The Battle of Waterloo: A Landmark in Britain's Geopolitical Strategy
The UK's post-Napoleonic strategy has taken on new life in the Brexit era.
Stratfor Staff
June 18, 2015
Summary
Two hundred years ago, the Battle of Waterloo put an end to France's imperial ambitions and marked the beginning of a century of British global dominance. The battle was a landmark in Britain's lasting strategy to retain a balance of power on the Continent. But the culmination of World War II brought about a fundamental change in this strategy that is now playing out as a EU referendum bill makes its way through the British Parliament.
Analysis
"It has been a damned nice thing. The nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life." Two hundred years ago today, the Duke of Wellington uttered these words after his famous victory over Napoleon Bonaparte's forces at the Battle of Waterloo. The battle had indeed been hard-fought; Wellington's 67,000 British troops stared down the barrels of France's 69,000-strong army. Muddy conditions mitigated some of the…
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