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  • Essay / The Prussians played an important role at the Battle of Waterloo

    The Prussians contributed to the victory at Waterloo in 1815, where an alliance led by Prussia and England fought against the French led by Napoleon. The battle began at 1 p.m. when Napoleon fired the first shot with his long-range artillery. The French attack the Anglo-Saxon allies with infantry and cavalry attacks followed by cannon fire. At 7:30 p.m., the Prussians successfully attacked the French flank. This led Napoleon to send the old guard who were then decimated. At 9:00 p.m. the French army was defeated and Napoleon was on the run, chased by the Prussians who also rounded up the fleeing French soldiers. ("The Defeat") Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo due to Prussian intervention as the Prussians led by Bl?cher gave the Anglo-Allies led by Wellington a numerical advantage as the 68,000 Anglo allies were outnumbered by the 73,000. The French were less equipped than the French because they were inferior in artillery and in the number of weapons with which they could equip a soldier. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The French had a strategic disadvantage against the Prussians, as the Prussians were also able to successfully flank the French army. Napoleon made many physiological errors during the battle that can be attributed to the Prussians, for example because Napoleon knew the Prussians were coming and he would be at a great disadvantage. He took a big risk and sent in the elite force of the French army, the old guard. which was subsequently consecrated by the Anglo-Allies. The reason why the French led by Napoleon lost the battle was because they were at a numerical disadvantage. The Prussians were directly involved in shifting the numerical advantage in favor of the Anglo-Allies, away from the French. At the start of the battle, the French outnumbered the Anglo-Allies 73,000 to 67,000. (Barbero 60-61). In addition to this, the French were better equipped than the Anglo-Allies, the French had around 100 more guns than the Anglo-Allies. This disparity was erased with the arrival of the Prussians. They brought 25,000 infantrymen, (“Les Quinze”), 3,000 cavalry and an artillery composed of 88 cannons. (Barbero 60-61). This diverted Napoleon's favor towards the newly formed alliance, now composed of Prussian and Anglo-Saxon allies. This put France at a disadvantage because now the Alliance outnumbered the French, 110,000 to 73,000. (Barbero 60-61). This gave the Anglo-Saxon allies a huge advantage as most battles of this era were won by whoever had better cannons and artillery and more people to sacrifice. This gave the allies a huge advantage which led to their victory. One of the main reasons why Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo was that he had many strategic disadvantages due to the Prussians. One of these strategic disadvantages is brought by the Prussians who recovered after their first defeat against the French. The Prussians manage to flank the French army, which puts serious pressure on Napoleon, who sends 15,000 men to stop the 40,000 Prussian men (GREAT CAMPAIGNS 230). The French lost this encounter and at the end of the battle, the Prussians ate away at the flank of the French army. (Clayton 432). Another strategic advantage that the Prussians provide is not against the French but for their Anglo-Saxon allies. ("Give me night or give me Blucher" Duke of Wellington) This quote was said by Wellington.