After 23 years of almost continuous warfare in the period known as the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars King Louis was again on the throne of France, the bulk of the French Army disbanded and the former Emperor Napoleon pensioned off to Elba. With reports of growing unrest in France reaching Napoleon he decided to regain his crown. He landed on the French coast on 1st March 1815 and commenced a triumphant march on Paris gathering support as he went. By the time he reached Paris King Louis had fled and Napoleon was once more acclaimed as the Emperor.

The old coalition partners of Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia were not about to accept this as a 'fate accomplis' and soon their soldiers were marching towards the borders of France. In a whirlwind round of activity the Emperor recalled his old comrades in arms back to the colours and called up tens of thousands of conscripts to create a field Army of 280,000 to meet this challenge. Using his tried and tested strategy of the central position Napoleon planned to beat the coalition armies in detail as they arrived one after the other. Rapidly crossing the French border before the British Dutch/Belgian army under Wellington had concentrated, Napoleon had time to defeat the Prussians under Blucher at Ligny and at the same time, fighting a fierce battle at Quatre Bras, to prevent Wellington's army from joining the Prussians.

Wellington decided to make a stand at Waterloo on the road to Brussels if Blucher promised to send at least one Army Corp as support. The indomitable Blucher promised more than that. Instead of falling back on his supply lines which Napoleon was relying on, Blucher promised to join Wellington with his entire Army and the stage was set for the final climactic battle of the Napoleonic wars.

The Battle of Waterloo was notable in that this was the first time that the Duke of Wellington, who had beaten the French time and again in the Iberian Peninsular, faced Napoleon on the battlefield. For his part the French Emperor was confident that he could deal with the British and the allied contingents as he had many opponents in the past in a classic set piece battle, the last that either ever fought.

Your guide, John Lee, has studied the campaigns of the Napoleonic period for many years and is looking forward to exploring the battlefields of 1815.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Friday): Depart Victoria Coach Station London 0900. Dover – Calais ferry. Dinner and overnight Nimy. (3 nights).
Day 2: 16th June: The Battle of Ligny; a partial victory for Napoleon against the Prussians. Lunch break in Nivelle Ney clashes with Wellington at Quatre Bras.
Day 3: 18th June Napoleon meets, and is defeated by, Wellington's Allied Army on the battlefield of Waterloo. Includes La Belle Alliance, Hougemont, Mercers Battery, La Haye Sainte and the ridge of Mont St Jean. Lunch break and museum in Mont St. Jean.
Day 4: Wellington's Headquarters and the church and memorials in Waterloo. Lunch break in Waterloo. Calais – Dover ferry. Arrive approx 1845 Dover and 2030 London.