Driven by revolutionary zeal and militaristic ingenuity, Napoleon oversaw a period of intense warfare against six coalitions, proving his leadership and strategic acumen time and time again, before finally succumbing to defeat, and abdication, in 1815. Here are 10 facts about the conflicts.

1. There’s a good reason they are known as the Napoleonic Wars

Unsurprisingly, Napoleon Bonaparte was the central, and defining, figure of the Napoleonic Wars. They are typically considered to have commenced in 1803, by which time Napoleon had been First Consul of the French Republic for four years. Napoleon’s leadership brought stability and military confidence to France in the aftermath of the revolution and his combative leadership style undoubtedly shaped the conflicts that came to constitute the Napoleonic Wars.

2. The Napoleonic Wars were prefigured by the French Revolution

Without the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars would never have happened. The ramifications of the revolt’s violent social upheaval extended far beyond France’s borders, triggering other conflicts across the globe that became known as the “Revolutionary Wars”.

Neighbouring powers viewed France’s revolution as a threat to established monarchies and, anticipating intervention, the new republic declared war on Austria and Prussia. Napoleon’s ascent through the French military was undoubtedly driven by the increasingly influential role he played in the Revolutionary Wars.

3. The Napoleonic Wars are usually considered to have started on 18 May 1803

This was the date that Britain declared war on France, ending the short-lived Treaty of Amiens (which had brought a year of peace to Europe) and sparking what became known as the War of the Third Coalition – the first Napoleonic War.

4. Napoleon had been planning to invade Britain when it declared war on France

The escalating agitation that prompted Britain to declare war on France in 1803 was entirely justified. Napoleon was already planning an invasion of Britain, a campaign he intended to fund with the 68 million Francs the United States had just paid France for the Louisiana Purchase.

5. France fought five coalitions during the Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars are typically separated out into five conflicts, each named after the alliance of nations that fought France: The Third Coalition (1803-06), the Fourth Coalition (1806-07), the Fifth Coalition (1809), the Sixth Coalition (1813) and the Seventh Coalition (1815). The members of each alliance were as follows:

• The Third Coalition was composed of the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Britain, Sweden, Naples and Sicily.
• The Fourth included Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Saxony and Sicily.
• The Fifth was Austria, Britain, Tyrol, Hungary, Spain, Sicily and Sardinia.
• The Sixth originally included Austria, Prussia, Russia, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Sardinia and Sicily. They were lated joined by the Netherlands, Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden.
• The Seventh was formed of 16 members, including Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

6. Napoleon was a brilliant military tactician

Napoleon’s reputation as a brilliant and innovative battlefield strategist was already established when the Napoleonic Wars commenced, and his brutally effective tactics were showcased throughout the ensuing conflicts. He was undoubtedly one of the most effective and influential generals in history and most historians agree that his tactics changed warfare forever. 

7. The Battle of Austerlitz is widely regarded as Napoleon’s greatest victory

The Battle of Austerlitz saw outnumbered French forces take victory.

Fought near Austerlitz in Moravia (now the Czech Republic), the battle saw 68,000 French troops defeat nearly 90,000 Russians and Austrians. It is also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors.

8. Britain’s naval supremacy played a key part in the wars

For all Napoleon’s battlefield ingenuity, Britain consistently managed to present a sturdy opposition force during the Napoleonic Wars. This owed a lot to Britain’s formidable naval fleet, which was substantial enough to allow Britain to continue its international trade and empire building, pretty much untroubled by the threat of an invasion from across the Channel.

Britain’s command of the seas was most famously showcased at the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive and historically vaunted British naval victory which saw the Franco-Spanish fleet decimated without a single British vessel being lost.

9. The Napoleonic Wars triggered global conflict

Inevitably, power struggles in Europe had an impact on the global stage. The War of 1812 is a good example. The simmering tensions that eventually sparked this conflict between the US and Britain were, to a large extent, caused by Britain’s ongoing war with France, a situation that began to seriously impact on America’s ability to trade with either France or Britain.

10. The Hundred Days period brought the Napoleonic Wars to a dramatic conclusion

Following his abdication in 1814, Napoleon was sent to the Mediterranean island of Elba. But his exile lasted less than a year. After escaping Elba, Napoleon led 1,500 men to Paris, arriving in the French capital on 20 March 1815. This began the so-called “Hundred Days”, a brief but dramatic period that saw Napoleon seize back power before entering into a series of battles with allied forces. The period concluded on 22 June when Napoleon abdicated for a second time following France’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The road to Waterloo

Napoleon had been restored as Emperor of France after escaping exile, but the Seventh Coalition of European powers had declared him an outlaw and mobilised a 150,000-strong army to force him out of power. But Napoleon sensed an opportunity to destroy the Allies in a lightning strike on their forces in Belgium.

In June 1815 Napoleon marched north. He crossed into Belgium on 15 June, brilliantly driving a wedge between Wellington’s British and allied army based around Brussels, and a Prussian army at Namur.

As the allies scrambled to respond, Napoleon lunged at the Prussians first, driving them back at Ligny. Napoleon had his first victory of the campaign. It would be his last.

Coalition in retreat

The 28th Regiment at Quatre Bras – (at approximately 17:00) – Elizabeth Thompson – (1875).

British troops halted a detachment of Napoleon’s army at Quatre-Bras, but as the Prussians retreated, Wellington gave the order to pull back. Lashed by torrential rain, Wellington’s men trudged north. He ordered them to take up position on a defensive ridge he had identified just south of Brussels.

