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Originally posted on Waterloo 200 | 1815 – 2015.
A call is going out to the nation and beyond to find descendants of those who fought in the Battle of Waterloo, the last great conflict of the age of the sword, cannon and musket in Western Europe, ahead of the 200th anniversary of the Battle in 2015.
On 18th June 1815, one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever was fought by the Duke of Wellington and his allied army, bringing to an end a long campaign against the might of Napoleon Bonaparte. Over rolling countryside between two ridges, 11 miles south of Brussels, the entire course of European history changed as Napoleon was defeated, ending his leadership of the French Empire. Waterloo literally means ‘wet meadow’ and the condition of the ground on the day was such that shoes and cannon balls simply disappeared by their hundreds into the mud.
Though the Duke was outnumbered in both men and cannon, his tactical skill and staying power resulted in an outcome that decided the future of Europe, becoming a milestone in…
First Night History 
Reblogged this on First Night History.
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A battle that changed the face of Europe, and one of huge historical significance too. I attended the celebrations at the battlefield in 1995, 170 years after the event. For anyone who has never seen the film, I can also recommend this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_%281970_film%29 for the 1970 film of the battle. Simply wonderful.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Do you know, I haven’t seen the film although I can remember seeing lots of photographs of Rod Steiger as Bonaparte at the time. I was more interested in old b&w movies at that age!
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It is worth a look. Sergei Bondarchuck did the battle scenes, and Christopher Plummer is surprisingly good as Wellington. (And it is available quite reasonably on DVD…)
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