The Prussians contributed to the victory at Waterloo in 1815, where an alliance led by Prussia and England fought against the French led by Napoleon. The battle began at 1pm when Napoleon fired the first shot with his long-range artillery. This is continued by the French attacking the Anglo allies with infantry and cavalry attacks followed by cannon fire. At 7.30pm the Prussians successfully attack the French flank. This leads Napoleon to send in the old guard who are then decimated. At 9pm the French army is defeated and Napoleon flees, pursued by the Prussians who also round up the fleeing French soldiers. ("The Defeat") Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo due to Prussian intervention because the Prussians led by Blücher gave the Anglo allies led by Wellington a numerical advantage due to the fact that the 68,000 Anglo allies were outnumbered by the 73,000 The French were less equipped than the French due to the fact that they were inferior in artillery and the number of weapons they could equip a soldier with. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The French had a strategic disadvantage provided by the Prussians also because the Prussians were able to successfully flank the French army. Napoleon made many physiological mistakes during the battle that can be attributed to the Prussians, for example because Napoleon knew that the Prussians were coming and he would have a big disadvantage, he took a big risk and sent in the elite force of the French army the old guard which was then dedicated by the Anglo-allies. The reason why the French led by Napoleon lost the battle was because they had the numerical disadvantage. The Prussians were directly involved in shifting the numerical advantage in favor of the Anglo-Allies away from the French. At the start of the battle, the French outnumbered the Anglo-Allies by 73,000 to 67,000. (Barbero 60-61). In addition to that, the French were better equipped than the Anglo-Allies, the French having around 100 more guns than the Anglo-Allies. This disparity was resolved with the arrival of the Prussians. They brought 25,000 infantry, ("The Fifteen") 3000 cavalry and an artillery consisting of 88 cannons. (Barbero 60-61). This shifted favor from Napoleon to the newly formed alliance now composed of Prussian and Anglo-Saxon allies. This put France at a disadvantage because the Alliance now outnumbered the French by 110,000 to 73,000. (Barbero 60-61). This gave the Anglo-Saxon allies a huge advantage as most battles of this time were won by the person who had better weapons and artillery and more people to sacrifice. This gave the allies a huge advantage which led to their victory. A very good reason why Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo was that he had many strategic disadvantages provided by the Prussians. One of these strategic disadvantages is carried by the Prussians who recovered after the first defeat against the French. The Prussians manage to flank the French army, which puts great pressure on Napoleon, who sends 15,000 men to stop the 40,000 strong Prussian force (MAJOR CAMPAIGNS 230). The French lose this encounter and at the end of the battle the Prussians tear the flank of the French army to pieces. (Clayton 432). Another strategic advantage the Prussians provide is not against the French but for their Anglo-Allied allies. ("Give me the night or give me Blucher" Duke of Wellington). This quote was said by Wellington who once again underlines the moral responsibility of the Prussians due to the fact that when the Prussians arrived Wellington was almost certain that he would.