielmann]], at the [[Battle of Wavre]]. Moreover, Soult's letter ordering Grouchy to move quickly to join Napoleon and attack Bülow would not actually reach Grouchy until after 20:00.<ref name="Daws2017">{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Paul L. |title=Napoleon and Grouchy: The Last Great Waterloo Mystery Unravelled |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u2HNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT309 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2017 |pages=309– |isbn=978-1-5267-0069-8}}</ref>

At the moment these skirmishers were rejoining their parent battalions, the brigade was ordered to its feet and started to return fire. On the left of the brigade, where the 7th Dutch Militia stood, a "few files were shot down and an opening in the line thus occurred."<ref>Van Zuylen report {{harvnb|Bas|Wommersom|1909|pp=338–339}} (vol. 3)</ref> The battalion had no reserves and was unable to close the gap.{{efn|The brigade's losses were very heavy: one French volley at point blank range decimated the 7th and 8th Militia, who had most of their officers killed or wounded, the brigade commander [[Willem Frederik van Bylandt|Bylandt]] being one of the wounded who had to be evacuated; he transferred command of the brigade to Lt. Kol. De Jongh.{{efn|{{harvnb|Pawly|2001|pp=37–43}}; The two battalions lost their command structure in one stroke. The total casualties for the whole brigade for the day was around 800 killed and wounded {{harv|Hamilton-Williams|1993|pp=310–311}}.}} D'Erlon's troops pushed through this gap in the line and the remaining battalions in the Bylandt brigade (8th Dutch Militia and Belgian 7th Line Battalion) were forced to retreat to the square of the 5th Dutch Militia, which was in reserve between Picton's troops, about 100 paces to the rear. There they regrouped under the command of Colonel [[Pieter Hendrik van Zuylen van Nijevelt|Van Zuylen van Nijevelt]].{{efn|Van Zuylen report; he refers to himself as "the chief-of-staff" ({{harvnb|Bas|Wommersom|1909|pp=338–339}}(vol. 3)).}}{{efn|Some of the retreating troops panicked and fled. This was not to be wondered at in the circumstances. The British troops of the 1/95th Battalion, also under great pressure from the French, did the same at the time. This flight did not involve all of the Dutch battalions, as has been asserted by some historians. Van Zuylen rallied 400 men, according to his estimate, who were ready to join the counterattack and even captured two French fanions ({{harvnb|Bas|Wommersom|1909|pp=338–341}}(vol. 3); {{harvnb|Hamilton-Williams|1993|pp=293–295}}).}} A moment later, the Prince of Orange ordered a counterattack, which actually occurred around 10 minutes later. The following letters are used: the accounts of General Kempt, Calvert of the 32nd Infantry, Cruikshank of the 79th, Winchester & Hope of the 92nd, Evans (Ponsonby Cavalry brigade) and Clark Kennedy of the Royal Dragoons {{harv|Glover|2004|p={{Page needed|date=June 2015}}}}. These are the only letters that actually state some details about the Dutch and Belgian troops.}}

[[File:Scotland Forever!.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''[[Scotland Forever!]]'', the charge of the Royal Scots Greys at Waterloo painted by [[Elizabeth Thompson]]]]

As Ponsonby tried to rally his men against the French cuirassiers, he was attacked by Jaquinot's lancers and captured. A nearby party of Scots Greys saw the capture and attempted to rescue their brigade commander. The French lancer who had captured Ponsonby killed him and then used his lance to kill three of the Scots Greys who had attempted the rescue.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1994|p=304}}