It was a hard night. The men slept in canvas tents that let the water in. Thousands of feet and hooves churned the ground into a sea of mud.

We were up to our knees in mud and stinking water…. We had no choice, we had to settle down in the mud and filth as best we could….. Men and horses shaking with cold.

But on the morning of 18 June, the storms had passed.

Napoleon planned an assault on the British and allied army, hoping to rout it before the Prussians could come to its aid and capture Brussels. In his way was Wellington’s polyglot, untested allied army. Wellington strengthened his position by turning three great farm complexes into fortresses.

18 June 1815: The Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon outnumbered Wellington and his troops were seasoned veterans. He planned a massive artillery barrage, followed by massed infantry and cavalry assaults.

His guns were slow to get in position because of the mud, but he brushed off concerns, telling his staff that Wellington was a poor general and it would be nothing more than eating breakfast.

His first assault would be against Wellington’s western flank, to distract his attention before launching a French attack right at his centre. The target was the farm buildings of Hougoumont.

At around 1130 Napoleon’s guns opened up, 80 guns sending iron cannonballs hurtling into allied lines. An eyewitness described them as being like a volcano. Then the French infantry assault began.

The allied line was pushed back. Wellington had to act fast and he deployed his cavalry in one of the most famous charges in British history.

The charge of the Scots Grey during the Battle of Waterloo.

The cavalry crashed into the French infantry; 2,000 horsemen, some of the most illustrious units of the army, elite Life Guards as well as dragoons from England, Ireland and Scotland. The French scattered. A mass of fleeing men surged back to their own lines. The British cavalry, in high excitement, followed them and ended up among the French cannon.

Another counterattack, this time by Napoleon, who sent his legendary lancers and armour-clad cuirassiers to drive off the exhausted allied men and horses. This hectic see-sawing ended with both sides back where they had begun. The French infantry and allied cavalry both suffered terrible losses and corpses of men and horses littered the battlefield.

Marshal Ney orders the charge

At around 4 pm Napoleon’s deputy, Marshal Ney, the ‘bravest of the brave’, thought he saw an allied withdrawal and launched the mighty French cavalry to try and swamp the allied centre which he hoped might be wavering. 9,000 men and horses rushed allied lines.

Wellington’s infantry immediately formed squares. A hollow square with every man pointing his weapon outwards, allowing for all round defence.

Wave after wave of cavalry charged. An eyewitness wrote,

“Not a man present who survived could have forgotten in after life the awful grandeur of that charge. You discovered at a distance what appeared to be an overwhelming, long moving line, which, ever advancing, glittered like a stormy wave of the sea when it catches the sunlight.

On they came until they got near enough, whilst the very earth seemed to vibrate beneath the thundering tramp of the mounted host. One might suppose that nothing could have resisted the shock of this terrible moving mass.”

But the British and allied line just held.

The charge of the French Lancers and Carbineers at Waterloo.

“Night or the Prussians must come”

By the late afternoon, Napoleon’s plan had stalled and he now faced a terrible threat. Against the odds, Wellington’s army had held firm. And now, from the east, the Prussians were arriving. Defeated two days before at Ligny, the Prussians still had fight in them, and now they threatened to trap Napoleon.

Napoleon redeployed men to slow them down and redoubled his efforts to smash through Wellington’s lines. The farm of La Haye Sainte was captured by the French. They pushed artillery and sharpshooters into it and blasted the allied centre at close range.

Under terrible pressure Wellington said,

“Night or the Prussians must come.”

The Prussian attack on Plancenoit by Adolph Northen.

Committing the Old Guard

The Prussians were coming. More and more troops fell upon Napoleon’s flank. The emperor was under assault almost from three sides. In desperation, he played his final card. He ordered his last reserve, his finest troops to advance. The imperial guard, veterans of dozens of his battles, marched up the slope.

Dutch artillery pounded the guardsmen, and a Dutch bayonet charge put one battalion to flight; others trudged towards the crest of the ridge. When they arrived they found it strangely quiet. 1,500 British foot guards were lying down, waiting for the command to jump up and fire.

When the French army saw the Guard recoil, a shout went up and the entire army disintegrated. Napoleon’s mighty force was instantly transformed into a rabble of fleeing men. It was over.

“A spectacle I shall never forget”

As the sun set on 18 June 1815, bodies of men and horses littered the battlefield.

Something like 50,000 men had been killed or wounded.

One eyewitness visited a few days later:

The sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and was obliged to return. The multitude of carcasses, the heaps of wounded men with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Anglo-allies were, of course, obliged to take their surgeons and wagons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never forget.

It was a bloody victory, but a decisive one. Napoleon had no choice but to abdicate a week later. Trapped by the Royal Navy, he surrendered to the captain of HMS Bellerophon and was taken into captivity.

1. Battle of the Pyramids (21 July 1798)

This battle actually took place five years before the Napoleonic Wars are generally considered to have started but it was one of the fights that would set the stage for Napoleon’s confrontations against various coalitions of nations between 1803 and 1815.

Battle of the Pyramids by Antoine-Jean Gros

Image Credit: Antoine-Jean Gros, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Also known as the Battle of Embabeh, this significant military engagement saw Napoleon — then a general in the French military — and his troops claim Cairo, a major victory in the invasion of Egypt. Napoleon’s implementation of the divisional square, one of his great military innovations, proved decisive in the battle and the Egyptian expedition would help to propel him to political power.

2. Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800)

A narrow and hard fought victory, the Battle of Marengo occurred during the War of the Second Coalition — a precursor to the coalitions that France would fight in the later Napoleonic Wars.

It pitted 28,000 of Napoleon’s men against 31,000 Austrian troops and was considered by Napoleon — by now the head of the French government — to be one of his finest triumphs. Victory helped to secure both his military and civilian authority in Paris.

3. Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805)

This famous naval battle took place at Cape Trafalgar off the south-western coast of Spain, between the British Royal Navy, led by Admiral Lord Nelson, and the fleets of France and Spain. The Royal’s Navy’s resounding victory established Britain’s naval domination but came at the cost of Lord Nelson’s life.

4. Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805)

This confrontation was also known as the “Battle of the Three Emperors”

Image Credit: Bogdan Willewalde, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps the most significant and decisive battle of the Napoleonic Wars, Austerlitz ranks as one of Napoleon’s greatest victories. Fought near Austerlitz in Moravia (now the Czech Republic) and also known as the “Battle of the Three Emperors”, this confrontation saw 68,000 French troops defeat nearly 90,000 Russians and Austrians.

Victory for France led to the Treaty of Pressburg, which aimed to establish “peace and amity” and secured Austria’s withdrawal from the Third Coalition of countries fighting France.

5. Battle of Jena-Auerstädt (14 October 1806)

An important French victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition, the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt was fought between 122,000 French troops and 114,000 Prussians and Saxons at Jena and Auerstädt in Saxony. Napoleon’s troops decimated the Prussian army at Jena as France’s Marshal Davout defeated the main Prussian force further north at Auerstädt.

6. Battle of Rolica (17 August 1808)

Although not a particularly big battle, Rolica is noteworthy as the first major action of the British Peninsular War, which saw Britain challenge Napoleon’s French forces for control of the Iberian peninsular.

Rolica became the setting for the conflict’s opening clash when Sir Arthur Wellesley’s Anglo-Portuguese troops met 4,000 rear-guard French forces en route to Lisbon. Wellesley’s army outnumbered the French three to one and eventually forced them into a withdrawal.

7. Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812)

An especially bloody fight between 130,000 French troops with more than 500 guns and 120,000 Russians with more than 600 guns, the Battle of Borodino saw General Kutuzov’s Russian troops attempt to block Napoleon’s advance on Moscow. A fierce, attritional battle ensued before Kutuzov eventually retreated. A week later, Napoleon occupied Moscow unopposed.

8. Battle of Leipzig (16–19 October 1813)

Undoubtedly one of Napoleon’s most significant defeats, this battle inflicted brutally severe losses on the French army and more or less concluded France’s presence in Germany and Poland. Also known as the “Battle of the Nations”, this bloody engagement was fought at the city of Leipzig in Saxony.

Battle of Leipzig by Vladimir Moshkov

Image Credit: Vladimir Moshkov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Napoleon’s forces were effectively surrounded by 300,000 allied soldiers (including Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish forces) who converged on the city’s perimeter. It was a crushing defeat for Napoleon who would be forced to abdicate six months later following Paris’ capitulation to the allies.

9. Battle of Ligny (16 June 1815)

The last victory of Napoleon’s military career, Ligny could nonetheless be considered a strategic failure. Though Napoleon’s troops defeated Field Marshal Prince Blucher’s Prussian army, many of the Prussian soldiers survived and joined the Duke of Wellington’s British troops at Waterloo.

10. Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815)

The battle that changed the face of Europe. An Anglo-Allied army under the Duke of Wellington faced Napoleon’s forces in Belgium. With Prussian reinforcements, the allies defeated the French — though Wellington proclaimed it was “the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life”.

In the British narrative of the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington plays the part of the hero.

An even fight

Waterloo was an evenly matched struggle. Napoleon could have blasted Wellington’s allied army off their ridge and marched on Brussels before the Prussians caught him in the famous pincer that ended his dreams of an empire reborn.

If Napoleon’s subordinates had been as reliable as Massena, Davout and Berthier had been in past campaigns, if the allied centre had collapsed under the massive cavalry assault of Marshal Ney, ‘bravest of the brave’, if the Imperial Guard had managed to punch through the thin red line late in the day.

Château d’Hougoumont

One moment, though, was regarded by Wellington and many contemporaries as truly decisive. On the western edge of the battlefield was the Château d’Hougoumont. It was a strongly built, walled farm house which the Duke of Wellington had garrisoned with a mixture of British Guardsmen and German allies.

Napoleon’s first move at Waterloo was to launch a feint against Hougoumont, playing on the anxiety felt by every British commander, the security of his lifeline to the Channel Coast. The Emperor would tempt Wellington to protect his west flank by weakening his centre, which would then be subjected to a massive Napoleonic assault.  

French troops hurled themselves at the Chateau in the opening clash of Waterloo. One group managed to work their way around to the north gate and break in to the courtyard.

A giant of a man, Sous-Lieutenant Legros, broke through the gate with an axe and dozens of French soldiers stormed in. They were met by British Guardsmen and a brutal hand-to-hand battle followed.

The men fired their muskets at close quarters and then used the 15-inch razor-sharp bayonet on the end to thrust, while using the barrels and stocks to club the enemy or parry their blows. In a dazzling display of leadership, Lieutenant Colonel James Macdonell, the Coldstreamer in command of Hougoumont, fought his way to the gate helped by fellow officers and Corporal James Graham, and managed to shut and bar the gate.

