Battle of Waterloo

The battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) was fought in Belgium between Napoleon’s French Army and a coalition led by Britain’s Duke of Wellington and Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Napoleon was defeated, and the battle brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars

A portrait of the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) during the Napoleonic Wars. Although Waterloo was "undeniably the most pivotal battle of this campaign", it was not the final battle against France, says Jem Duducu. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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French cuirassiers charging a British infantry square at the battle of Waterloo, 1815 (1906). From Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Vol. V. (Cassell and Company Limited, London, Paris, New York, Melbourne). Artist P Jazet. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

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French cuirassiers charging a British infantry square at the battle of Waterloo, 1815 (1906). From Cassell's 'Illustrated History of England, Vol. V' (Cassell and Company Limited, London, Paris, New York, Melbourne). Artist P Jazet. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Napoleon watches on as the fighting at Waterloo unfolds in this 1843 painting

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Clash between the English Temeraire and the French Redoutable ships during the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

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A portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte fleeing from the battlefield of Waterloo (18 June 1815) after his defeat by the British under Wellington and the Prussians commanded by Blucher. A print from 'Le Patriote Illustre'. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Napoleon Bonaparte of France. (Hulton Fine Art Collection via Getty Images)

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Denis Dighton's painting shows the defeat of Napoleon's Imperial Guard at Waterloo

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Louis-Napoléon Geoffroy’s The Apocryphal Napoleon imagined what would have happened if the emperor had conquered Russia in 1812 instead of being defeated at Moscow. In this painting, Napoleon retreats from Moscow. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

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Picture depicting the Battle of Waterloo

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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, displayed remarkable leadership of the British army at the battle of Waterloo. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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