The Union Brigade lost heavily in both officers and men killed (including its commander, William Ponsonby, and Colonel Hamilton of the Scots Greys) and wounded. The 2nd Life Guards and the King's Dragoon Guards of the Household Brigade also lost heavily (with Colonel Fuller, commander of the King's DG, killed). However, the 1st Life Guards, on the extreme right of the charge, and the Blues, who formed a reserve, had kept their cohesion and consequently suffered significantly fewer casualties.<ref>{{harvnb|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|pp=329, 349}} (composition of brigades); pp. 422–424 (actions of brigades).</ref>{{efn|[[William Siborne]] was in possession of a number of eyewitness accounts from generals, such as Uxbridge, down to cavalry cornets and infantry ensigns. This makes his history particularly useful (though only from the British and KGL perspective); some of these eyewitness letters were later published by his son, a British Major General (H. T. Siborne). Parts of William Siborne's account were, and are, highly controversial. The very negative light shed by Siborne on the conduct of the Dutch–Belgian troops during the battle, which it should be said was a reasonably accurate reflection of the opinions of his British informants, prompted a semi-official rebuttal by Dutch historian Captain [[Willem Jan Knoop]] in his ''"Beschouwingen over Siborne's Geschiedenis van den oorlog van 1815 in Frankrijk en de Nederlanden" en wederlegging van de in dat werk voorkomende beschuldigingen tegen het Nederlandsche leger''. Breda 1846; 2nd printing 1847. Knoop based his rebuttal on the official Dutch after-battle reports, drawn up within days of the battle, not on twenty-year-old recollections of veterans, as Siborne did. Siborne rejected the rebuttal.}} On the rolls the official, or paper strength, for both Brigades is given as 2,651 while Barbero and others estimate the actual strength at around 2,000{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=142–143}}{{efn|Barbero points out that in April the minister informed Wellington that cavalry regiments could allow themselves no more than 360 horses. The text of this memorandum from Torrens to Wellington Barbero refers to is available in Hamilton-Williams, p. 75.}} and the official recorded losses for the two heavy cavalry brigades during the battle was 1,205 troopers and 1,303 horses.{{sfn|Adkin|2001|p=217}}{{efn|Losses are ultimately from the official returns taken the day after the battle: Household Brigade, initial strength 1,319, killed&nbsp;–&nbsp;95, wounded&nbsp;–&nbsp;248, missing&nbsp;–&nbsp;250, totals&nbsp;–&nbsp;593, horses lost&nbsp;–&nbsp;672.

A little before 16:00, Ney noted an apparent exodus from Wellington's centre. He mistook the movement of casualties to the rear for the beginnings of a retreat, and sought to exploit it. Following the defeat of d'Erlon's Corps, Ney had few infantry reserves left, as most of the infantry had been committed either to the futile Hougoumont attack or to the defence of the French right. Ney therefore tried to break Wellington's centre with cavalry alone.{{sfn|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|pp=443–449}} Initially, Milhaud's reserve cavalry corps of cuirassiers and [[Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes|Lefebvre-Desnoëttes]]' light cavalry division of the Imperial Guard, some 4,800&nbsp;sabres, were committed. When these were repulsed, [[François Étienne de Kellermann|Kellermann]]'s heavy cavalry corps and [[Claude-Étienne Guyot|Guyot]]'s heavy cavalry of the Guard were added to the massed assault, a total of around 9,000&nbsp;cavalry in 67&nbsp;squadrons.{{sfn|Adkin|2001|p=356}} When Napoleon saw the charge he said it was an hour too soon but he did not stop it.{{sfn|Esposito|Elting|1999|p=354, Map 166}}

Wellington, noticing the slackening of fire from La Haye Sainte, with his staff rode closer to it. French skirmishers appeared around the building and fired on the British command as it struggled to get away through the hedgerow along the road. Alten then ordered a single battalion of the KGL, the Fifth, to recapture the farm despite the obvious presence of enemy cavalry. Their Colonel, [[Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von Ompteda]] obeyed and led the battalion down the slope, chasing off some French skirmishers until French cuirassiers fell on his open flank, killed him, destroyed his battalion and took its colour.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=234}}

French ''tirailleurs'' occupied the dominant positions, especially one on a knoll overlooking the square of the 27th. Unable to break square to drive off the French infantry because of the presence of French cavalry and artillery, the 27th had to remain in that formation and endure the fire of the ''tirailleurs''. That fire nearly annihilated the 27th Foot, the Inniskillings, who lost two thirds of their strength within that three or four hours.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=239}}

