WATERLOO

For more than 20 years Europe had been torn apart by war. Dynasties had crumbled, new states had been created and a generation had lost its young men. When it seemed that peace might at last settle across the continent, the terrible news was received – Napoleon had escaped from exile and was marching on Paris. Europe braced itself once again for war. The Allied nations agreed to combine against Napoleon and in June 1815 they began to mass on France’s frontiers. The scene was set for the greatest battle the world had yet seen. In this 100-page special originally published in 2015, we explore the many controversies and myths surrounding the battle, and the key decisions and actions which brought about the defeat of the Emperor Napoleon and the end of one of history’s most turbulent eras.