The central figure in Europe, during the first fifteen years of this century, was the Emperor Napoleon, the great military leader, who, having restored order in France—violently disturbed by the terror, anarchy, and confusion of the Revolution that broke out in 1789,—succeeded in ruling that country, and in imposing his arbitrary will upon its people. A master of the science of war, and gifted with the genius that makes a man supreme in the field of battle, he organized the military qualities of his subjects, who, under his guidance, invaded their neighbours, destroyed their institutions, and overran Europe from one end to the other. One opponent only remained unsubdued, and that was England; and so strong was her resistance to this modern Attila, that she succeeded not only in breaking his power, but in adding also to her own importance and influence in the world.

Napoleon, though a General of the first order,—whose campaigns will always commend themselves to the student of the art of war,—was less remarkable for his knowledge of that other science which makes a man a statesman. He lived by the sword, and he perished by the sword. He destroyed the prosperity of the people he subdued, but he could not cement a friendship with them. His object was war and only war, and he reaped its reward—military fame; but he did not use the absolute power he wielded, for the advantage of France, nor was he able to establish his name among the greatest and most enlightened rulers of mankind.

After a period of victory, he exhausted the resources of his country, and then there was formed against him a coalition of European Princes, who gradually closed their forces around him with ever tightening grasp, and pursued him to the heart of his Empire. At last, he was defeated and undone, and acknowledged his impotence to carry on any longer the mighty struggle in which he had been engaged (1814). Europe then restored the Bourbons as Kings of France, and determined that Napoleon should be expelled therefrom, and interned in the island of Elba,—an Emperor of a very narrow dominion, and a Monarch only in name. But scarcely had he been there a year, when he broke loose. Landing in France, he made the King (Louis XVIII.) fly from Paris; and, amid the acclamations of the people, he once more re-established himself upon the throne (March, 1815).

The Allied Sovereigns now combined to drive this disturber of the peace from France, and took immediate steps to invade that country again. In June, two of the Powers had their forces in Belgium,—the British and their immediate allies (the Dutch, Hanoverians, etc.), under the Duke of Wellington; and the Prussians, under Marshal BlÜcher. The rest were still east of the Rhine. Perceiving that his antagonists were not yet able to move forward together against him, the French Emperor resolved to strike the first blow, by advancing northwards and by attacking Wellington and BlÜcher. Accordingly, he left Paris on the 12th of June, and on the 16th he fought the battles of Ligny, where he defeated the Prussians and drove them off the field, and of Quatre-Bras, from which place the British, though they held their ground, eventually fell back slowly towards Waterloo. Giving orders to Marshal Grouchy, who was placed at the head of a considerable force, to pursue BlÜcher, and to prevent him from forming a junction with Wellington, Napoleon advanced, and attacked the British at Waterloo (June 18th). Here the most decisive battle of the present age took place. Stubbornly did the British troops maintain their position; while BlÜcher, rallying his forces, and leaving behind only a small corps to contain Grouchy, marched with the remainder to the field of Waterloo. The French were now enveloped, and completely and irretrievably defeated.

There was a Guards Division at the battle of Waterloo, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir George Cooke, formed of two Brigades. The 1st Guards Brigade (Major-General P. Maitland) was composed of the 2nd and 3rd First (now Grenadier) Guards; and the 2nd Guards Brigade (Major-General Sir John Byng) of the 2nd Coldstream and the 2nd Third (now Scots) Guards. Sir George Cooke being severely wounded during the course of the day, the command of the Guards Division devolved upon Sir John Byng.