The Napoleonicist

It is of course routinely argued that Napoleon was relying on the British anti-war movement in 1815. How realistic that was is debatable. Even if the government fell, it would have been more likely for the mismanagement of the war, rather than the war itself. Even if Waterloo was a Jena-esque defeat for Wellington, perhaps resulting in his death or capture, there would have been a very real risk it would only have caused anger and further fuelled the war sentiment. If so, Napoleon would not have been alone in history to have underestimated the belligerence and sheer bloody-mindedness of the British people. As a certain Bohemian corporal and more recently the EU commission has found out to their cost.