During this time many of Wellington's generals and aides were killed or wounded including [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|FitzRoy Somerset]], Canning,{{efn|This would be Charles Fox Canning, relative of [[George Canning]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Canning and Waterloo: international politics and personal loss {{!}} British Library |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2015/06/the-battle-of-waterloo-was-fought-on-18-june-1815-ending-in-the-total-defeat-of-the-french-forces-led-by-napoleon-bonaparte.html |access-date=5 September 2025 |website=blogs.bl.uk |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128153927/https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2015/06/the-battle-of-waterloo-was-fought-on-18-june-1815-ending-in-the-total-defeat-of-the-french-forces-led-by-napoleon-bonaparte.html |archive-date=2022-11-28}}</ref>}} [[William Howe De Lancey|de Lancey]], [[Charles, Count Alten|Alten]] and [[George Cooke (British Army officer)|Cooke]].{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=240}} The situation was now critical and Wellington, trapped in an infantry square and ignorant of events beyond it, was desperate for the arrival of help from the Prussians. He later wrote, {{blockquote|The time they occupied in approaching seemed interminable. Both they and my watch seemed to have stuck fast.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=242}}}}

At about this time, the [[Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign#Prussian 15th Brigade|Prussian 15th Brigade]] ({{interlanguage link|Michael Heinrich von Losthin|de|lt=Losthin's}}) was sent to link up with the Nassauers of Wellington's left flank in the Frichermont-[[La Haye, Lasne|La Haie]] area, with the brigade's horse artillery battery and additional brigade artillery deployed to its left in support.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=117}} Napoleon sent Lobau's corps to stop the rest of Bülow's IV Corps proceeding to Plancenoit. The 15th Brigade threw Lobau's troops out of Frichermont with a determined bayonet charge, then proceeded up the Frichermont heights, battering French Chasseurs with 12-pounder artillery fire, and pushed on to Plancenoit. This sent Lobau's corps into retreat to the Plancenoit area, driving Lobau past the rear of the ''Armee Du Nord''{{'}}s right flank and directly threatening its only line of retreat. Hiller's 16th Brigade also pushed forward with six battalions against Plancenoit.<ref name="Hussey2017">{{cite book |last=John Hussey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VDVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT178 |title=Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815, Volume II: From Waterloo to the Restoration of Peace in Europe |year=2017 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-78438-202-5 |pages=178–}}</ref><ref name="Siborne1848">{{cite book |last=Siborne |first=William |title=The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxQazrQnHSkC |publisher=E. Arber |year=1848 |page=495}}</ref>

The Prussian 24th Regiment linked up with a Highlander battalion{{which|date=July 2025}} on its far right and along with the [[Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign#Prussian 4th Brigade|13th ''Landwehr'' Regiment]] and cavalry support threw the French out of these positions. Further attacks by the 13th ''Landwehr'' and the 15th Brigade drove the French from Frichermont.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=141}} Durutte's division, finding itself about to be charged by massed squadrons of Zieten's I Corps cavalry reserve, retreated from the battlefield. The rest of d'Erlon's I Corps also broke and fled in panic, while to the west the French Middle Guard were assaulting Wellington's centre.{{sfn|Uffindell|Corum|2002|pp=232–233}}{{sfn|Chesney|1874|pp=187–190}} The Prussian I Corps then advanced towards the Brussels road, the only line of retreat available to the French.

Other troops rallied to support the advance of the Guard. On the left infantry from Reille's corps that was not engaged with Hougoumont and cavalry advanced. On the right all the now rallied elements of D'Érlon's corps once again ascended the ridge and engaged the Anglo-allied line. French artillery also moved forward in support; Duchand's battery, in particular, inflicting losses on [[Colin Halkett]]'s brigade.<ref>Adkin, pp. 391, 393</ref> Halkett's front line, consisting of the 30th Foot and 73rd, traded fire with the 1st/3rd and 4th Grenadiers but they were driven back in confusion into the 33rd and 69th regiments, Halkett was shot in the face and seriously wounded and the whole brigade having been ordered to pull back, retreated in a mob. Other Anglo-allied troops began to give way as well. A counterattack by the Nassauers and the remains of Kielmansegge's brigade from the Anglo-allied second line, led by the Prince of Orange, was also thrown back and the Prince of Orange was seriously wounded. The survivors of Halkett's brigade were reformed, and engaged the French in a firefight.<ref>Adkin, pp. 394, 397</ref><ref>Barbero, pp. 358–361</ref>

{{Blockquote|I saw the Garde Impériale advancing while the English troops were leaving the plateau ''en masse'' and moving in the direction of Waterloo; the battle seemed lost...| [[David Hendrik Chassé]]{{sfn|Baker-Smith|2016|p=134}}}}

