Yes thanks.

 

Sounds more civilised than drop-forged Dragoon

Marshal Ney, having taken La Hayen Saint and pushed back most of Wellington’s centre with a devastating barrage of  shell and canister, now called for reinforcements from Napoleon to seal his triumph, but Napoleon failed to back him up, as he was too preoccupied with Plancenoit. To Ney’s request he said�? More men? Does he expect me to make them? He did have the men however, in his Middle and Old Guard and if he had used them right at that point, it is possible he could have made a breakthrough, but whether this would have been a battle winning breakthrough, is open to conjecture. Meanwhile, on Wellington’s front, General Lambert had also called for reinforcements to stem the tide, to which Wellington replied�? Tell general Lambert I can only give him my best regards. His forward regiments were taking a terrible pounding. The 27th Foot, the Inniskillings, lost 490 men out of the 680 who went into the field that day. Napoleon delayed because he thought Grouchy had arrived with his 30,000 from Wavre and the reason for this was the devastation his one battalion of Old Guard had wrought upon a dozen battalions of the Prussians; Napoleon believed Grouchy had caused a panic in the rear of the Prussians, which put them to flight, allowing the Old Guard to slaughter them at will. But there was no Grouchy and the 30.000 were nowhere near the battlefield. The reason for the Prussians panic was this�? They had suffered the Old Guard before, as had many an army right across Europe, but it had always been in full strength with Napoleon riding between them. The Old Guard were a truly formidable force, who wreaked havoc on their enemies, mostly enemies who had been softened up by Napoleon’s other infantry and cavalry as a prelude, but they still frightened their enemies witless. The Prussians thought they were facing the entire Old Guard and that’s what caused the panic. This delay in supporting Ney gave Wellington time to pack his centre with more British, Nassau and Hanovarian troops, along with considerably more cannon, because he knew that’s where the next great attack would come. The fact that a French officer rode into the British lines with his hands up, calling, get ready, that bastard Napoleon is on his way with the Guard, only confirmed what Wellington already knew and he was ready for them. The first regiment with the honour of meeting the Old Guard would be General Maitland’s British (Grenadier) Guards.

Napoleon was now well aware that Grouchy was not coming, but great cheers echoed down the French lines because Napoleon had riders sweep across his army telling them Grouchy had arrived. He truly believed the battle was now his, as the Young Guard had the Prussians in check, inspired as they were by the spectacle of what the Old Guard had just done to them, Ney had La Hay and the centre secure and the allies had dropped back under the devastating cannonade which the French artillery had put them through. To the beat of a hundred drums and cries of Vive L Empereur, 14 battalions of the Old and Middle Guard pounded the ground on their way in to finish off the Allies, with Reille’s and D’Erlon’s divisions giving support to their left and right, and cavalry supporting both their flanks and rear. This was a sight, which had inevitably meant a victory in the past and the sight of it drove the attackers of Hougoumont into another ever enthusiastic drive to take the Chateau. Napoleon led the Guard down the slope, before handing them over to Ney, who had only just had his fifth horse shot from beneath him that day. With his sword in hand, Ney led them up the slope, it was just after 7.30pm Above them, Wellington had ridden over to Maitland’s Guards and had them lie down, four deep, in the tall corn. Meanwhile, British cannon poured double shot into the advancing columns, with terrible effect. The French artillery replied and almost wiped out the British, killing 40 horses as well as the men. A Dutch artillery brigade arrived on the spot and wiped out the French batteries in turn, with Dutch-Belgium troops now falling on the depleted flanks of the French, who had been mown down by the artillery barrage, with great élan. The Old Guard in the centre now crested the ridge, where all they could see was the occasional rider dashing about and the Duke himself, seemingly sat facing them alone and as they advanced, he called out, ‘now Maitland, now’s your time, up Guards!�?Out of the ground rose 1500 men, who poured a deadly volley into the French, before charging them with the bayonet. Meanwhile, on his own initiative Colonel Colborne had manoeuvred his 52nd regiment (Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) down the flanks of the Guard and proceeded to strike into their side, whilst behind them, a Hanoverian regiment, coming from Hougoumont, hit their rear. Under this pressure, the French began to falter and the terrible cry of ‘Le Guard recule�?was heard for the very first time. Meanwhile, new brigades of Prussians had arrived on the battlefield and typically, waded straight into the opposing French flanks. The effect on French morale was severe. They had been told Grouchy was coming from that direction and instead they had the vengeful Prussians, in a mood for slaughter. The battle was beginning to turn.

