| The
epic career of Napoleon was brought to a shattering end on
the evening of June 18, 1815, when his hastily formed legions
faced the Anglo-Allied armies under the command of the Duke
of Wellington. It was the only time these men — the
two greatest captains of their age — fought against
each other. Waterloo, once it was over, put an end to twenty-two
years of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and led
to a century of relative peace and progress in Europe.
When the wars of
the future did come, they were fought with infinitely more
appalling methods by a constantly changing balance of powers.
At Waterloo, the honor of bold, lavish uniforms and, at least
initially, the aesthetic beauty of battle were still intact.
With precision
and elegance, Andrew Roberts lucidly sets the political, strategic,
and historical scene before offering a breathtaking account
of each successive stage of the battle.
He also draws on
a recently discovered document from 1854 that casts new light
on just how the battle was lost. It is a confession from a
French officer that helps to explain why the French cavalry
charged when it did -- unsupported by infantry or artillery,
and headlong at well-defended British squares. It shows that
accident rather than design may have led to the debacle that
lost Napoleon the battle, the campaign, and the war.
Authoritative and
engrossing, Waterloo is a brilliant portrait of a
legendary turning point in modern history, after which the
balance of world power, the legend of Napoleon, and the art
of war were never the same.
"A small masterpiece. Waterloo is a military
history of a high order."
— John Lukacs, author of Five Days in London
"Andrew Roberts
has produced the most convincing description of that fearsome
day I have ever read."
— Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times
Andrew Roberts is the author of Napoleon
and Wellington and Eminent Churchillians. He
is a fellow of the Institute of Napoleonic Studies and the
Royal Society of Literature.
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