Waterloo was the last battle fought by Napoleon and the one which finally ended his imperial dreams. It involved huge armies and heavy losses on both sides. For those who fought in it - Dutch and Belgians, Prussians and Hanoverians as well as British and French troops - it was a murderous struggle.

For all its ferocity, it was a battle that would be remembered very differently across Europe. In Britain it would be seen as an iconic battle whose memory would be enmeshed in British national identity across the following century. It failed to achieve this iconic status elsewhere. In Prussia it was overshadowed by the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig, while in Holland it was a simple appendage to the prestige of the House of Orange. And in France it was the epitome of a heroic defeat that served to sustain the romantic legend of the Napoleonic Wars and contributed to the growing cult of Napoleon himself.

Whereas most works on the battle of Waterloo are only military in nature, Alan Forrest's outstanding work-the first in the Great Battles series -- describes every aspect of how the battle was fought but deals equally with the aftermath: how it has been commemorated, and its legacy.

The GREAT BATTLES series
Certain battles acquire iconic status in history. Each book in this new series will examine both the battle itself, and also its legacy in the imaginations of the victors and the vanquished. Titles in preparation include: Agincourt, Lützen, Hattin, El Alamein, and Gettysburg.

Author: Alan Forrest
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 04/01/2015
Series: Great Battles
Pages: 242
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.70w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780199663255


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2015
New York Times Book Review 05/17/2015 pg. 34
Choice 09/01/2015

About the Author
Alan Forrest is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of York. He has published widely on French Revolutionary and Napoleonic history in France and Europe, on the history of armies and war, and on the cultural history of modern France, most recently a biography of Napoleon (2011).