The Old Crazy General Who Ended Napoleon
In 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the army led by the Duke of Wellington conducted a tenacious defense against attacks by Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces. As the day wore on, the pressure steadily mounted on Wellington’s men, as the intensity of French onslaughts increased. By that day’s afternoon, despite the stoicism and courage of his soldiers, Wellington knew that his enemy was about to gain the upper hand. He was saved from defeat by the arrival of an allied Prussian army at the decisive moment.
The Prussians fell upon the French right flank, and turned the tide of the battle. Their relentless pursuit of the defeated foe afterwards turned the French retreat into a rout, and spiked Napoleon’s career for good. The timely Prussian intervention was commanded by Field Marshall Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher. Nicknamed Marshal Vorwarts (“Forward”) for his aggressive style, Blucher was a capable commander despite the fact that he was crazy and prone to delusions. Among them was the then 72 year old Blucher’s belief that he had been impregnated by a Frenchman, and that he was about to give birth to a baby elephant.