Thursday, June 18, 2015

200 years since the Battle of Waterloo


Whether it's from school or the Abba song, most people have heard of the Battle of Waterloo when on 18 June 1815, British and Prussian forces defeated those of French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte and lead to his second and final banishment.

During his two reigns Napoléon engaged in European hegemony, something which Hitler clearly admired and he paid his respects at Napoléon's tomb at Les Invalides on his 3 hour tour of Paris in June 1940 (see earlier post).

Wellington in NZ was named after the British Commander at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington and, needless to say, it has a Waterloo Quay.

More on the commemorations here

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