Waterloo

Waterloo (1815)

King William I of the Netherlands, who came to the throne in 1813, had the job of quickly forming a new and large army. There were so many soldiers required that he was obliged to retain conscription. In addition, and idea had taken root: that every nation must be capable of defending itself, with an army consisting of natives. The soldier was now called upon to defend hearth and home from the enemy.

When Napoleon, returned from exile on Elba, marched towards the Netherlands in 1815 in order to defeat the allies there, William I had a strange army. It consisted of veterans from the Napoleonic wars, conscripts and a few hired foreign units. His allies were the British, who also had many hired German units in their ranks, and the Prussians. The Dutch detachment fought under the leadership of the Prince of Orange, later to become William II, at Quatre Bras (16th June) and Waterloo (18th June). It was here that Napoleon was finally defeated.