Reviewed alongside volume II

The Waterloo Campaign of 1815 is a tour de force, and anyone interested in this campaign should have these volumes on their bookshelves. If you only wish to read one account of Waterloo, this is the one to purchase. It is a worthy winner of the Templar Medal for British Military History and the RUSI Duke of Wellington's Medal for Military History.

Australian Army Journal

"A fresh and meticulously researched account of of of the most climactic battles in history. Its breadth of scope is comprehensive, importantly including the political perspective and how it impacted upon the military operations. It forms an essential guide to all aspects of the final campaign of two of the the nineteenth century's greatest commanders, Napoleon and Wellington"

Philip Haythornthwaite

No-one knows more about the Waterloo Campaign than John Hussey, and this extraordinary book is the culmination of his life’s work in Napoleonic War studies. He is able to deal with the big geo-strategic overview of the Hundred Days but also the arcane and intricate issues such as the d’Erlon Fiasco with equally masterly comprehensiveness. It will be decades before this book is superseded as the best account of those extraordinary events of 1815.’

Andrew Roberts

Hussey succeeds in providing readers with a fresh perspective on thinking about Waterloo and its impact on the course of European diplomacy for the remainder of the nineteenth century. His writing is clear, entertaining and enhanced with an abundance of maps, tables, and detailed endnotes. I highly recommend Waterloo, The Campaign of 1815 Volume I, from Elba to Ligny and Quatre Bras to experienced students of the Napoleonic Wars and to novices alike.

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Argunners

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BPS News

We live in an age of over used superlatives and in that vein this book is superb, excellent, and wonderful. But on a serious plane, suffice it to say that, this book makes a significant contribution to the literature about the Waterloo campaign. It is a work of great scholarship going in depth into the political, military and human factors which, for this volume, culminate at Ligny and Quatre Bras. It could have been a very dry academic tome but is in fact presented in an easy, readable style...

This volume has set the new gold standard against which to measure books about ‘Waterloo’. I cannot recommend it too highly. Now for volume II, Hurrah!

Read the complete review here.

Clash of Steel

Summarised as the definitive overthrow of the Hofschroer thesis.

British Journal for Military History

With almost 1000 pages of main text it is not a short work however it is not your average paper filler; every page adds substance to the events unfolding. ‘Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815’ is an authoritative masterpiece that is eminently readable. It draws one in, engrossing while challenging the reader’s preconceptions, and simply it is very hard to put down. These books are highly recommended for those who have an inclination for higher command.

Read the complete review here.

Australian Naval Institute, Dr Gregory P. Gilbert

John Hussey's magnificent history leaves no stone unturned. He addresses so many aspects that so many histories of warfare ignore and his work is unlikely to be beaten for detail any time soon. This is meticulously researched and it is beautifully written. Andrew Roberts' is quoted on the back of the book saying it will be 'decades before this book is superseded as the best account of those extraordinary events of 1815'. For anyone who wants to understand the Hundred Days and Waterloo, this is a must-read.

Amazon Customer

This is magisterial history. The history of nineteenth-century Europe and its diplomacy can't be understood without a knowledge of 1815, and 1815 can't be understood without picking through the earlier stages of the Napoleonic adventure. Hussey's great success is in showing how Waterloo was formed by what went earlier and in turn formed what went after. His research and analysis is rigorous, but what is no less important is the clarity of the narrative and the delight of the style. A book to read, to keep and to re-read.

Amazon Customer

This is without doubt a highly valuable addition to the bookshelves of Napoleonic fans and to any with an interest in military strategy. I am certainly looking forward to Volume 2!

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Amazon Customer

If you are looking for a one volume history of Napoleon's escape from Elba to the twin battles of Quatre Bras and Ligny, this is it. I cannot wait for the release of Volume II, and the author's telling of the battles of Waterloo and Wavre.

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A Wargamers Needful things

I am not sure who was more cowed by the arrival of Hussey's first volume on the Waterloo campaign, the postman who carried it or me - for it is a formidable piece of work! Yet its size belies a highly authoritative, carefully planned, and absorbing book, which reflects John Hussey's fascination with the politics, strategy, and tactics of this turning-point of world history, I strongly recommend it.

Military History Monthly, September 2017 - reviewed by Patrick Mercer & Edited by Dr Keith Robinson

Overall a splendid work of research, which no student of the Waterloo campaign should be without.

Stuart Asquith, Author

I can assure you that it is a magnificent work - finally we will have a work which updates and fully eclipses Siborne's history of the Waterloo campaign’

Gareth Glover on The Napoleon Series

My first reaction was "oh great. . . not another book on Waterloo". But I agreed and as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. It is not your typical Waterloo book. Although it covers the main topics I have come to expect in any volume on Waterloo, its main focus is not at the tactical or grand tactical level. Insted it examines in great detail many issues that are glossed over by most books. Mr Hussey tells the strategic side of the events of 1815 from the perspective of the national governments and their army commanders. It is packed with information on the problems the allies faced with coalition warfare and coordinating national objectives, as well as the issues both the allies and the French faced, such as national politics, logistics, intelligence, and communications.

Read the full feature here.

Napoleon Series

John Hussey’s magnum opus on the Waterloo campaign is a magisterial work which is unlikely ever to be beaten for detail and objectivity. This book which is only the first volume and takes us up to the eve of the battle goes comprehensively and thoroughly into the minds of the commanders and staff through contemporary source documents. In this way readers are able to judge for themselves regarding many of the controversies. The book is beautifully written, well mapped, and it will be the authoritative book on Waterloo for all time.

Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, KCVO, Chairman ‘Waterloo 200’

‘Volume I of Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815 is a brilliant tour de force, not least for its comprehensive coverage of matters that so many histories of warfare either ignore or skate over. Key facts, all of which impinge on command and control of an army or formation, need to be understood if one is really to comprehend what commanders had to cope with. I suspect they are simply not factored in by the vast majority of commentators and historians.’

Major-General Julian Thompson, CB, OBE

‘This new study of the 1815 campaign presents a fresh and meticulously researched account of one of the most climactic battles in history. Its breadth of scope is comprehensive, importantly including the political perspective and how it impacted upon the military operations. Its sources are exhaustive and the mastery of its analysis compelling. It forms an essential guide to all aspects of the final campaign of two of the nineteenth century’s greatest commanders, Napoleon and Wellington.’

Philip Haythornthwaite, author of Waterloo Armies and The Napoleonic Source Book

‘This is not your typical Waterloo book, which only covers the tactical aspects of the campaign. Instead, Mr Hussey tells the strategic side of the events of 1815 from the perspective of the national governments and their army commanders. It is packed with details of the problems the allies faced with coalition warfare and coordinating national objectives, as well as the issues both the allies and the French faced, such as national politics, logistics, intelligence, and communications. This book is a gem. Every chapter is filled with new information I have not seen before. It is a must-read for those who are interested in the tumultuous events of 1815.’

Robert Burnham, editor-in-chief, The Napoleon Series

‘. . . beautifully written and exhaustively researched . . . John Hussey’s book will hold the field for a very long time.’

Professor Sir Hew Strachan

No-one knows more about the Waterloo Campaign than John Hussey, and this extraordinary book is the culmination of his life’s work in Napoleonic War studies. He is able to deal with the big geo-strategic overview of the Hundred Days but also the arcane and intricate issues such as the d’Erlon Fiasco with equally masterly comprehensiveness. It will be decades before this book is superseded as the best account of those extraordinary events of 1815.

Professor Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon the Great