The Duke of Wellington, who commanded coalition troops at Waterloo, Prussian Field Marshal Bluecher and Marshal Ney were the key players in a momentous battle which turned European history:
- Wellington: British hero -
Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who conquered Napoleon's forces at Waterloo, is in the top rank of Britain's military heroes.
Born on April 30, 1769 in Dublin, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat served until 1805 in India where his brother was governor general.
On return his return to Europe, his men beat the Napoleonic armies at Vimeiro in Spain in 1808, then drove the French out of Portugal and Spain after his victory over the imperial troops at Vitoria in 1813.
When Napoleon returned from exile on the island of Elba in March 1815, Wellington took the helm of the allied armies during the Belgium campaign.
In Waterloo the British held off the French advance until the Prussians arrived and the allies went on to win.
Wellington named the battle after the place where he had set up his headquarters, but no combat actually took place at Waterloo.
Commander in chief of the British army in 1827, be became prime minister of Britain in January 1828, a post he held until November 1830.
- Bluecher: the Prussian veteran -
The arrival of Prussia's Field Marshal Bluecher at Waterloo in support of the British put an end to Napoleon's remaining hopes of victory.
Born on December 16, 1742 at Rostock in northern Germany, Gebhard Leberecht von Bluecher first served with Swedish troops before joining the Prussian army.
Of the main protagonists at Waterloo, he was by far the oldest.
At 73, the field marshal had already faced the Napoleonic armies at Lubeck in 1806, Leipzig in 1813 and the entry of his troops into Paris in March 1814 had contributed to Napoleon's first abdication.
But he was beaten again by Napoleon two days before Waterloo at nearby Ligny, losing 12,000 men.
Bluecher regrouped his battered men, however, and attacked the French late into the battle leading to the rout of the Napoleonic army. Several days later he entered Paris unopposed.
- Ney: the sacrificial general -
A general at the age of 27, marshal of the empire at 36, Michel Ney was one of the biggest heroes and losers at Waterloo.
Napoleon called Ney, the son of a humble barrel-maker, "the bravest of the brave".
During the Napoleonic retreat from Russia in 1812 he protected the rear of the Napoleonic troops and saved the last fragments of the French Grand Army.
But two years later he abandoned Napoleon to rally to the side of Louis XVIII, king of France from 1814 to 1824 except for a period in 1815 known as the Hundred Days, when Napoleon returned from Elba.
The king made Ney a peer, but on Napoleon's return in March 1815 he did a U-turn to return to his former mentor's side.
At Waterloo he commanded one of the biggest cavalry charges in history, but failed to break the British and Prussian lines.
After the return of the king he was arrested on August 19 and was tried in the upper house of the French parliament. Condemned for risking "state security", he was shot on December 7, 1815.
Ney, who was born at Sarrlouis, Germany in 1769, remains a telling example of an outstanding soldier caught up in a political game that was beyond him.
The Duke of Wellington, who commanded coalition troops at Waterloo, Prussian Field Marshal Bluecher and Marshal Ney were the key players in a momentous battle which turned European history:
– Wellington: British hero –
Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who conquered Napoleon’s forces at Waterloo, is in the top rank of Britain’s military heroes.
Born on April 30, 1769 in Dublin, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat served until 1805 in India where his brother was governor general.
On return his return to Europe, his men beat the Napoleonic armies at Vimeiro in Spain in 1808, then drove the French out of Portugal and Spain after his victory over the imperial troops at Vitoria in 1813.
When Napoleon returned from exile on the island of Elba in March 1815, Wellington took the helm of the allied armies during the Belgium campaign.
In Waterloo the British held off the French advance until the Prussians arrived and the allies went on to win.
Wellington named the battle after the place where he had set up his headquarters, but no combat actually took place at Waterloo.
Commander in chief of the British army in 1827, be became prime minister of Britain in January 1828, a post he held until November 1830.
– Bluecher: the Prussian veteran –
The arrival of Prussia’s Field Marshal Bluecher at Waterloo in support of the British put an end to Napoleon’s remaining hopes of victory.
Born on December 16, 1742 at Rostock in northern Germany, Gebhard Leberecht von Bluecher first served with Swedish troops before joining the Prussian army.
Of the main protagonists at Waterloo, he was by far the oldest.
At 73, the field marshal had already faced the Napoleonic armies at Lubeck in 1806, Leipzig in 1813 and the entry of his troops into Paris in March 1814 had contributed to Napoleon’s first abdication.
But he was beaten again by Napoleon two days before Waterloo at nearby Ligny, losing 12,000 men.
Bluecher regrouped his battered men, however, and attacked the French late into the battle leading to the rout of the Napoleonic army. Several days later he entered Paris unopposed.
– Ney: the sacrificial general –
A general at the age of 27, marshal of the empire at 36, Michel Ney was one of the biggest heroes and losers at Waterloo.
Napoleon called Ney, the son of a humble barrel-maker, “the bravest of the brave”.
During the Napoleonic retreat from Russia in 1812 he protected the rear of the Napoleonic troops and saved the last fragments of the French Grand Army.
But two years later he abandoned Napoleon to rally to the side of Louis XVIII, king of France from 1814 to 1824 except for a period in 1815 known as the Hundred Days, when Napoleon returned from Elba.
The king made Ney a peer, but on Napoleon’s return in March 1815 he did a U-turn to return to his former mentor’s side.
At Waterloo he commanded one of the biggest cavalry charges in history, but failed to break the British and Prussian lines.
After the return of the king he was arrested on August 19 and was tried in the upper house of the French parliament. Condemned for risking “state security”, he was shot on December 7, 1815.
Ney, who was born at Sarrlouis, Germany in 1769, remains a telling example of an outstanding soldier caught up in a political game that was beyond him.
