What was the Battle of Waterloo?
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 near Waterloo, in present-day Belgium. An allied army led by the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army led by Gebhard von Blucher defeated Napoleon Bonaparte, ending his rule.
Napoleon had escaped from exile on the island of Elba and returned to power in France in 1815, a period known as the Hundred Days.
Wellington's army included British, Dutch, Belgian and German troops. It held its position through a day of fierce French attacks.
Victory
In the evening, the arrival of the Prussian army helped turn the battle. Napoleon's Imperial Guard was defeated, and the French army retreated.
Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821.
The phrase to meet one's Waterloo means to suffer a final defeat. Waterloo Station in London and Waterloo Bridge are named after the battle.
The Duke of Wellington later became Prime Minister. His London home, Apsley House, is known as Number One London.
The battlefield can be visited today.