The Dutch divisional commander Chassé, on his own initiative, decided at this critical moment to advance with his relatively fresh Dutch division.{{sfn|Field|2013|pp=196–199}}{{sfn|Baker-Smith|2016|p=134}} Chassé first ordered his artillery forward;{{sfn|Baker-Smith|2016|p=134}} led by a battery of Dutch horse-artillery commanded by Captain [[Carel Frederik Krahmer de Bichin|Krahmer de Bichin]]. The battery opened a destructive fire into the 1st/3rd Grenadiers' flank.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bas|Wommersom|1909|pp=249–251, 258–259.}} (vol.2)</ref> This still did not stop the Guard's advance, so Chassé, who was affectionately called "Generaal Bajonet" by his soldiers, ordered his first brigade, commanded by Colonel [[Hendrik Detmers]], to charge the outnumbered French with the bayonet.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bas|Wommersom|1909|pp=252–253, 271–284, 419–424.}}</ref>{{Sfn|Van der Aa|1858|page=322}} As the Guard wavered Chassé galloped among his men and found Captain De Haan with a few soldiers of the 19th Militia, whom he ordered into a flank attack. According to Chassé:

{{Blockquote|[De Haan] jumped over the hedge, reformed the line of about fifty men and the murderous fire he inflicted caused death and confusion among the enemy's lines. He took advantage of their confusion and advanced with the bayonet against them. I had the unspeakable joy to witness 300 Cuirassiers run away from 50 Dutchmen.{{sfn|Baker-Smith|2016|p=134}}}}

To the left of the 4th Grenadiers were the two squares of the 1st/ and 2nd/3rd Chasseurs who angled further to the west and had suffered more from artillery fire than the grenadiers. But as their advance mounted the ridge they found it apparently abandoned and covered with dead. Suddenly 1,500 British Foot Guards under [[Peregrine Maitland]], who had been lying down to protect themselves from the French artillery, rose and devastated them with point-blank volleys. The chasseurs deployed to answer the fire, but some 300 fell from the first volley, including Colonel Mallet and General Michel, and both battalion commanders.{{sfn|Field|2013|p=200}} A bayonet charge by the Foot Guards then broke the leaderless squares, which fell back onto the following column. The 4th Chasseurs battalion, 800 strong, now came up onto the exposed battalions of British Foot Guards, who lost all cohesion and dashed back up the slope as a disorganized crowd with the chasseurs in pursuit. At the crest the chasseurs came upon the battery that had caused severe casualties on the 1st and 2nd/3rd Chasseurs. They opened fire and swept away the gunners. The left flank of their square now came under fire from a heavy formation of British skirmishers, which the chasseurs drove back. But the skirmishers were replaced by the [[52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot|52nd Light Infantry]] ([[2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Division]]), led by [[John Colborne]], which wheeled in line onto the chasseurs' flank and poured a devastating fire into them. The chasseurs returned a very sharp fire which killed or wounded some 150 men of the 52nd.{{sfn|Field|2013|p=203}} The 52nd then charged,{{sfn|Chesney|1874|pp=214–215}}{{sfn|Parry|1900|p=70}} and under this onslaught, the chasseurs broke.{{sfn|Parry|1900|p=70}}

The 25th Regiment's musketeer battalions threw the 1/2e Grenadiers (Old Guard) out of the Chantelet woods, outflanking Plancenoit and forcing a retreat. The Old Guard retreated in good order until they met the mass of troops retreating in panic, and became part of that rout. The Prussian IV Corps advanced beyond Plancenoit to find masses of French retreating in disorder from British pursuit. The Prussians were unable to fire for fear of hitting Wellington's units. This was the fifth and final time that Plancenoit changed hands.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|pp=144–145}}<!--This citation is paragraph inclusive.--><ref>{{cite book |last=Stawitzky |first=Ernst H. L. |title=Geschichte des Königlich Preussischen 25sten Infanterie-Regiments und seines Stammes, der Infanterie des von Lützow'schen Frei-Corps |location=[[Koblenz|Coblenz, Prussia]] |publisher=[[Baedeker|Verlag von K. Bädeker]] |date=1857 |pages=91–96}}</ref>

