Column: The Darkness Before The Light

There are points in history where the crucible of events and circumstance force men to take a stand. At the Battle of Waterloo, while the British Army and their allies stood on the threshold of defeat, Arthur Wellesley was lying down with some of his soldiers, watching the French Imperial Guard advance to the center of their lines. Up until this point, the Imperial Guard had never been bested in battle. They were the best in the world at what they did. During the Napoleonic Era, whenever opposing armies saw the Imperial Guard march, it usually signaled the battle was over and not in their favor. Wellesley had bested Michele Ney, one of the best of Napoleon's Field Marshals, all day. He paid a price though. His army was battered, casualties mounted and there were no more reserves. With the Prussians advancing on his flank, Napolean decided the time was right to end the battle so he could settle matters with Blucher, the Prussian Field Marshal and long time nemesis of Napoleon. It was at...