Most Important Battles Challenge (5)

Battle of WaterlooYear: 1815Armies: French (Napoleon Bonaparte) vs. British-Dutch-Prussia (Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blucher) The BattleIn 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to power in France. He had been the emperor before, but was forced into exile during his failed conquest of Europe. Now back, the powers that had defeated him returned. Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia were all against him. Britishm Belgian, and Dutch troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington landed in Belgium and were suppose to meet a Prussia force commanded by Gebhard von Blucher. Napoleon decided to attack and take each army one at a time. At the battle, the British, Belgian, and Dutch occupied a ridge which stopped several frontal assaults that Napoleon launched. Soon Prussian troops from Blucher were on the field and Napoleon was being forced to split his army. French reinforcements under Marshal Emmanuel de Groucy did not arrive. An infamous attack occured when the Napoleon subordinate, Marshal Michel Ney, launched a cavalry charge on the British. Wellington responded by forming infantry squared. This devastated the French cavalry for the rest of the battle. After a failed attack by his elite Old Guard on the British line, he withdrew and was eventually forced into exile again. [1,2,3]Had he won?Napoleon would have likely been unstoppable. He had nearly conquered Europe before and he could have possible conquered all of it if he was given a second try. This is mainly because of the spreading apart of his allies. Wellington would have been forced back to the Belgian coast to evacuate with the British. The Dutch, Belgians, and Prussians would be left to fend for themselves. The Prussians would be in a very bad position because they would be stuck between Napoleon and his reinforcements. The Dutch and the Belgians could in no way stand up to Napoleon.As for Napoleon's two other enemies, Austria and Russia, they would be stuck in the same position they were in 1805. The Austrians would have to either advance into France or wait for the Russians. The latter was a bad choice in 1805 as it led to defeat and loss of 45,000 Austrian troops at the Battle of Ulm while the former means than an outnumbered Austria would be taking on the power of Napoleon. The emperor would shift his army south along with reinforcements to Italy.When Napoleon would defeat the Austrians and Prussians he would likely have greater France. This means Belgium and northern Italy. If he wished to continue his conquests as in 1805 to 1812, he could move into Europe, force Prussia and Austria into alliances while putting back in the Duchy of Warsaw and other satelittes. This time he would either learn from, or not make the mistake of invading Russia, leading to a Britain-France stalemate at sea. Napoleon could then possibly rule until the end of his reign and then give it to his child or other relative to maintain the French empire.Napoleon would no doubt implement his Napoleonic Code and other reforms as he had before. Some of these chages included:1. Civil order was created under him, which gave equality to all males and protection of property and wealth. Females on the other hand were given limited rights under his rule.2. The Bank of France was France's central bank was estasblished under him. 3. Power was much more centralized under his rule.4. The Concordat of 1801 allowed Catholics to practice and allowed Napoleon to appoint major church positions. He would maintain these under his new empire if he won at Waterloo.5. Napoleon has increased censorhip under his regime, this would likely continue.More important is the fact that a new French Empire would likely prevent World War 1 and World War 2 from happening as the Austrians and Prussians would all be under his rule. Prussia would be unable to form Germany and the Austrian Empire would be much more weaker. Northern Italy would be under French control as well, taking out three nations that played a key role in the World War 1. In addition, if he did not invade Russia again then he could head south for the Ottoman Empire and takeover the Balkans. France would be the dominant force on mainland Europe. This would mean Napoleon could build a navy not just to take on the Royal Navy, but to expand around the globe. [4,5,6]Sources1. http://en.wikipedia.org...2. http://www.britishbattles.com...3. http://www.battleofwaterloo.org...4. http://en.wikipedia.org...5. http://en.wikipedia.org...6. Black, Jeremy. The Battle of Waterloo. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.http://www.youtube.com...http://www.youtube.com...