Waterloo cost Wellington around 17,000 dead or wounded, and Blücher some 7,000 (810 of which were suffered by just one unit: the 18th Regiment, which served in Bülow's 15th Brigade, had fought at both Frichermont and Plancenoit, and won 33 [[Iron Cross]]es).{{sfn|Mantle|2000}} Napoleon's losses were 24,000 to 26,000 killed or wounded, including 6,000 to 7,000 captured, with an additional 15,000 deserting subsequent to the battle and over the following days.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=312}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The British Medical Arrangements during the Waterloo Campaign |last=H.A.L. Howell |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine |year=1924 |volume=17 |issue=Sect Hist Med |pages=39–50 |publisher=Sage Journals |doi=10.1177/003591572401701703 |pmid=19983960 |pmc=2201399 |s2cid=19301006}}</ref>

After his troops fell back, Napoleon fled to Paris following his defeat, arriving at 05:30 am on 21 June. Napoleon wrote to his brother and regent in Paris, Joseph, believing that he could still raise an army to fight back the Anglo-Prussian forces. Napoleon believed he could rally French supporters to his cause and call upon conscripts to hold off invading forces until General Grouchy's army could reinforce him in Paris. However, following defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon's support from the French public and his own army waned, including by General Ney, who believed that Paris would fall if Napoleon remained in power. 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 for Napoleon to rule France as a military dictator, which Napoleon had been under the guise of [[Emperor of the French]] from 1804 until 1814. To circumvent Napoleon overthrowing the Chamber of Deputies and a possible French Civil War, the Chamber of Deputies voted to become permanent on 21 June after persuasion from Lafayette. On 22 June, Napoleon wished to abdicate in favour of his son, [[Napoleon II]], after realising that he lacked military, public, and governmental support for his claim to continue to rule France. Napoleon's proposal for the instatement of his son was swiftly rejected by the legislature.<ref>{{cite book |last=Black |first=Jeremy |title=The Battle of Waterloo |publisher=Random House |year=2010 |location=New York|page=160}}</ref>

Teeth of tens of thousands of dead soldiers' teeth were removed by surviving troops, locals or even scavengers who had travelled there from Britain, then used for making denture replacements in Britain and elsewhere.<ref>Paul Kerley: [https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33085031 The dentures made from the teeth of dead soldiers at Waterloo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623123028/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33085031 |date=23 June 2018 }}, BBC News Magazine (16 June 2015)</ref> The so-called "Waterloo teeth" were in demand because they came from relatively healthy young men. Despite the efforts of scavengers both human and otherwise, human remains could still be seen at Waterloo a year after the battle.<ref>Shannon Selin, "[https://shannonselin.com/2016/07/napoleonic-battlefield-cleanup/ How were Napoleonic battlefields cleaned up?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620183633/http://shannonselin.com/2016/07/napoleonic-battlefield-cleanup/ |date=20 June 2019 }}"; accessed 2019.06.18.</ref>

[[File:Domaine du champ de bataille de Waterloo 13 02.jpg|thumb|The ''{{lang|fr|Butte du Lion}}'' ("[[Lion's Mound]]") overlooking the battlefield of Waterloo]]

[[File:'Oorlogsleed', woman and child at the Battle of Waterloo.jpg|thumb|A Dutch female [[sutler]] with her dead husband, by [[Jacobus Josephus Eeckhout]].]]

A possible reason for the absence of human remains in any quantity is that European battlefields of the time were often scoured for bones to make [[bone meal]], which was much in demand as a [[fertiliser]] before the discovery of [[superphosphate]]s in the 1840s.<ref name=":0" /> [[Bernard Wilkin]] and Robin Schäfer, supported by the British archaeologist Tony Pollard, concluded that in the aftermath of the conflict, local farmers dug up the corpses of horses and men and sold them to the [[Waterloo sugar factory]]. There, the ground-down bones were fired in kilns to make bone-char, which was then used to filter sugar syrup as part of the production process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Homann |first1=Arne |last2=Wilkin |first2=Bernard |last3=Schäfer |first3=Robin |title=Die Toten von Waterloo: Aus dem Massengrab in die Zuckerfabrik? |url=https://www.academia.edu/102550987 |journal=Archäologie in Deutschland |date=January 2023 |volume=2023 |issue=3 (Juni–Juli) |pages=44–45}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schäfer |first1=Robin |last2=Wilkin |first2=Bernard |date=2023-01-01 |title=The real fate of the Waterloo fallen. The exploitation of bones in 19th century Belgium |url=https://www.academia.edu/111460708 |journal=Journal of Belgian History}}</ref>

