The Battle of Waterloo War: Napoleonic Wars Date: 18th June 1815 Place: South of Brussels in Belgium Combatants: British, Germans, Belgians, Dutch and Prussians against the French Grande Armée Generals: The Duke of Wellington, Marshal Blucher and the Prince of Orange against the Emperor Napoleon Size of the armies: 23,000 British troops with 44,000 allied troops and 160 guns against 74,000 French troops and 250 guns. The Duke of Wellington Winner: The British, Germans, Belgians, Dutch and Prussians British Regiments present at the battle: 1st Life Guards now the Life Guards 2nd Life Guards now the Life Guards Royal Horse Guards now the Blues and Royals King’s Dragoon Guards now the Queen’s Dragoon Guards Royal Dragoons now the Blues and Royals Royal Scots Greys now the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 6th Inniskilling Dragoons later the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and now the Royal Dragoon Guards 7th Hussars later the Queen’s Own Hussars and now the Queen’s Royal Hussars 10th Hussars later the Royal Hussars and now the King’s Royal Hussars 11th Hussars later the Royal Hussars and now the King’s Royal Hussars 12th Light Dragoons now the 9th/12th Lancers 13th Light Dragoons later the 13th/18th King’s Royal Hussars and now the Light Dragoons 15th Light Dragoons later the 15th/19th Hussars and now the Light Dragoons 16th Light Dragoons later the 16th/5th Lancers and now the Queen’s Royal Lancers 18th Light Dragoons later the 13th/18th King’s Royal Hussars and now the Light Dragoons Royal Artillery Royal Engineers 1st Foot Guards now the Grenadier Guards 2nd Coldstream Guards 3rd Foot Guards now the Scots Guards 1st Foot now the Royal Scots 4th King’s Own Regiment of Foot now the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment 14th Foot later the West Yorkshire Regiment and now the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers 27th Foot, the Inniskilling Fusiliers and now the Royal Irish Regiment 28th Foot later the Gloucestershire Regiment and now the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment 30th Foot later the East Lancashire Regiment and now the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment 32nd Foot later the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and now the Light Infantry 33rd Foot the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment 40th Foot later the South Lancashire Regiment and now the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment 42nd Highlanders now the Black Watch (the Royal Highland Regiment) 44th Foot later the Essex Regiment and now the Royal Anglian Regiment 51st Light Infantry later the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and now the Light Infantry 52nd Light Infantry later the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and now the Royal Green Jackets 69th Foot later the Welsh Regiment and now the Prince of Wales’s Regiment 71st Highland Light Infantry now the Royal Highland Fusiliers 73rd Highlanders the Black Watch 79th Highlanders later the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, then the Queen’s Own Highlanders and now the Highlanders 92nd Highlanders the Gordon Highlanders and now the Highlanders 95th Rifles later the Rifle Brigade and now the Royal Green Jackets Background to the battle: In 1814, twenty five years of war finally came to an end with the surrender of the Emperor Napoleon and his banishment to the Mediterranean island of Elba. The European powers began the task of restoring their continent to normality and peace. On 1st March 1815 Napoleon escaped from Elba and landed in France. Nineteen days later he was in Paris and resumed his title as Emperor. His army rallied to him. The soldiers who had been captured during the years of fighting had been released enabling Napoleon to reform his Grande Armée. The European allies reassembled their armies and prepared to resume the war to overthrow the Emperor yet again. Napoleon resolved to attack the British, Prussian, Belgian and Dutch armies before the other powers could come to their assistance. He marched into Belgium. The Prussians under Marshall Blucher were defeated at Ligny and driven away to the East. Napoleon sent Marshall Grouchy in pursuit while he advanced on Wellington’s army. The first battle was at the cross roads called Quatre Bras. The British and their allies were forced to withdraw towards Brussels. Assured by Blucher that he would join him for the conclusive battle, Wellington on the afternoon of 17th June 1815 halted on the ridge athwart the Brussels road south of Soignies where he resolved to give battle to the French. The full story http://www.britishbattles.com/waterloo/waterloo-june-1815.htm