Britain's most famous soldier ironically met Napoleon only once on the field of battle, at Waterloo in 1815 (shown below with the guns of the horse artillery). The Duke described it as a "near run thing," won only with the timely arrival of the Prussians. Of minor Anglo-Irish nobility, Wellesley was a beneficiary of Britain's archaic system of purchase of commissions. Serving in the Low Countries in 1794-1895, his real military development commenced with his service in India (1797-1805). Benefiting further from family connections (his brother Richard was Governor-General, and later Minister to Spain), the future Duke's extraordinary talents displayed themselves in tactics, strategy, diplomacy, and perhaps most importantly, logistics. In 1808 he was the youngest lieutenant general in the army. Wellesley was appointed to command Britain's initial military response to Spain's rising against Napoleon. Landing in Portugal, he defeated the French, but was caught up in the scandal over the incredibly generous surrender terms granted. Vindicated, Wellesley returned in 1809 to command British forces in the Peninsula until the war's end in 1814. He continually bested Napoleon's marshals throughout the war, although he suffered temporary setbacks at Badajoz and Burgos. Fighting both defensive and offensive battles with his Anglo-Portuguese troops, he had a keen appreciation for terrain. His accomplishments with multi-national forces in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France made him an obvious choice for command of the Anglo-Dutch army in Belgium to face Napoleon during the Hundred Days. More Powers of the Napoleonic Era France Great Britain Duke of Wellington Profile Austria Archduke Charles Profile Russia Field Marshal Kutusov Profile Prussia Field Marshal Blucher Profile Spain The Peninsula War Ottoman Empire Minor Powers Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #17 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct