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                    __/)        ░░▒▒▓▓████████████████████████▓▓▒▒░░       (\__
                   |~~|        ░▒▓██                            ██▓▒░       |~~|
                   |__|       ░▒▓█    W A T E R L O O    █▓▒░      |__|
              ^    /||\      ░▒▓█     18 JUNE 1815       █▓▒░     /||\    ^
             /|\   ||||     ░▒▓█                            █▓▒░    ||||   /|\
            / | \  ||||    ░▒▓█   "La Garde recule!"         █▓▒░   ||||  / | \
           /  |  \ ||||   ░▒▓██                              ██▓▒░  |||| /  |  \
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      ▲▲▲   ▲▲▲   ▲▲▲        WELLINGTON          NAPOLEON         ▲▲▲   ▲▲▲   ▲▲▲
     ░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░    Mount St. Jean    La Belle Alliance    ░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░
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    ║████║║████║║████║  ← ALLIED FORCES                          ║▓▓▓▓║║▓▓▓▓║║▓▓▓▓║
    ╚════╝╚════╝╚════╝                        FRENCH FORCES →    ╚════╝╚════╝╚════╝

The Field

A meditation on the Battle of Waterloo

Today The Battle Commanders Timeline Aftermath Quotes Legacy About

Words from the Field

What they said, what they wrote, what survived.

Wellington

The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.

— Wellington

Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.

— Wellington

Hard pounding this, gentlemen; let's see who will pound longest.

— Wellington

Up Guards and at them!

— Wellington

The whole art of war consists of guessing at what is on the other side of the hill.

— Wellington

I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me.

— Wellington

Publish and be damned!

— Wellington

Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.

— Wellington

Napoleon

The word impossible is not in my dictionary.

— Napoleon

In war, moral power is to physical as three parts out of four.

— Napoleon

An army marches on its stomach.

— Napoleon

The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos.

— Napoleon

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

— Napoleon

The strong are good, only the weak are wicked.

— Napoleon

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

— Napoleon

The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.

— Napoleon

The Word That Echoes

Merde!

(Attributed response of General Cambronne when asked to surrender the Old Guard)

Cambronne later denied saying it. Victor Hugo celebrated it as 'the finest word a Frenchman ever uttered.' The French call it 'le mot de Cambronne.'