30 or so Frenchmen were now trapped inside. One by one they were massacred, only a young drummer boy was spared.  

Closing the gates

Wellington nominated Corporal Graham as the “most deserving soldier at Waterloo” for his bravery. He also declared afterwards that “the success of the battle turned upon the closing of the gates at Hougoumont.”

It was not quite that simple, but if Legros’ men had seized Hougoumont, it would have put perhaps intolerable pressure on Wellington’s flank. Still early in the day, Napoleon would have had a major advantage. Instead, after that initial assault, the fighting around Hougoumont bogged down into a brutal slog which drew in men and artillery which Napoleon desperately needed elsewhere on the battlefield.  

The allies held Hougoumont, but Wellington did not greatly weaken the rest of his line to reinforce it; Napoleon’s opening move had failed. Despite this, the Emperor unleashed attack after attack, only to find that the same spirit of stubborn resistance that had saved Hougoumont was present throughout the allied army.  

Make no mistake, the events of that bloody day changed the course of history. As Victor Hugo wrote, “Waterloo is not a battle; it is the changing face of the universe”.

An end to the Napoleonic Wars

The Battle of Waterloo brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars once and for all, finally thwarting Napoleon’s efforts to dominate Europe and bringing about the end of a 15-year period marked by near constant warring.

Of course, Napoleon had already been defeated a year earlier, only to escape exile in Elba and mount a stirring effort to revive his military aspirations over the course of the “Hundred Days”, a last gasp campaign that saw the outlawed French emperor lead the Armée du Nord into battle with the Seventh Coalition.

Even if his efforts were never likely to succeed, given the military mismatch his troops faced, the boldness of Napoleon’s revival undoubtedly set the stage for Waterloo’s dramatic denouement.

The development of the British Empire

Inevitably, the legacy of Waterloo is interwoven with competing narratives. In Britain the battle was heralded as a gallant triumph and the Duke of Wellington was duly lauded as the hero (with Napoleon taking the role of arch-villain of course).

In the eyes of Britain, Waterloo became a national triumph, an authoritative glorification of British values that was instantly worthy of celebration and commemoration in songs, poems, street names and stations.

In the British narrative of the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington plays the part of the hero.

To some extent Britain’s response was justified; it was a victory that positioned the country favourably, bolstering its global ambitions and helping to create the conditions for the economic success that lay ahead in the Victorian era.

Having laid the final, decisive blow on Napoleon, Britain could command a leading role in the peace negotiations that followed and thus shape a settlement that suited its interests.

While other coalition states claimed back sections of Europe, the Vienna Treaty gave Britain control over a number of global territories, including South Africa, Tobago, Sri Lanka, Martinique and the Dutch East Indies, something that would become instrumental in the development of the British Empire’s vast colonial command. 

It is perhaps telling that in other parts of Europe, Waterloo — though still widely acknowledged as decisive — is generally accorded less significance than the Battle of Leipzig.

“A generation of peace”

If Waterloo was Britain’s greatest military triumph, as it is often feted, it surely does not owe that status to the battle itself. Military historians generally agree that the battle was not a great showcase of either Napoleon’s or Wellington’s strategic prowess.

Indeed, Napoleon is commonly believed to have made several important blunders at Waterloo, ensuring that Wellington’s task of holding firm was less challenging than it might have been. The battle was a bloodbath on an epic scale but, as an example of two great military leaders locking horns, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Ultimately, Waterloo’s greatest significance must surely be the role it played in achieving lasting peace in Europe. Wellington, who did not share Napoleon’s relish for battle, is said to have told his men, “If you survive, if you just stand there and repel the French, I’ll guarantee you a generation of peace”.

He was not wrong; by finally defeating Napoleon, the Seventh Coalition did bring about peace, laying the foundations for a unified Europe in the process. 

Here are some notable horses behind some leading historical figures.

1. Alexander the Great – Bucephalus

Bucephalus was Alexander the Great’s favourite stallion, described as a beast of a horse with a massive head, black coat and large white star on his brow.

Greek philosopher and biographer Plutarch wrote that Alexander won the horse after making a bet with his father, King Philip II. A horse dealer had offered Bucephalus to Philip for a high price, but as he was seen as un-tamable, he wasn’t interested. Alexander took a chance on the horse, offering to pay if he failed. Alexander realised the horse had been frightened by its shadow, and was able to subdue and tame Bucephalus.

Alexander and Bucephalus in combat at the battle of Issus portrayed in the Alexander Mosaic (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Bucephalus accompanied Alexander through many battles, and became known for his courage and stamina, riding in completely undaunted. When Bucephalus died from injuries sustained at the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326BC, Alexander founded the city of Bucephala on the spot where he died in his memory.

2. Roman Emperor Caligula – Incitatus

Incitatus was Roman Emperor Caligula’s favourite horse. According to ancient historian Suetonius, Caligula loved Incitatus so much that he gave him a marble stable, an ivory manger and a jewelled collar. Incitatus allegedly ‘invited’ dignitaries to dine with him in a house with servants. Suetonius even claimed Caligula planned to make Incitatus a consul – the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.

(Historian Cassius Dio recorded that servants fed Incitatus oats mixed with gold flakes, and that Caligula made Incitatus a priest).

The accuracy of these stories is questionable, as writers discredited previous emperors due to political influences or seeking additional readers. Some suggest Caligula’s treatment of Incitatus was a prank, intended to ridicule and insult the senate. While Caligula was certainly fond of Incitatus, it’s unlikely Incitatus was actually made a consul.

