Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo (, , ) is a Walloon municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, which in 2011 had a population of 29,706 and an area of . It is north of Braine-l'Alleud, which is the site of the Battle of Waterloo, where the resurgent Napoleon was defeated for the final time in 1815. Waterloo is a Francophone town. The placename has Brabantian Dutch origins. The first element is most likely "water", but it should be understood locally as "wet". The second element is "lo(o)", an ancient word for "forest" or "clearing in a forest", coming either from
Battle of Waterloo moving through Mons to the south-west of Brussels. This would have pushed Wellington closer to the Prussian forces, led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, but may have cut Wellington's communications with his base at Ostend. In order to delay Wellington's deployment, Napoleon spread false intelligence which suggested that Wellington's supply chain from the channel ports would be cut. By June, Napoleon had raised a total army strength of about 300,000 men. The force at his disposal at Waterloo was less than one third that size, but the rank and file were nearly all loyal and experienced soldiers. Napoleon divided his