The Longest Afternoon
The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo
'No man will desert you', they cried out to their commander, 'we will fight and die with you'
On 18 June 1815, at a farmhouse in Belgium, the fate of Europe was decided. Brendan Simms' gripping, minute-by-minute account tells the story of how, against all the odds, a small band of soldiers defeated Napoleon and won the Battle of Waterloo.
Europe had been at war almost continuously for over twenty years. After a short respite in exile, Napoleon returned to France and threatened another generation of fighting across the devastated and exhausted continent. Near Waterloo in present-day Belgium two large, hastily mobilized armies faced each other to decide the future of Europe.
Unknown either to Napoleon or Wellington, the battle would be decided by a small but elite group of British and German troops given the task of defending the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte. This book tells their extraordinary tale, brilliantly capturing the fear, chaos and chanciness of battle and drawing on many previously untapped eye-witness reports. It shows how, through determination, cunning and fighting spirit, some four hundred soldiers held off many thousands of French attackers for long enough to deny victory to Napoleon - and changed the course of history.
Acclaim for Brendan Simms' Europe- The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the Present-
'Breath-stopping . . . This is top-down European history, diplomatic and political, seen from the soaring eagle's eye. But what an eagle; and what an eye.' Boyd Tonkin, Independent
'There is nothing in the recent literature to match it . . . awe-inspiring.' Josef Joffe, Prospect
'Prodigious . . . in its pages whole empires rise and fall . . . Europe draws the reader forward with its grand epic of shifting alliances.' Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal
'A tour de force . . . phenomenal . . . readers will be enthralled by the brilliance of his analysis and the dizzying breadth of his vision.' Christopher Clark, Mail on Sunday
'Compelling and provocative . . . This is sweeping history, told with verve and panache . . . a splendid book.' Economist
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Military leadership.
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769-1852 -- Military leadership.
Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815.
Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 -- Campaigns -- Belgium -- Waterloo.
Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815 -- Influence.
Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 -- Influence.
Armies -- Europe -- History -- 19th century.
Europe -- History -- 1789-1900.
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
HISTORY War Napoleonic Sim | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
HISTORY War Napoleonic Sim | Cooper (Forest Acres) | Nonfiction | In |