3. Napoleon Bonaparte – Marengo

Marengo belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, named after the Battle of Marengo between France and Austria, during which he had carried Napoleon to safety.

Although small at 14.1 hands (57 inches, 145 cm), Marengo was seen as reliable, steady, and courageous, and was capable of riding up to 80 miles in 5 hours. He also carried Napoleon from Paris to Moscow in 1812 – a 3,500-mile trip.

‘Napoleon Crossing the Alps’ painted by Jacques-Louis David. The horse in the painting is believed to be Marengo. (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Marengo was wounded eight times having accompanied Napoleon during many battles, including Austerlitz and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During Waterloo, he was captured by English nobleman William Petre and sold to Lieutenant-Colonel Angerstein of the Grenadier Guards. He died aged 38, and his skeleton is on display at the National Army Museum, London.

4. The Duke of Wellington – Copenhagen

Copenhagen was born in 1808, of mixed Thoroughbred and Arabian heritage. Named after the British victory at the Second Battle of Copenhagen, he’d briefly been a race horse before being sent to Spain and then sold to Lord Wellesly, the Duke of Wellington in 1813.

Copenhagen became the Duke’s favourite horse, having accompanied him on his hazardous ride to Wavre to liaise with Marshall Blücher. Most famously he accompanied the Duke during the Battle of Waterloo where Napoleon was defeated, carrying the Duke for 17 hours straight. Copenhagen continued to be Wellington’s main horse during the occupation of France and the horse he rode in ceremonial events after the Battle of Waterloo.

After this, he was retired and died in 1836 – allegedly from over-indulging in sweet treats, but more likely from old age. The Duke oversaw Copenhagen’s burial but when asked by a museum to donate Copenhagen’s skeleton for display alongside Napoleon’s Marengo, he refused, pretending not to know the burial site.

5. Simón Bolívar – Palomo

Palomo accompanied Simón Bolívar, known as the ‘Liberator of Latin America’, during most of his campaigns. Palomo was white-grey and tall with a long tail, and been gifted to Bolívar ahead of the Battle of Boyacá in 1819.

Allegedly, when Bolívar approached the town of Santa Rosa in 1814 (on his way to Tunja) his exhausted horse refused to move any further. He asked a guide to take the horse and lead him into town. The guide didn’t know who Bolívar was, but told Bolívar about his wife Casilda’s dreams, including one where she gave a new-born colt to a famous general as a gift. When due to leave, Bolívar asked the guide to tell his wife to keep the horse for him.

On his return to New Grenada five years later, he received Casilda’s horse while fighting in the Battle of Vargas Swamp, and stopped off on his way back to Venezuela to visit Casilda to thank her.

Palomo died after a gruelling march after Bolívar lent him to one of his officers.

6. General Robert E. Lee – Traveller

Traveller was a grey American Saddlebreed, and the favourite stallion of General Lee, a Confederate Army Commander in the American Civil War. He was 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm), and renowned for his speed, strength and courage in combat.

Traveller was difficult to frighten and had great stamina. However, at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Viriginia, while Lee dismounted, Traveller became frightened from enemy movement and plunged, pulling Lee down on a stump which broke his hands.

After the Civil War, Traveller went with Lee to Washington College in Virginia, where admirers would pluck souvenir hairs from his tail. Traveller was buried near Lee, and the campus stable where he lived traditionally stands with its doors open to allow his spirit to wander freely.

Traveller’s grave at the Lee Chapel (Image Credit: Public Domain).

7. Ulysses S. Grant – Cincinnati

Before becoming president, Grant served as the commanding general who led the Union armies to victory in the American Civil War. He was an avid horse lover, having rode bareback and trained horses since childhood.

Grant rode ten large and powerful horses throughout the civil war, but his favourite was Cincinnati, a bay horse, 17.2 hands (178 cm) high, and the son of Lexington – considered then to be the fastest thoroughbred in America. Grant considered Cincinnati “the finest horse I have ever seen”, only allowing two other people to ever ride Cincinnati – one being Abraham Lincoln.

Grant refused an offer of $10,000 for Cincinnati, and when he became president, three of his horses including Cincinnati were brought to the White House stables. Cincinatti died in 1878. Nearly all depictions of Grant on horseback in paintings, drawings and statues are astride Cincinnati.

General Grant and his horse, Cincinnati. (Image Credit: Public Domain).

8. Sitting Bull – Rico

In 1885, Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West circus as a performer. Bill Cody presented Sitting Bull with a horse called Rico when he left, which had been trained to dance and fall to the floor when hearing gun shots.

It’s said that when Sitting Bull was assassinated outside his cabin in December 1890, Rico danced and fell to the ground. Those watching believed it was a sign that an Indian Messiah was coming. Chief Arvol Looking-Horse from the Lakota tribe believes “it was the horse taking the bullets”.

This article is an edited transcript of The Battle of Waterloo with Peter Snow available on History Hit TV.

When he heard the news that France’s Napoleon Bonaparte had crossed the border into what is now Belgium, Britain’s Duke of Wellington was at a big party in Brussels, the most famous ball in history. Many of the finest dandies in the British army were dancing the night away with their girlfriends or wives at the the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball when Wellington received the news.

The Battle of Quatre Bras

Wellington ordered Picton, one of his best subordinate generals, to march south as fast as he could to try and hold the crossroads at Quatre Bras. Meanwhile, he would try and confirm the movements of the Prussians and attempt to join forces so that, together, they might overwhelm Napoleon.

