Two hundred years ago today, on a sodden Belgian field, one of the greatest conquerors of all time went down to agonizing and ultimate defeat. All that remained was “La Gloire,” the intangible exhilaration shared by all who participated and survived.

Napoleon Bonaparte, by dint of relentless focus and ambition, abetted by unmatched talent, once had crowned himself emperor of France. His military and political genius was manifest throughout Europe and, indeed, the world. But hubris proved a fatal flaw.

Richard Barbuto of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth discusses the leaders and followers, the myths and the legends, and the swirling maelstrom of combat that marked Napoleon’s Waterloo.