Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Coloured bistre aquatint, proof, by R Cooper and T Sutherland after Henry Thomas Alken, published by S and J Fuller, 1 Mar 1816.

A Royal Horse Artillery team retreats as a unit of British hussars engages French lancers.

The Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 was the last great battle of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) and marked the end of France's attempt to dominate Europe. The Allied commander, the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), called the battle 'the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life'. The outcome of the battle was in doubt until late afternoon when Blücher's Prussians arrived in force and broke through Napoleon's right flank.