It has been described as the most important battle of the nineteenth century helping to shape modern Europe â?? yet it barely registers on these shores.
But now military experts are hoping to change that, with research showing how a tiny British unit played a crucial role in the Battle of Leipzig, in 1813.
Fought 200 years ago this month, the clash was Napoleonâ??s first decisive defeat and led, within six months, to his abdication. The result is credited with defining the borders of modern Europe and leading to the unification of Germany in the decades that followed.
Known elsewhere in Europe as the Battle of Nations, it was the largest â?? and bloodiest â?? the continent would see until the First World War, with Prussia, Russia, Austria and Sweden ranged against Napoleonâ??s forces.
But among the 600,000 combatants was a unit from the Royal Horse Artillery, numbering just 145 men but equipped with a revolutionary weapon, which was to allow them to play an influential role in the battle that was entirely disproportionate to their size.
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