Whether it be a one hour guided tour, two hours, or even three, the Guides 1815 will tell you a compelling story of the history of this place, and what a story it is!
Having all taken the official training programme, under the auspices of the Walloon Region, our guides are passionate about the subject, all living a short distance from the battlefield. They will bring to life the Waterloo Campaign, including the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras on June 16th 1815, and of course the Battle of Waterloo itself on June 18th. On the actual ground where the battle was fought, in the fields south of Waterloo, you will visualise the unfolding of the battle, as we take you through one of the bloodiest events in European history (12,000 dead and 35,000 wounded). You will hear the trumpets and cannon fire, imagine the impetuous cavalry, sabres glinting in the sun, and from the top of the Lion Mound, you would be the first to see the arrival of the Prussian army: coming from Wavre, and having marched all day, they burst onto the scene, and are about to inflict upon Napoleon Bonaparte the same fate which the he hoped to inflict upon his adversaries. And you will hear about the retreat of the Imperial Guard…
Thus, you will learn why Napoleon lost this battle, and the consequences for Belgium, and Europe.
The different sites you can visit, such as the Panorama (a vast diorama 120 meters long and 12 metres high), the farmhouse of Mont-Saint-Jean (field hospital for the Allies), the farmhouse of Hougoumont, the Wellington Museum (Duke of Wellington’s HQ) or Napoleon’s “last HQ” (DQGN), will immerse you in the heart of the battle of June 18th 1815.
With the Battle of Waterloo, the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte was over. Bonaparte (45 years old) had been defeated by a coalition of armies on the “mournful plain” (as described by Victor Hugo): The Allies, under the command of the Duke of Wellington (also 45 years old), and the Prussian army under the command of Marshall Blucher, 72 years of age. The defeat of the French Emperor would bring almost a century of relative stability to Europe.