Waterloo June 18,1815 - The Battle for Modern Europe

"Andrew Roberts sets the political, strategic, and historical scene before offering an account of each successive stage of the battle. He also draws on a recently discovered document from 1854 that casts new light on just how the battle was lost. It is a confession from a French officer that helps to explain why the French cavalry charged when it did - unsupported by infantry or artillery, and headlong at well-defended British squares. It shows that accident rather than design may have led to the debacle that lost Napoleon the battle, the campaign, and the war." Waterloo is a portrait of a legendary turning point in modern history, after which the balance of world power, the legend of Napoleon, and the art of war were never the same.