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 day he withdrew northwards, to a defensive position he had reconnoitred the previous year—the low ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean, south of the village of Waterloo and the Sonian Forest. Napoleon, with the reserves, made a late start on 17 June and joined Ney at Quatre Bras at 13:00 to attack Wellington's army but found the position empty. The French pursued Wellington's retreating army to Waterloo; however, due to bad weather, mud and the head start that Napoleon's tardy advance had allowed Wellington, apart from a cavalry action at Genappe, there was no substantial engagement. Before leaving Ligny, Napoleon had ordered Grouchy,