Peter Snow

Like all the greatest battles, Waterloo is steeped in controversy.

The battle ended in decisive victory, but it might so easily have turned out differently. Peter Snow looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders, their different armies and weapons.

He explores questions such as: Who made mistakes? Whose victory really was it? Would Wellington have won without Blücher and his Prussians? What was the main cause of the French defeat?

To help make his case, Snow examines previously unpublished sketch maps, letters, orders, official papers and proclamations held by the National Army Museum and other archives from around Europe.

Peter Snow was ITN's Diplomatic and Defence Correspondent from 1966 to 1979. He presented Newsnight from 1980 to 1997. He has also covered military matters on and off the world's battlefields for 40 years.