This English general was the true conqueror of Napoleon. The emperor’s defeat began in the quagmire of the Iberian Peninsula with the guerrilla warfare of the Spanish and Portuguese partisans. The English general knew how to harass and defeat Napoleon’s generals.
When the emperor made the mistake of attacking Russia, defeat and downfall were already written, and Wellington would know how to enter France at the right moment. When Napoleon returned, there would be Waterloo, and there too, Wellington would know how to trap and defeat the best tactician in Europe.
Waterloo could have been an opera, as it was the clash of two geniuses, two giants, and Napoleon could not resist the desire to confront Wellington.
What would have happened if he had scorned the confrontation and chosen to pursue the Prussian? Maybe, even probably, he would have won the battle. For the first time, Napoleon did not choose the battlefield, allowing Wellington to gain the upper hand.
The author takes us through the adventures of the war in Spain and Portugal. We see Wellington as a lord, a great lord, and for this aristocrat, war was a matter for gentlemen, from which Napoleon was excluded, and this could also explain his defeat.
Thierry Jan
