<P> Bonaparte and the authors who support him have always attempted to portray the great catastrophes that befell him as the result of chance . They seek to make their readers believe that through his great wisdom and extraordinary energy the whole project had already moved forward with the greatest confidence, that complete success was but a hair's breadth away, when treachery, accident, or even fate, as they sometimes call it, ruined everything . He and his supporters do not want to admit that huge mistakes, sheer recklessness, and, above all, overreaching ambition that exceeded all realistic possibilities, were the true causes . </P> <P> Wellington himself wrote in his official dispatch back to London: "I should not do justice to my own feelings, or to Marshal Blücher and the Prussian army, if I did not attribute the successful result of this arduous day to the cordial and timely assistance I received from them . The operation of General Bülow upon the enemy's flank was a most decisive one; and, even if I had not found myself in a situation to make the attack which produced the final result, it would have forced the enemy to retire if his attacks should have failed, and would have prevented him from taking advantage of them if they should unfortunately have succeeded". </P> <P> Despite their differences on other matters, discussed at length in Carl von Clausewitz's study of the Campaign of 1815 and Wellington's famous 1842 essay in reply to it, the Prussian Clausewitz agreed with Wellington on this assessment . Indeed, Clausewitz viewed the battle prior to the Prussian intervention more as a mutually exhausting stalemate than as an impending French victory, with the advantage, if any, leaning towards Wellington . </P> <P> An alternative view is that towards the end of the battle Wellington's Anglo - allied army faced imminent defeat without Prussian help . For example, Parkinson (2000) writes: "Neither army beat Napoleon alone . But whatever the part played by Prussian troops in the actual moment when the Imperial Guard was repulsed, it is difficult to see how Wellington could have staved off defeat, when his centre had been almost shattered, his reserves were almost all committed, the French right remained unmolested and the Imperial Guard intact..... Blücher may not have been totally responsible for victory over Napoleon, but he deserved full credit for preventing a British defeat". Steele (2014) writes: "Blücher's arrival not only diverted vital reinforcements, but also forced Napoleon to accelerate his effort against Wellington . The tide of battle had been turned by the hard - driving Blücher . As his Prussians pushed in Napoleon's flank . Wellington was able to shift to the offensive". </P>

When did the battle of the some start