Could Napoleon have won Waterloo??

Question

was he a victim of bad luck? or was he destined to fail?

Answer 1

Possibly, there was a heavy rainstorm the night before the battle.
In the morning the battlefield was soft and muddy. Instead of starting the battle early Napoleon decided to wait until the battlefield dried out. In those days cannonballs were mostly solid-shot, they were meant to bounce along the ground killing the soldiers as it went, but if the ground is too wet the cannonballs will stick in the mud. Napoleon waited until 11:00 in the morning to start the battle. If he would of started the battle early in the morning he might of won before the Prussians showed up.

Note to sweetpea : Waterloo is in Belgium

Answer 2

Yes! he very nearly did, he failed to stop the Prussian Von Blücher joining up with the British, apart from that and him having a little nap in the middle of the battle (where his Staff were to afraid to disturb him) the French were on the point of winning.

Answer 3

He certainly could have won. If the Prussian army had not arrived when it did, Wellington might not have been able to win. Wellington himself is reputed to have said the battle was: "....a damn nice thing - the nearest run thing you ever saw...", - i.e. it was touch and go who would win at one stage!

Answer 4

When it comes to Russia, timing is everything. He had a window and he missed it. The cold of winter and the mud of spring got it. I guess you could say Napoleon was a victim of Global weather change.

Answer 5

If he could have won, he would have.
He had simply met a superior military strategist, in Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.

Answer 6

Bad luck certainly didn't help

Answer 7

I'm not familiar enough with that battle, but I'm glad he lost because France sucks.