Waterloo

Mistakenly believing that the French would attack to the west, Wellington placed his weight on his right flank. Napoleon opened the battle by sending his I Corps against the Anglo-Allied left, while II Corps "demonstrated" against Hougomont (this soon turned into a full-fledged assault on the insistence of Napoleon's brother, Jerome). The Allied left held long enough for the British heavy cavalry to counterattack, and most of the French I Corps was swept back. The Prussians appeared and were starting to deploy, so the French VI Corps and later the Young Guard Division were sent to face them. Lacking infantry, Marshal Ney launched the French cavalry in repeated and unsuccessful charges on the squares in the center of the Anglo-Allied line. French infantry finally stormed La Haye Sainte, exposing Wellington's center, but the Prussians had taken Plancenoit (which had already changed hands several times during the day), and Old Guard infantry had to be used to retake the town to secure the French flank. By the time Napoleon was ready to hit the Anglo-Allied center, Wellington had reorganized his troops and was ready for the onslaught. The Old Guard went forward, for the last time, into a storm of artillery fire (the British horse batteries were particularly well-handled) and well-placed volleys. For the first time, the legendary guardsmen were repulsed. Wellington signaled his battered army to advance, Blucher redoubled the Prussian effort, and the demoralized French army disintegrated. Anglo-Allied losses were about 15,000, and Prussian losses about 7,000. The French army lost 26,000 killed and wounded and 9,000 prisoners (thousands more were missing).