The turn of the 18th century was a time of unrest hostility between revolutionary France and the rest of Europe, marked by a series of wars that threatened to bring bloodshed to England.
Napoleon, a brilliant Corsican general who had risen to prominence during the French Revolution, was leading his armies on conquests across the continent – taking on various coalitions of neighbours who arrayed against him.
The Napoleonic Wars lasted from 1803 until 1815 with Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, as he fought against the UK, Spain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Ottomans, the Holy Roman Empire, and a dozens of smaller states many of which make up modern-day Germany.
1803 began with Britain resuming war against the French following the brief and uneasy peace formalised in the Treaty of Amiens the previous year.
The start of the 19th century was a time of hostility between France and England, marked by a series of wars. Throughout this period, England feared a French invasion led by Napoleon (right ). The Duke of Wellington (left) defeated him in battle
The return to war required the resumption of the mass enlistment of the previous ten years, especially as fears of an invasion once again intensified.
Napoleon, soon to become emperor, had made no secret of his intentions of invading Britain, and in 1803 he massed his huge ‘Army of England’ on the shores of Calais, posing a visible threat.
Hostilities were to continue until the British victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The battle was fought on 18 June that year between Napoleon’s French Army and a coalition led by British commander the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher.
The decisive battle of its age, it concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon’s imperial power forever.
Allies from Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and various German states thought they had already beaten Napoleon once: In the War of the Sixth Coalition, which lasted two years from 1812 until 1814.
That war ended with the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which saw Napoleon abdicate, renounce all claims to power in France, and agree to be exiled to the island of Elba, off the Italian coast, which he was given dominion over.
But he escaped the following year and returned to power in France, before resuming his wars on its neighbours.
He immediately went on the offensive, hoping to win a quick victory that would tear apart the coalition of European armies formed against him.
Two armies, the Prussians led by Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher and an Anglo-Allied force under Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, were gathering in the Netherlands.
Together they outnumbered the French. Napoleon’s best chance of success was therefore to keep them apart and defeat each separately.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June that year between Napoleon’s French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington (pictured on horseback) and Marshal Blücher
Attempting to drive a wedge between his enemies, Napoleon crossed the River Sambre on June 15, entering what is now Belgium.
The next day the main part of his army defeated the Prussians at Ligny and drove them into retreat, with losses of over 20,000 men. French casualties were only half that number.
Pursued by Napoleon’s main force, Wellington fell back towards the village of Waterloo where Napoleon intended to crush them in battle.
But, unbeknownst to the French, the Prussians were regrouping close by and promised Wellington they would rejoin the battle if only he could hold off Napoleon’s attack for long enough.
Emboldened by their promise of reinforcements, Wellington decided to stand and fight on June 18 until the Prussians could arrive.
The two sides – evenly matched with 70,000 men each – began battle around midday, after Napoleon had waited for the muddy battlefield to dry out in the sun: A potentially critical mistake that bought the Prussians more time.
Eventually, Marshal Blücher arrived to reinforce Wellington with 30,000 additional troops, tipping the balance decisively in the allies’ favour.
The Imperial guard fell, Napoleon fled and his carriage captured by the Prussians. They went on to incorporate his diamonds in to their crown jewels.
But, in an admission of how close he had come to defeat, Wellington would later describe the battle as ‘the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.’
The victorious allies entered Paris on July 7 and Napoleon was forced to surrender to the British.
The former dictator had hoped to flee to America but was sent to exile in St Helena – a remote island in the South Atlantic – where he spent his remaining six years before his death in 1821.
