Napoleon returned from exile in March 1815 and attempted to defeat the allied armies gathering against him before they could combine. His Army of the North crossed into the Netherlands and fought the Prussians at Ligny on 16 June.
At Waterloo on 18 June, the Anglo-allied army commanded by the Duke of Wellington held a defensive position south of Brussels. French attacks placed it under severe pressure. The arrival of Prussian forces commanded by Blücher transformed the balance late in the day.
Waterloo did not by itself create the coalition that defeated Napoleon, but it ended his final campaign. Napoleon abdicated for a second time and was exiled to Saint Helena.
Why It Matters
Waterloo demonstrates that the defeat of Napoleon was a coalition achievement, not the work of one nation or commander alone.