Editing Wavre (section)

===From Waterloo until now===
On 18 and 19 June 1815, the [[Battle of Wavre]] was fought here on the same day as the [[Battle of Waterloo]]. [[Napoleon]] had sent [[Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy|Marshal Grouchy]] to pursue part of the retreating [[Prussia]]n army under the command of General [[Johann von Thielmann]].  Despite hearing the cannon sound from nearby Waterloo, Grouchy decided to obey his orders and engage the one Prussian Corps in Wavre. By the time Grouchy's battle was over, Napoleon had already lost at Waterloo.

The century that followed saw the expansion of local industry, including foundries, a paper mill, and a sugar refinery.  Wavre was severely affected by both world wars, with heavy fighting, bombing and several houses put on fire. In the 21st century, Wavre enjoyed renewed prosperity as the capital of the Belgian province of [[Walloon Brabant]] created in 1995.