But by the time Wellington’s men got to Quatre Bras in enough force, Napoleon was already giving the Prussians a good beating at Ligny, and there were elements of Napoleon’s army pressing up the roads of Brussels at Quatre Bras.

The British were unable to go and help the Prussians to the extent that they might otherwise have done, however, because they were by then involved in their own battle at Quatre Bras.

Henry Nelson O’Neil’s painting, Before Waterloo, depicts the Duchess of Richmond’s famous ball on the eve of the battle.

Napoleon’s plan was working. He had occupied the Prussians and his troops, led by the formidable Marshal Michel Ney, were confronting Wellington at Quatre Bras.

But then things began to go wrong. Napoleon sent General Charles Lefèbvre-Desnoëttes to reinforce Ney with 20,000 men. Lefèbvre-Desnoëttes, however, marched backwards and forwards, never joining Ney and never re-joining Napoleon to attack the Prussians. Consequently, Ney was desperately under-resourced when he faced Wellington at Quatre Bras.

Wellington was very distrustful of many of the elements of his army. He called it an infamous army, and considered it very weak and ill-equipped. Two-thirds were foreign troops and many of them had never fought under his command before.

Consequently, Wellington approached the Waterloo campaign with caution. Not only was he uncertain about the army under his command, but it was also the first time that he’d come up against Napoleon.

Marshal Ney led the French at Quatre Bras.

Napoleon’s critical error

On the night of 16 June, it was clear that the Prussians had been driven back. Therefore, though Wellington had held his own against Ney, he knew he couldn’t stay there because Napoleon could have swung around and smashed into his army’s flank.

So Wellington withdrew, a very hard thing to do in the face of the enemy. But he did it very effectively. Ney and Napoleon made a terrible mistake letting him withdraw so easily.

Wellington marched his men 10 miles north, through terrible weather, from Quatre Bras to Waterloo. He arrived at a ridge that he’d identified the year before while surveying the landscape for useful defensive features.

The ridge, which is just south of the village of Waterloo, is known as Mont-Saint-Jean. Wellington had decided to retreat to the ridge if he couldn’t hold the enemy at Quatre Bras. The plan was to hold them at Mont-Saint-Jean until the Prussians could come and help.

Napoleon had missed a trick by allowing Wellington to withdraw to Mont-Saint-Jean. It was foolish of him not to attack Wellington as soon as he’d destroyed the Prussian army.

The day after the Battle of Ligny, which saw Napoleon defeat the Prussians, was a wet and miserable one and Napoleon didn’t take the opportunity of hitting Wellington’s troops as they pulled back to Waterloo. It was a big mistake.

Nonetheless, as Napoleon’s men pulled their guns slowly across the muddy terrain towards Waterloo, he remained confident that he could hit Wellington. He was also confident that the Prussians were now eliminated from the battle.

1. Battle of Waterloo 1815 by William Sadler

 2. Wellington at Waterloo by Robert Alexander Hillingford

3. Scotland Forever! by Lady Elizabeth Butler

 4. Hougoumont by Robert Gibb

 5. The British Squares Receiving the Charge of the French Cuirassiers by Félix Henri Emmanuel Philippoteaux

 6.The Battle of Waterloo by William Allan

 7. Prussian Attack at Plancenoit by Adolf Northern

 8. On the Evening of the Battle of Waterloo by Ernest Crofts

An epic showdown between France and a coalition of European nations, the battle was Napoleon Bonaparte’s last stand and, ultimately, the moment that his epoch-defining leadership of France came to an end.

It’s also remembered as a face-off between two of history’s great military commanders, Napoleon and Britain’s Duke of Wellington.

This article is an edited transcript of The Battle of Waterloo with Peter Snow available on History Hit TV.

Two very different characters

Wellington had fought across India, Portugal, Spain and southern France as a commander, and achieved a string of stunning victories against many of Napoleon’s senior generals, but never against Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Waterloo was the first time that the two men would meet on the battlefield.

Wellington was austere, intelligent and remote, but a hugely respected commander.

He was known to his officers as the “Peer”, because he was very grand, very aristocratic, and he rode a horse called Copenhagen. And, whereas Napoleon was very lavish with praise and lavish with rewards, Wellington was very tight, very disciplined, very cold and very hard.

As an old man, he was asked, “Do you have any regrets,” and he said, “Yes, I should have given more praise”.

Wellington was austere, intelligent and remote, but a hugely respected commander.

By contrast, Napoleon was hugely charismatic and extremely popular with his troops. He had been comprehensively defeated in Moscow in Russia, 1812, at Leipzig in 1813 and, of course, he had abdicated in 1814.

But he bounced back in 1815, only 100 days before Waterloo. Indeed, such was his popularity that, upon arriving back in France, he was immediately carried on the shoulders of his army all the way back to Paris.

On returning to Paris, Napoleon was greeted by a great surge of popularity. There he was, Napoleon Bonaparte, back again, and, unbelievably, he was gathering an army to attack a formidable coalition of allies.

Napoleon was hugely charismatic and extremely popular with his troops.

The outlaw versus the duke

All of the enemies of France came together, declaring Napoleon an outlaw. The Spanish, some of the Italian kingdoms, the Austrians, the Russians, the Prussians, many of the German nations and the British all formed armies to face Napoleon.

