Identifier: grandestcenturyi00nort (find matches)
Title: Grandest century in the world's history; containing a full and graphic account of the marvelous achievements of one hundred years, including great battles and conquests; the rise and fall of nations; wonderful growth and progress of the United States ... etc., etc
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Northrop, Henry Davenport, 1836-1909
Subjects: Nineteenth century
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa., National publishing co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
theRoyalists in that province, and besidesproviding troops under Massena andSuchet for the defense of the southernfrontiers of France, Napoleon had anarmy assembled in the northeast foractive operations under his own com-mand, which amounted to between 120and 130,000 men, with a superb park ofartillery, and in the highest possible stateof equipment, discipline and efficiency. The approach of the many Russians,Austrians, Bavarians and other foes ofthe French Emperor to the Rhine wasnecessarily slow; but the two most activeof the allied powers had occupiedBelgium with their troops while Na-poleon was organizing his forces. Mar-shal Blucher was there with 116,000Prussians, and the Duke of Wellingtonwas there also with about 106,000 troops,either British or in British pay. Napoleon determined to attack theseenemies in Belgium. The disparity ofnumbers was indeed great, but delaywas sure to increase the number of hisenemies much faster than reinforce-ments could join his own ranks. He con-
Text Appearing After Image:
ail 312 DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON AT WATERLOO. sidered also that the enemys troopswere cantoned under the command oftwo generals, and composed of nationsdiffering both in interest and in feel-ings. His own army was under his ownsole command. It was composed ex-clusively of French soldiers, mostlyveterans, well acquainted with theirofficers and with each other, and full ofenthusiastic confidence in their com-mander. If he could separate the Prus-sians from the British, so as to attackeach in detail, he felt sanguine of suc-cess, not only against these, the mostresolute of his many adversaries, butalso against the other masses that wereslowly laboring up against his south-tastern frontiers. The French Concealed. The triple chain of strong fortresseswhich the French possessed on the Bel-gian frontier formed a curtain, behindwhich Napoleon was able to concen-trate his army, and to conceal till thevery last moment the precise line ofattack which he intended to take. Onthe other hand, Blucher an

Note About Images