To what extent was the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo on 18th June 1815 caused by the arrival of the Prussian army on the battlefield?
“A general-in-chief should ask himself several times in the day, what if the enemy were to appear now to my front, or on my right, or my left?”-Napoleons military maxim number eight
The battle of Waterloo on the 18th June 1815 ended Napoleon’s dreams of European domination. His defeat resulted in the concert of Europe, an early European Union, and the rise of a new, reborn Europe in its new laws and reforms . Thus, the battle of Waterloo is seen as a very important and interesting point in history.
However, its true events are complex and confusing as with three different armies, commanders and prejudices, as well as a huge number of different nations taking part; accounts often differ with one another so it is difficult to determine what actually happened on that day. Richard Holmes …show more content…
After his abdication Napoleon was allowed to retain the title of Emperor, but only if he stayed on the Island of Elba, near the coast of Tuscany. Stephen Coote believes putting Napoleon on an island so close to Europe and lands he once dominated must have “created deep contempt and longing for an opportunity” to escape to try to restore his Empire. This opportunity arose only nine months after he was imprisoned there. It was mostly a result of lack of supervision provided by the Great Powers he was able to escape. It is debatable as to why measures to contain Napoleon were so lax. His recently published letters show that he drew up plans to escape when he first set foot on Elba; given the circumstances Napoleons escape was inevitable, to keep such a man imprisoned for long would have been almost impossible so not all the blame should fall on the Great Powers
“A general-in-chief should ask himself several times in the day, what if the enemy were to appear now to my front, or on my right, or my left?”-Napoleons military maxim number eight
The battle of Waterloo on the 18th June 1815 ended Napoleon’s dreams of European domination. His defeat resulted in the concert of Europe, an early European Union, and the rise of a new, reborn Europe in its new laws and reforms . Thus, the battle of Waterloo is seen as a very important and interesting point in history.
However, its true events are complex and confusing as with three different armies, commanders and prejudices, as well as a huge number of different nations taking part; accounts often differ with one another so it is difficult to determine what actually happened on that day. Richard Holmes …show more content…
After his abdication Napoleon was allowed to retain the title of Emperor, but only if he stayed on the Island of Elba, near the coast of Tuscany. Stephen Coote believes putting Napoleon on an island so close to Europe and lands he once dominated must have “created deep contempt and longing for an opportunity” to escape to try to restore his Empire. This opportunity arose only nine months after he was imprisoned there. It was mostly a result of lack of supervision provided by the Great Powers he was able to escape. It is debatable as to why measures to contain Napoleon were so lax. His recently published letters show that he drew up plans to escape when he first set foot on Elba; given the circumstances Napoleons escape was inevitable, to keep such a man imprisoned for long would have been almost impossible so not all the blame should fall on the Great Powers