Three years after his retreat from Russia, Napoleon faced the allied forces of Britain and Prussia at Waterloo. Again, the weather was to play its part. Very heavy rain in the region made the ground muddy, which delayed Napoleon’s attack. The delay meant that the allies, under the leadership of the Duke of Wellington, were able to send in additional troops and supplies, which ultimately helped them to victory.
Two months before Napoleon’s historic defeat at Waterloo, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia caused heavy rains in Europe that soon succeeded in bringing him down.
The defeat of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 is widely believed to be due to the inclement weather in England. But a new study suggests that Napoleon’s misfortune with the rain and mud was caused by a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia two months prior to the battle.
On the night before Napoleon’s final battle, heavy rains flooded the Waterloo region of Belgium and as a result, the French Emperor elected to delay his troops. Napoleon was worried that the soggy ground would slow down his army.
While that might have been viewed as a wise choice on Napoleon’s part, the extra time allowed the Prussian Army to join the British-led Allied army and help defeat the French. 25,000 of Napoleon’s men were killed and wounded, and once he returned to Paris, Napoleon abdicated his rule and lived the rest of his life in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena.
And none of that may have happened if not for one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history. The eruption of Mount Tambora could be heard from up to 1,600 miles away with ash falling as far as 800 miles away from the volcano itself. For two days after the explosion, the 350-mile region that surrounds the mountain was left in pitch darkness.
Picture Credit : Google