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The Commanders

Waterloo heroes assembled at Apsley House

The battle of waterloo engaged a multinational collection of armies, commanded by principal generals whose military reputations were in high regard prior to the decisive fight. Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, led the Anglo- Allied Army, composed of nearly 70,000 men from the British Army and the King’s German Legion from Hanover, as well as troops from the Netherlands, Belgium, Brunswick, and Nassau. He united with Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and his Prussian army, composed of nearly 50,000 men, to challenge Napoleon’s French Army of the North — 70,000 men who all joined the Emperor of the French’s final stand voluntarily.

None of these three main commanders were seen as innovators of military technique. Rather than instituting new tactics or theories within battle, they built upon systems of combat already in place and tailored them to the specific landscape and circumstance of the engagement.

Items on Display

  1. 54 mm lead soldiers representing the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte

    Various European manufacturers
    20th century

  2. Napoleon

    Carle Vernet (artist)
    Levachez (engraver)
    London, Palmer, c. 1815
    Hand-colored aquatint 41 x 30.5 cm
    Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica and established his prominence as a military officer in the French Army, fighting opponents of the French Revolution. Due to the success of his campaigns, his military cunning, political aptness, and general ruthlessness, he quickly ascended to high levels of power under the First French Republic. He transitioned from the position of one of three consuls to the First Consul for Life by 1799. Then, in December of 1804, he was crowned Emperor of the French. Growing his sphere of influence, Napoleon sought increasing dominance over central Europe and other continents through military campaigns.

  3. The Marquis of Wellington, K.B. at the Battle of Salamanca

    A. Aglio (artist)
    London, H. S. Minasi (engraver), 1812
    Hand-colored stipple engraving 37.7 x 47.2 cm
    Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, was perhaps the most celebrated military opponent of Napoleon. When he gained command of the Anglo-Allied Army, he had already achieved great prominence from his successes in the Peninsular War (1808-1814), and was considered among contemporaries as the greatest British general since the Duke of Marlborough. His success was seen as a result of his industriousness and commitment to supervision, as he was well known for the responsible manner of tending to his soldiers.

  4. Feldmarschall Blücher

    William Heath (artist), 1814
    Watercolor 33.3 x 38.5 cm.
    Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher was one of the most celebrated Prussian soldiers of his time, and another staunch opponent to Napoleon's rise to power. Despite being the least experienced of these three men in independent command, Blücher had logged a history of fighting Napoleon on the Prussian front prior to Waterloo, commanding a Hussar regiment in Frederick the Great’s Army. Blücher's troops gave him the nickname “Marschall Vorwärts”, meaning "Marshal Forward", for his refusal to accept defeat in battle. He was almost killed at the Battle of Ligny, two days before Waterloo, when his dead horse fell on him.