ABSTRACT
Just when the allied powers were immersed in reordering the post-war political order in negotiations at Vienna, Napoleon escaped from exile on the island of Elba and seized control in Paris. The allies promptly organized massive armies to halt the emperor’s restoration and it fell to the British and Prussians to bear the brunt of his military advance. The resulting confrontation at Waterloo has been described by one military historian as ‘the most decisive battle of the age’. 1 A leading American military historian has seen it as the final episode in what he describes as the ‘age of battle’. Opinions diverge widely as to its significance and impact in the final overthrow of Napoleon.
