Waterloo: Myth and Reality

“A radical re-assessment . . . This is fascinating stuff . . . a most useful addition to the Waterloo—and indeed Napoleonic—bookshelf.”—Military Modelling Magazine

More has probably been written about the Waterloo campaign than almost any other in history. It was the climax of the Napoleonic Wars and forms a watershed in both European and world history. However, the lethal combination of national bias, willful distortion and simple error has unfortunately led to the constantly regurgitated traditional “accepted” version being significantly wrong regarding many episodes in the campaign. Oft-repeated claims have morphed into established fact, and it is high time that these are challenged and finally dismissed.

Gareth Glover has spent a decade uncovering hundreds of previously unpublished eyewitness accounts of the battle and campaign, which have highlighted many of these myths and errors. In this groundbreaking history, based on extensive primary research of all the nations involved, he provides a very readable and beautifully balanced account of the entire campaign while challenging these distorted claims and myths, and he provides clear evidence to back his version of events. His thoughtful reassessment of this decisive episode in world history will be stimulating reading for those already familiar with the Napoleonic period, and it will form a fascinating introduction for readers who are discovering this extraordinary event for the first time.

“An enjoyable and informative review of the battle that shaped Europe for the next two centuries.”—Firetrench