But Wellington’s army, together with that of his Prussian allies, was Napoleon’s first target.

The setting was southern Belgium. Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher led the Prussians and Wellington commanded an allied army made up of British, Dutch and Belgian troops, and many German troops as well. Only one-third of Wellington’s army was British and Irish.

Blücher’s substantial Prussian force was spread out across southern Belgium, waiting for Napoleon to make his move. And it was pretty surprised by the speed and secrecy with which he did so. He crossed the border while the British and the Prussian armies were still coalescing.

The date of 15 June 1815 is an extraordinary moment in history.

Napoleon crossed the Belgian frontier with a 100,000-strong army, knowing that he faced an enormous Coalition army of something like a million men. It’s hard not to admire his chutzpah. Napoleon was undoubtedly a gambler.

On 16 June 1815, he attacked Blücher in the Battle of Ligny, and succeeded in significantly damaging the Prussian army. Then, having removed Blücher from the field, he turned his attention to Wellington.

Coming after from the War of the First Coalition (1793-97), and the start of the War of the Second Coalition in 1798, the Battle of Marengo was both a vital victory for France and a transformative moment in Napoleon’s military career. It makes for a fitting place to begin our timeline of the Napoleonic Wars. 

1800

Even today, Napoleon is still revered as a brilliant military tactician.

14 June: Napoleon, then First Consul of the French Republic, lead France to an impressive and hard-fought victory over Austria at the Battle of Marengo. The outcome secured his military and civilian authority in Paris.

1801

9 February: The Treaty of Lunéville, signed by the French Republic and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, marked the end of France’s involvement in the War of the Second Coalition.

1802

25 March: The Treaty of Amiens briefly ended hostilities between Britain and France.

2 August: Napoleon was made Consul for life.

1803

3 May: The Louisiana Purchase saw France cede its North American territories to the United States in return for a payment of 50 million French Francs. The funds were supposedly allocated to a planned invasion of Britain.

18 May: Troubled by Napoleon’s actions, Britain declared war on France. The Napoleonic Wars are usually considered to have started on this date.

26 May: France invaded Hanover.

1804

2 December: Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France.

1805

11 April: Britain and Russia ally, effectively beginning the formation of the Third Coalition.

26 May: Napoleon was crowned King of Italy.

9 August: Austria joined the Third Coalition.

19 October: The Battle of Ulm pit Napoleon’s French troops against the Austrian army, under the command of Karl Mack von Leiberich. Napoleon plotted an impressive victory, capturing 27,000 Austrians with very few losses.

21 October: The British Royal Navy were victorious over French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar, a naval engagement at Cape Trafalgar off the South-Western coast of Spain.

2 December: Napoleon lead the French army to a decisive victory over much larger Russian and Austrian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz.

The Battle of Austerlitz was also known as the “Battle of the Three Emperors”.

4 December: A truce was agreed in the War of the Third Coalition

26 December: The Treaty of Pressburg was signed, establishing peace and amity and the retreat of Austria from the Third Coalition.

1806

1 April: Joseph Bonaparte, an older brother of Napoleon, became King of Naples.

20 June: Louis Bonaparte, this time a younger brother of Napoleon, became King of Holland.

15 September: Prussia joined Britain and Russia in the fight against Napoleon.

14 October: Napoleon’s army won simultaneous victories at the Battle of Jena and the Battle of Auerstadt, inflicting significant losses on the Prussian Army.

26 October: Napoleon entered Berlin

6 November: The Battle of Lübeck saw Prussian forces, retreating from defeats at Jena and Auerstadt, suffer another heavy defeat.

21 November: Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, beginning the so-called “Continental System” that effectively acted as an embargo on British trade.

1807

14 June: Napoleon achieved a decisive victory against Count von Bennigsen’s Russian forces at the Battle of Friedland.

7 July and 9 July: The two Treaties of Tilsit were signed. First between France and Russia then between France and Prussia.

19 July: Napoleon instituted the Duchy of Warsaw, to be ruled by Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.

2-7 September: Britain attacked Copenhagen, destroying the Dano-Norwegian fleet, which Britain feared may have been used to bolster Napoleon’s own fleet.

27 October: The Treaty of Fontainebleu was signed between Napoleon and Charles IV of Spain. It effectively agreed to drive the House of Braganza from Portugal.

19-30 November: Jean-Andoche Junot lead an invasion of Portugal by French forces. Portugal offered little resistance and Lisbon was occupied on 30 November.

1808

23 March: The French occupied Madrid following the deposal of King Charles IV, who was forced to abdicate. Charles was replaced by his son Ferdinand VII.

2 May: Spaniards rose up against France in Madrid. The rebellion, often referred to as the Dos de Mayo Uprising, was quickly suppressed by Joachim Murat’s Imperial Guard.

7 May: Joseph Bonaparte was also proclaimed King of Spain.

22 July: Following widespread uprisings across Spain, the Battle of Bailen saw the Spanish Army of Andalusia defeat the Imperial French Army.

17 August: The Battle of Roliça marked Britain’s first entry into the Peninsular War with an Arthur Wellesley-led victory over French forces en route to Lisbon. 

The title of “Duke of Wellington” was bestowed upon Arthur Wellesley in recognition of his military achievements.

21 August: Wellesley’s men defeated Junot’s French forces at the Battle of Vimeiro on the outskirts of Lisbon, putting an end to the first French invasion of Portugal.

1 December: Following decisive strikes against the Spanish uprising at Burgos, Tudelo, Espinosa and Somosierra, Napoleon regained control of Madrid. Joseph was returned to his throne.

