What battle marked the final defeat of Napoleon and his last attempt to reclaim power?

The Battle of Waterloo was pivotal in marking the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and his ultimate attempt to reclaim power after his return from exile. Fought on June 18, 1815, near the town of Waterloo in present-day Belgium, this battle pitted Napoleon's forces against a coalition army led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.

Napoleon had escaped from his first exile on the island of Elba and returned to France, where he regained support and attempted to revive his rule, known as the Hundred Days. However, his strategy and tactics, along with the unified efforts of his opponents, led to his defeat at Waterloo. The outcome of this battle was decisive; it not only ended Napoleon's rule once and for all but also led to his second exile, this time to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he spent the remainder of his life.

The significance of the Battle of Waterloo extends beyond the immediate consequences for Napoleon; it also marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and set the stage for a new balance of power in Europe that would define international relations for decades.