Battle of Waterloo Many leaders and high ranking officials tried to rule and conquer the lands throughout Europe as history has shown us. Napoleon Bonaparte, became one of the greatest rulers when he took control of France in November 1799. History shows that Napoleon was a ego driven tyrant that only wanted power and glory for himself. He was never one to listen to advice or use intelligence assets correctly in battle. As the Battle of Waterloo will show how the practice of quick, poor, hasty, decision making, and not using intelligence appropriately will cause defeat is battle. The Duke of Wellington commanded one Allied army in Belgium consisting of 67,000 soldiers from Britain, and he opposed Napoleon 's attempt to take over Europe. Marshal Blucher was in charge of 70,000 Prussians at Ligny and also opposed Napoleon 's agenda. Wellington and Blucher are very determined to stop Napoleon from taking over Europe. The Battle of Waterloo began with a six day battle and has been known as the most decisive battle of Napoleon 's campaign. The battle ended his rule as emperor of France and marked the beginning of years of peace across Europe (The Battle of Waterloo, n.d.). Many mistakes made by Napoleon caused …show more content…
Since 1804, Napoleon was trying to create his own empire over Europe. He was defeated in 1805 by the British, but he continued to move forward across Europe before being forced to surrender. He returned to Paris in March 1815, prompting Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria to declare war. Napoleon invaded Belgium in June, attempting to take over Brussels. He sent his men to engage Wellington, also sending a battalion against General Blucher 's Prussian army. Blucher decided to retreat as Wellington 's army wasn 't holding the front line against Napoleon 's army. A decisive battle is now set to be