WaterlooA fabulous story, superbly told Max Hastings The bloodbath at Waterloo ended a war that had engulfed the world for over twenty years. It also finished the career of the charismatic Napoleon Bonaparte. It ensured the final liberation of Germany and the restoration of the old European monarchies, and it represented one of the very few defeats for the glorious French army, most of whose soldiers remained devoted to their Emperor until the very end.