Waterloo, once it was over, put an end to twenty-two years of French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and led to over half a century of relative peace and progress in Europe. When the wars of the future did come, they were fought with infinitely more appalling methods by a constantly changing balance of powers. At Waterloo, the honor of bold, lavish uniforms and, at least initially, the aesthetic beauty of battle were still intact. Here, Andrew Roberts sets the political, strategic, and historical scene before offering an account of each successive stage of the battle. He also draws on a recently discovered document from 1854 that casts new light on just how the battle was lost. It is a confession from a French officer that helps to explain why the French cavalry charged when it did -- unsupported by infantry or artillery, and headlong at well-defended British squares. It shows that accident rather than design may have led to the debacle that lost Napoleon the battle, the campaign, and the war. -- From the publisher.

Includes maps of : The Waterloo Campaign ; The Battle of Waterloo.

The campaign -- The battle -- Maps -- The Waterloo campaign -- The Battle of Waterloo -- 1. The first phase -- 2. The second phase -- 3. The third phase -- 4. The fourth phase -- 5. The fifth phase -- Conclusion -- Major Robert Dick's letter from Brussels -- Captain Fortune Brack's letter of 1835 -- The Duke of Wellington's Waterloo despatch.