A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, combined with a Prussian army under the command of Prince Blücher. Two large forces under Wellington and Blücher assembled close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack in the hope of destroying them before they could join in a coordinated invasion of France with other members of the coalition. Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. The defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French, and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.
Waterloo cost Wellington around 15,000 dead or wounded and Blücher some 7,000 (810 of which were suffered by just one unit: the 18th Regiment, which served in Bülow's 15th Brigade, had fought at both Frichermont and Plancenoit, and won 33 Iron Crosses). Napoleon's losses were 24,000 to 26,000 killed or wounded and included 6,000 to 7,000 captured with an additional 15,000 deserting subsequent to the battle and over the following days.
In 1820, the Netherlands' King William I ordered the construction of a monument. The Lion Mound (
visit link) , a giant mound, was constructed here using 300,000 cubic metres. Apart from the Lion Mound, there are several other monuments throughout the battlefield.
Two memorial plaque affixed to the walls of the Haie Sainte.
Plaque Inscription
LE 18 JUIN 1815
VERS 18 H 30
LA FERME DE LA HAyE SAINTE
FUT ENLEVÉE PAR LE MARÉCHAL NEY
GRACE AUX ASSAUTS HÉROÏQUES
DES SAPEURS DU 1ER RÉGIMENT DU GÉNIE
DU COLONEL LAMARE
2E COMPAGNIE DU 2E BATAILLON
ET DU 13E RÉGIMENT D’INFANTERIE
LÉGÈRE DE LA DIVISION DONZELOT
FONDATION NAPOLÉON A.F.E.W.
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Le 1er Régiment de Sapeurs-Mineurs eut à Waterloo 1 officier tué, 1 blessé mortellement, 9 officiers blessés. Cette unité était commandée par le Colonel Jean-Baptiste LAMARE, né le 29 septembre 1775 à Bruxelles. Il fut naturalisé français en 1816.
Cette plaque en marbre noir, apposée sur les murs de la Haie Sainte, fut également inaugurée le 7 novembre 1992, en présence du colonel de la Forcade, par le chef de bataillon e.r. P. Guyot. président de l'Amicale des Anciens du 1er Régiment du Génie.