Historians from Imperial College London have concluded that the eruption of Mount Tambor in 1815 was one of the main reasons for Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. This was announced in a press release on Phys.org.
The eruption of Tambora on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa occurred in April 1815 and became one of the most powerful in the history of human civilization. Ashes covered almost the entire basin of the Java and Flores Seas, reaching the islands of Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, and the roar of the explosions was heard throughout the Malay Archipelago. It is believed that the eruption led to a "year without summer" in 1816. About one hundred thousand people became victims of the disaster.
Scientists believe that as a result of the explosion of the volcano, so much ash was thrown into the atmosphere that it influenced the formation of clouds and heavy rainfall throughout the planet. The particles, whose diameter was 0.2 millionths of a meter, due to electrostatic forces rose to the ionosphere, where they influenced climatic conditions and caused natural disasters in various regions of the Earth. Extreme weather in Europe, according to researchers, was a factor in the defeat of Napoleon's army.
It is believed that the heavy rain at the Battle of Waterloo caused the soil to soften, making the French gunners' shelling of enemy troops ineffective. The nuclei did not ricochet, and the soggy soil absorbed the energy from the explosions. The result of the battle could also be affected by the fatigue of the soldiers, which increased due to the fact that they had to go to Waterloo in the rain through the wet mud.
