A Clash of Wills: Napoleon vs. Wellington, 1808-1815
By Peter Joseph McLaughlin
Bachelor’s Thesis, University of Arizona, 2009
Abstract: For nearly twenty years, Napoleon Bonaparte was the master of Europe. However, as time went on, his enemies gradually learned how to fight and defeat him on the battlefield. One such rival was the Duke of Wellington. AlthoughWellington never met Napoleon until the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the Duke gained valuable experience against Napoleon’s generals and their forces during the Peninsular War (1808-1814). In this conflict, the French generals tried to use three main Napoleonic tactics against Wellington. The Duke proved to be up to the task, and not only did he defeat the French in Iberia, he also gained valuable tactical knowledge on how to defeat Napoleon. In Iberia, Wellington got a glimpse of Napoleonic strategies without facing the Emperor himself, which indicates that Wellington adapted and learned how to combat this system of warfare. In this thesis, I examine the relationship between the two commanders, and then I analyze both the Peninsular War and Waterloo in order to expose how Napoleon ultimately met defeat, and how Wellington obtained glory at the Emperor’s expense.
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