On June 18, 1815, the fields near the Belgian village of Waterloo became the stage for Napoleon Bonaparte’s final gamble. After escaping exile on Elba, he returned to power in France and sought to defeat the coalition forming against him before it fully united. Facing the Duke of Wellington’s Anglo-allied army and the Prussians under Gebhard von Blücher, Napoleon launched a bold attack. His seasoned veterans fought fiercely, and French cavalry charges shook Wellington’s lines. Yet delays, muddy