A muddy battlefield in Belgium, two hundred years ago today.

A clash between two armies that would shape the map of the European continent for the decades that followed.

The Battle of Waterloo brought about the final downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte and his attempts to redraw Europe’s borders by force

Senior royalty, and top politicians gathered at Waterloo earlier to make a battle that would leave more than fifty thousand men killed or wounded.

None, however, were there from France.

It seems that Napoleon’s defeat two hundred years ago remains too much for Gallic pride to swallow.

Although the country’s ambassador to Belgium was there to fly the tricolor for France.

The ceremony marked the first part of the celebrations; a three-day reconstruction of the battle will last until Sunday.