1809

16 January: Sir John Moore’s British troops repelled the French, led by Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, at the Battle of Corunna — but lost the port city in the process. Moore was mortally wounded and died.

28 March: Soult lead his French corps to victory in the First Battle of Porto.

12 May: Wellesley’s Anglo-Portuguese army defeated the French at the Second Battle of Porto, taking back the city.

5-6 June: The Battle of Wagram saw the French win a decisive victory over Austria, ultimately leading to the break-up of the Fifth Coalition.

28-29 July: Anglo-Spanish troops led by Wellesley forced the French to retire at the Battle of Talavera. 

14 October: The Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed between France and Austria, ending the War of the Fifth Coalition.

1810

27 September: Wellesley’s Anglo-Portuguese army repelled Marshal André Masséna’s French forces at the Battle of Bussaco.

10 October: Wellesley’s men retreated behind the Lines of Torres Vedras — lines of forts built to defend Lisbon — and succeeded in holding off Masséna’s troops.

1811

5 March: After several months of stalemate at the Lines of Torres Vedras, Masséna began to withdraw his troops.

1812

7-20 January: Wellesley besieged Ciudad Rodrigo, ultimately capturing the city from the French.

5 March: The Treaty of Paris established a Franco-Prussian alliance against Russia.

16 March-6 April: The Siege of Badajoz. Wellesley’s army then moved south to capture the strategically important frontier town of Badajoz.

24 June: Napoleon’s army invaded Russia.

18 July: The Treaty of Örebro brought about the end of wars between Britain and Sweden and Britain and Russia, forming an alliance between Russia, Britain and Sweden.

22 June: Wellesley defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont’s French forces at the Battle of Salamanca.

7 September: The Battle of Borodino, one of the bloodiest of the Napoleonic Wars, saw Napoleon’s army clash with General Kutuzov’s Russian troops, who attempted to block their path to Moscow. Kutuzov’s men were eventually forced to retreat.

14 September: Napoleon arrived in Moscow, which was mostly abandoned. Fires then broke out in the city, all but destroying it.

19 October: Napoleon’s army began a retreat from Moscow.

26-28 November: Russian forces close in on the French Grande Armée as it retreats from Moscow. The Battle of the Berezina broke out as the French attempted to cross the Berezina River. Though they succeeded in crossing, Napoleon’s troops suffered massive losses.

14 December: The Grande Armée finally escaped Russia, having lost more than 400,000 men.

30 December: The Convention of Tauroggen, an armistice between Prussian General Ludwig Yorck and General Hans Karl von Diebitsch of the Imperial Russian Army, is signed.

1813

3 March: Sweden entered into an alliance with Britain and declares war against France.

16 March: Prussia declared war on France.

2 May: The Battle of Lützen saw Napoleon’s French army force Russian and Prussian forces into retreat.

20-21 May: Napoleon’s troops attacked and defeated a combined Russian and Prussian army at the Battle of Bautzen.

4 June: The Truce of Pläswitz commenced.

12 June: The French evacuated Madrid.

21 June: Leading British, Portuguese and Spanish troops, Wellesley won a decisive victory against Joseph I at the Battle of Vitoria.

17 August: The Truce of Pläswitz ended.

23 August: A Prussian-Swedish army defeated the French at the Battle of Großbeeren, south of Berlin.

26 August: Over 200,000 troops are involved in the Battle of Katzbach, which resulted in a crushing Russo-Prussian victory over the French.

26-27 August: Napoleon oversaw an impressive victory over Sixth Coalition forces at the Battle of Dresden. 

29-30 August: Following the Battle of Dresden, Napoleon sent troops in pursuit of the retreating Allies. The Battle of Kulm ensued and substantial Coalition forces — led by Alexander Ostermann-Tolstoy — prevaile, inflicting heavy losses on the French.

15-18 October: The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the “Battle of Nations”, inflicted brutally severe losses on the French army and more or less concluded France’s presence in Germany and Poland.

1814

10-15 February: Outnumbered and on the defensive, Napoleon nonetheless masterminded a succession of unlikely victories in north-eastern France over a period that became known as the “Six Days’ Campaign.”

30-31 March: The Battle of Paris saw the Allies assault the French capital and storm Montmartre. Auguste Marmont surrendered and the Allies, led by Alexander I who was supported by the King of Prussia and Prince Schwarzenberg of Austria, took Paris.

4 April: Napoleon abdicated.

10 April: Wellesley defeated Soult at the Battle of Toulouse.

11 April: The Treaty of Fontainebleau formally sealed the end of Napoleon’s rule.

14 April: The Battle of Bayonne was the final sortie of the Peninsular War, continuing until April 27 despite news of Napoleon’s abdication.

4 May: Napoleon was exiled to Elba.

1815

26 February: Napoleon escaped Elba.

1 March: Napoleon landed in France.

20 March: Napoleon arrived in Paris, marking the beginning of a period known as the “Hundred Days”.

16 June: The Battle of Ligny, the last victory of Napoleon’s military career,  saw the French troops of the Armée du Nord, under his command, defeat part of Field Marshal Prince Blücher’s Prussian army.

18 June: The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars, inflicting a final defeat on Napoleon at the hands of two Seventh Coalition armies: a British-led force under the command of Wellesley and Field Marshal Prince Blücher’s Prussian army.

28 June: Louis XVIII was restored to power.

16 October: Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena.