This Day in br History: Napoleon Is br Defeated at Waterloo June 18, 1815 One of the greatest br military strategists of all br time, Napoleon was defeated br by the Duke of Wellington. Crowned Emperor of br France in 1804, he had br been waging war across br Europe for decades. In 1812, Napoleon's br military luck began to br run out. He suffered br major defeat in 1814. After a brief exile on br the island of Elba, he br raised his Grand Army and br marched them into Belgium. Near the village of br Waterloo, Napoleon was br defeated once and for all. He br returned to Paris and abdicated. Under British protection, br he was again exiled to a br remote island were he would br live until his death, six years later.