Who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo? What's your name?

Speaking of Waterloo, people think of a place and a person besides failure. This place is the Belgian town of Waterloo, and this man is the historical giant of Europe, Napoléon Bonaparte.

Waterloo is about 20 kilometers south of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Like many small towns in other European countries,

Waterloo town is simple and quiet, with few features, but its name resounds all over the world. Even people who know nothing about it often talk about it. When someone loses in a lawsuit or game, they will definitely say that someone has suffered from Waterloo.

Iron lion peak as a symbol of the battlefield

2.5 kilometers south of Waterloo Town is the famous ancient battlefield of Waterloo. Although it is now the most important tourist attraction in Belgium, it has not been developed at will. Except for a few small-scale memorial halls, no civilian or public facilities have been built in the ancient battlefield, which is almost the same as that of 180 years ago. The only difference is that there is a small mound mountain in the shape of a pyramid in the south of the ancient battlefield. This hill is not only a symbol of the ancient battlefield, but also an observation deck. Standing on the platform at the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the battlefield of Waterloo.

This mountain is called Iron Lion Peak, which belongs to man-made mountain and was built in 1826. There were no bulldozers at that time, and the 50-meter-high mountain peak was said to have been built by local women from two kilometers away.

Climbing 226 steps, people were greeted by a majestic iron lion at the summit. Its front paws gripped an iron ball symbolizing the world, and its eyes "lion" stared at France in the south, revealing a chill in majesty. This lion weighs 18 tons. It is said that it was cast with captured French guns to commemorate the victory of the European Coalition forces. There is no inscription on the pedestal under the iron lion, only the words "18 15.6.438+08" are engraved. But it is these simple numbers that make people involuntarily think of the war that affected the historical process of Europe more than 80 years ago.

The second-rate general won the first-rate war.

1815 June18, the French army with Napoléon Bonaparte as commander in chief and the European allied forces with the Duke of Wellington as commander in chief launched a soul-stirring Armageddon here. The two sides invested more than 6,543,800 troops. After repeated fighting, the fighting was fierce and the fields were red. The decisive battle lasted about 12 hours. The next morning, a royal homing pigeon flew into Buckingham Palace in London with good news. At this moment, European monarchs finally breathed a sigh of relief. They finally learned that their army had defeated the arrogant French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte.

In the history of world wars, Waterloo War is famous for its short front, short time, great influence and unexpected ending. As victor hugo said, Waterloo was a first-class war, but the winner was a second-rate general. As for the reason, victor hugo also described it in the Waterloo Volume of Les Miserables: the day before the war, it suddenly rained heavily, and the whole field of Waterloo became a swamp. Napoléon Bonaparte's main fighting force, the artillery unit, struggled in the swamp and could not enter the position for a long time, so the attacking artillery came late. Therefore, failure is the inevitable result. If there had been no heavy rain, the artillery fire of the attack would have started long ago, and the war would have ended long before the Prussians gathered around. Will history be another way of writing?

This war not only completely ended Napoléon Bonaparte's military career and political life, but also changed the historical process of Europe. It has also made this vast land filled with the bones of more than 60,000 soldiers go down in history forever and become an ancient battlefield for generations to mourn. The word "Waterloo" has since become synonymous with "failure" and has been widely used all over the world.

Victory didn't make the winner rich and famous.

Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington's General Staff is located in Waterloo, a two-story building, which is now the Wellington Memorial Hall. This memorial hall still holds the "Letter of Grant" from the King of Belgium about Wellington: the title of Prince Waterloo I was awarded to Wellington, and the forest and land around Waterloo 1.083 hectares were also awarded. This title and fief will always be effective and hereditary.

Regrettably, although Wellington earned a lot, it did not leave any prestige. For tourists from all over the world who come to mourn the ancient battlefield, it is not difficult to find the General Wellington Memorial Hall. Strangely, however, tourists don't seem to be interested in the victorious general. Few people have been to his memorial hall, and many people don't even know why Wellington is a man. People who come to Waterloo only know that there is Napoléon Bonaparte, but they don't know that there is Wellington. This is really an intriguing strange thing.

In today's Waterloo, apart from this memorial hall where the Duke of Wellington lived as the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces, there are no memorial sites, monuments or other memorials about this victorious general. There are many small shops selling souvenirs in Waterloo. These souvenirs, whether pictures or commemorative badges, are almost all Napoléon Bonaparte's head and name, but it is difficult to see anything related to Wellington. The only place where you can hear or see the name of Wellington is the Waterloo War Memorial Hall under the Iron Lion Peak. There are many pictures, objects and audio-visual products here, which reproduce the course of this war to tourists and naturally mention the commanders of the two warring sides. It is here that many tourists know for the first time that the opponent Napoléon Bonaparte met in Waterloo turned out to be an Englishman. His name is Wellington.

Failure ennobles the loser.

A few days after the Waterloo War, Napoléon Bonaparte was exiled again. This time, he was exiled to an island in the Atlantic Ocean. Five years later, 182 1 died alone on the island.

However, "failure makes the loser more noble, and the fallen Napoléon Bonaparte seems to be taller than the standing Napoléon Bonaparte." Victor hugo's words have been confirmed in Waterloo today. Next to the Napoléon Bonaparte Memorial Hall under the Iron Lion Peak, at the entrance of Waterloo Town, the bronze statue of this short general stands proudly on a high cylindrical pedestal. The proud French emperor was dressed in military uniform, with his body slightly tilted, his arms crossed and his eyes looking straight ahead. That look is natural and unrestrained and confident, just like a supercilious winner. If Wellington were still alive, I wonder how he would feel about the statue of Napoléon Bonaparte.

For Belgians, it takes extraordinary bearing to erect a statue of a failed aggressor on their own land. This is not only a respect for history, but also a respect for Napoléon Bonaparte. In the hearts of all Europeans, including Belgium, Napoléon Bonaparte is still a great politician, a first-class general and a real hero, although he is cruel, violent and even despicable. Although Napoléon Bonaparte was an out-and-out loser on the battlefield of Waterloo, his name, his spirit and his influence far overwhelmed his opponents, thus staying in this ancient land forever.