Waterloo: The Story of a Battle (Very Short History Book 12)

When Napoleon ended his exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba and marched defiantly back to Paris in 1815, his enemies were horrified. Faced with the prospect of being plunged back into the seemingly never-ending cycle of the Napoleonic Wars, they vowed to take decisive action. Wellington and Blucher approached the north eastern border of France with large armies, each determined to chase Napoleon from power once and for all. Rather than wait for the attack, Napoleon decided to engage the foreign forces ranged against him, and so began the Waterloo Campaign. Wellington later called it 'the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life', but he would nevertheless emerge victorious from the battle, consigning the defeated Napoleon to permanent exile in the distant island of Saint Helena.

The Very Short History series gives the reader a clear, concise, and very short, account of the people and events that have shaped world history. Each book provides an entertaining and engaging narrative, allowing the reader to master the subject in the shortest time possible.