Waterloo - A Not So Unassuming Landscape



By Silvia Brigido - Blog Entry I

As we tour Brussels, the "capital" of the European Union, it becomes increasingly apparent how this beautiful city has become a hub for all cultures, nationalities and languages. Here, people can’t help but feel as though they are a citizen of the world. A statement that may sound idealistic to some, yet that seems to be one of the goals of the European Union. That is, to join forces and built upon each nation’s strengths to form a community of collaboration amongst each other as an attempt to avoid rivalry. However, nationalism seems to be stewing just below the surface. European countries have a long history of wars based on national pride. Therefore, it only makes sense that the people of this continent would feel exhausted by their history and hope for unity and diplomatic cooperation as opposed to further conflicts and division.

Today our group toured the area known as Waterloo, a vast empty field in which one’s keen eye and power of imagination is necessary to visualize how significant this landscape was in order to succeed on that fateful day. It was on this apparently unassuming landscape where one of the most decisive European battles occurred. It was fought between Napoleon Bonaparte leading the French, and the Duke of Wellington, leading the British and with the support of the Prussian army under the command of Von Blucher. The battle of Waterloo, a day of grueling bloodshed, was of great significance and changed the course of European history after 20 years of conflicts. The events on June 18 of 1815, led Europe into 50 years of peace and opened doors to diplomatic resolutions.

Our group was lucky to get an amazingly detailed tour by one of our own, John Callaghan, who is incredibly well versed in all the details of the events that occurred during the whole campaign which lasted for three days. We got to walk along every edge of this field and see exactly how tactful and skilled those commanders had to be in order to best use the area. It quickly became apparent that the landscape alone was one of the deciding factors between the victor versus the fallen. It is an area made up of many ridges creating a natural barrier from incoming fire and an advantage of attack. The one who understood this best was the Duke of Wellington and it just may have been a huge factor in his victory. Additionally, communication was the second ingredient toward victory. While Wellington and Blucher had clear, constant and effective communication amongst themselves and their men, Bonaparte was lacking the same, despite haven been one of the most masterful war lords in history.

The results of this battle led Europe into an alliance between France and Britain, and stimulated the unification of the Prussian states into what is Germany today. Thus, it could be said that these were steps toward diplomacy and may have steered Europe into what we know it to be today - a Union of strengths.