 

In an article published by Napoleonica, historians [[Bernard Wilkin]] and Robin Schäfer proved that since the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the battlefield has been a focal point for tourism and relic collecting. Initially, genuine artifacts were recovered by soldiers and locals, but high demand—especially from British visitors—soon led to widespread forgery. Local vendors and entrepreneurs began manufacturing and burying counterfeit items such as bullets, buttons, and military insignia to simulate authenticity. This trade evolved into a sophisticated industry, with fabricated provenance and forged documentation becoming common. The phenomenon was often satirized in 19th-century literature and criticized by French and German visitors, who viewed British gullibility as symbolic retribution for the defeat. Even today, the market for Waterloo relics persists, with some forgeries so elaborate they deceive collectors and institutions alike. Recent research has exposed the extent of this trade, including unethical practices involving human remains, and has called for stricter standards in battlefield archaeology and artifact authentication.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilkin |first=Bernard |last2=Schäfer |first2=Robin |last3=Homann |first3=Arne |date=2025-07-08 |title='Planting eagles': 200 years of Waterloo battlefield relic forgeries |url=https://shs.cairn.info/revue-napoleonica-the-journal-2025-2-page-95 |journal=Napoleonica |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=95–153 |issn=2100-0123}}</ref>

* [[Napoleon's exile to St. Helena]]

* [[Waterloo campaign order of battle]]

* {{cite book |last=Bodart |first=Gaston |year=1908 |title=Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_A0kNAAAAYAAJ |url-access=registration |access-date=11 June 2021 |authorlink=Gaston Bodart}}

* {{citation |last=Booth |first=John |title=The Battle of Waterloo: Containing the Accounts Published by Authority, British and Foreign, and Other Relevant Documents, with Circumstantial Details, Previous and After the Battle, from a Variety of Authentic and Original Sources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9IIBAAAAYAAJ |year=1815 |edition=2nd |publisher=London: printed for J. Booth and T. Ergeton; Military Library, Whitehall}}

* {{citation |title=Napoleonic Satires |url=https://dl.lib.brown.edu/napoleon/time7.html |work=Brown University Library |ref={{sfnref|Brown University Library}} |access-date=22 July 2016}}

* {{cite book |last=Clodfelter |first=M. |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |year=2017 |edition=4th |isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7}}

* {{citation |last=Eenens |first=A.M |title='Dissertation sur la participation des troupes des Pays-Bas a la campagne de 1815 en Belgique', in: Societé royale des beaux arts et de littérature de Gand, Messager des Sciences Historiques |year=1879 |location=Gand |publisher=Vanderhaegen |author-link=Alexis-Michel Eenens}}

* {{cite book |last=Fortescue |first=John William |title=A History of the British Army, Vol. 10: 1814–1815 |year=2004 |orig-year=1920 |publisher=Naval & Military Press |location=Uckfield, East Sussex |isbn=1-84-342724-9}}

* {{citation |last=Jomini |first=Antoine-Henri |title=The Political and Military History of the Campaign of Waterloo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVdEAAAAIAAJ |year=1864 |edition=3rd |publisher=New York; D. Van Nostrand |author-link=Antoine-Henri Jomini}} (translated by Benet S.V.)

* {{citation |last=Kottasova |first=Ivana |title=France's new Waterloo? Euro coin marks Napoleon's defeat |date=10 June 2015 |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/10/news/waterloo-coin-belgium-france/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611042137/http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/10/news/waterloo-coin-belgium-france/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2015 |publisher=CNN}}

* {{cite web |title=Farm of Hougoumont |url=http://tls509.wix.com/archaeologyawaterloo |website=Archaeology @ Waterloo |access-date=30 July 2015 |archive-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713220910/http://tls509.wix.com/archaeologyawaterloo |url-status=dead }}