Explanation: Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous French-Corsican military leader and head of state who struck fear into the old monarchial regimes of Europe in the early 19th century. He failed to conquer Russia, however, and was subsequently removed from rulership by a coalition of European states, left to rule the tiny Mediterranean island of Elba as an inducement to not return to the continent (after all - the old regimes didn’t want to normalize actually PUNISHING monarchs! What a horrible thought! Nearly FRENCH!).
After a period of exile, he returned to France, with effectively the entire military defecting from the installed monarchy back to Bonaparte without so much as firing a shot. He was popular with the troops, and the installed monarchy had very little legitimacy.
Seeking to prevent Napoleon from reconsolidating power as Emperor of France, even with the empire itself largely dismantled, a coalition of European states once again formed to defeat Napoleon. The decisive battle was fought at Waterloo, where a primarily British-Prussian (German) force narrowly prevailed over the French troops, causing Napoleon to go into a second, more severe exile to the remote island of St. Helena.
In English, saying something is someone’s “Waterloo” is an idiom for a total defeat that ends an entire endeavor.
Explanation: Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous French-Corsican military leader and head of state who struck fear into the old monarchial regimes of Europe in the early 19th century. He failed to conquer Russia, however, and was subsequently removed from rulership by a coalition of European states, left to rule the tiny Mediterranean island of Elba as an inducement to not return to the continent (after all - the old regimes didn’t want to normalize actually PUNISHING monarchs! What a horrible thought! Nearly FRENCH!).
After a period of exile, he returned to France, with effectively the entire military defecting from the installed monarchy back to Bonaparte without so much as firing a shot. He was popular with the troops, and the installed monarchy had very little legitimacy.
Seeking to prevent Napoleon from reconsolidating power as Emperor of France, even with the empire itself largely dismantled, a coalition of European states once again formed to defeat Napoleon. The decisive battle was fought at Waterloo, where a primarily British-Prussian (German) force narrowly prevailed over the French troops, causing Napoleon to go into a second, more severe exile to the remote island of St. Helena.
In English, saying something is someone’s “Waterloo” is an idiom for a total defeat that ends an entire endeavor.