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| "Battle of Waterloo" by William Sadler II |
It was on June 18, 1815, that France's Napoleon Bonaparte lost it all, at the famous Battle of Waterloo, to England's Duke of Wellington ~ with the not inconsiderable help, it must be said, of forces from Prussia (
http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-duke-and-emperor.html). Small wonder, then, that while the British are whooping it up with reenactments, exhibits, and new monuments, the French are keeping rather quiet. Napoleon has always been a divisive figure, seen as either sinner or saint, sociopath or sage. Either way, the battle had ~ and continues to have ~ major repercussions and influence, not only on the two countries most directly involved, but on the entire continent. Writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was not thought to be exaggerating when he said, "Waterloo is not a battle; it is the changing face of the universe":
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/17/napoleon-dream-died-waterloo-200th-anniversary-triumph-reaction and (story, video)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/17/opinions/roberts-waterloo-bicentennial/
So how, exactly, did this truly historic encounter unfold?:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zwtf34j
* Victor Hugo (describing, in fact, this particular event),
Les Misérables: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135
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