Assailed on four fronts, the French began to retreat, slowly at first, but as the pressure mounted, the army’s cohesion was lost and panic set in amongst all but the Imperial Guard. As they streamed back, Ney met them and tried to hold them, shouting, ‘Come with me, come see how a Marshal of France dies.�?But it was too late. Napoleon set his remaining three battalions of Guard into squares to cover the retreat and try to persuade the soldiers flooding off the field of battle, that their example of granite determination was the way, but it did not work and Napoleon knew the day was lost. The slaughter of the Old Guard was terrible, as they would not yield to the inevitable. Wellington’s cavalry swept the French cavalry off the field and judging the time to be right and throwing all caution to the wind, Wellington rode to the hilltop and waving his hat three times over his head, gave the sign for the general attack. At that moment, there was a great cheer along the line as the whole of the allied force leapt up and descended on the French, preventing them from standing or regrouping, with Wellington riding amongst them, urging them onward to complete their victory. At Plancenoit, the French not only found themselves slowly being outmanned, but outflanked by fresh Prussian brigades arriving all the time and as a result, they too began to fall back onto where Napoleon waited. The Prussians showed no mercy, killing any wounded men and even those who threw down their arms and tried to surrender. Napoleon was almost captured and would have been strung up on the spot if the Prussians had got to him first. He fled the field, leaving his coach with all its contents, including diamonds worth a million Francs and returned to Paris, where he actually began to organise another army. Behind him lay 10.000 dead horses and 55,000 dead soldiers, a total which would rise to nearer 80,000 over the coming weeks, as thousands more succumbed to their wounds. Wellington returned to his lines, passing three squares of dead French Guard, then came across the Inniskilling's square, where every man lay dead in perfect order. Tears streamed down his face at the sight and he went onto Waterloo to make out his despatch to London. Next to a battle lost, he said, there can be no more terrible sight than a battle won.

One of the Guard's squares, placed to cover Napoleon's retreat, was entirely circled by the allies, who called on them to surrender. Their leader, General Cambronne, had a certain economy of style and his one word answer went down in history..... 'Merde,' he shouted.

Which means ...shit!

On his return to Paris on the 21st June, Napoleon set about trying to organise a new army, and there was one to be had, however, political intigue in France was always of the most treacherous kind and those who Napoleon himself had promoted to the heights, were the ones who would plot his downfall. Backstabbing in France was a noble and well practiced art. Again, Naploeonic apologists use this as the reason for his defeat, citing Waterloo as just another battle and not the real reason for Napoleon's abdication, but it was Napoleon's own style and policy which created this treacherous band of brothers. America almost had the honour of him, as he was about to escape there, but those very men whom he promoted, disclosed his plan to the Royal Navy, who were waiting for him, so he never got the chance. The Prussians insisted on trying then hanging him, but the Brits got their way and he was expelled to St Helena, where he would never escape. This act of clandestine mercy further alienated the Prussians, who had not trusted the Brits throughout the whole campaign. Marshal Ney, who had survived so much throughout his incredible career, was not destined to die before a French enemy. In the end, he was killed by his own, as he was tried and shot before a French firing squad.

THE FRENCH DRAGOONS WORE PLAITS DOWN THE FRONTS OF THEIR FACES called cadenetts.

Meanwhile, on his own initiative Colonel Colborne had manoeuvred his 52nd regiment (Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) down the flanks

 

Now Greenjackets I'm afraid, or whatever they're called this week.,

Excellent Post Major, all your own words? Even if not, well compacted

Yes, pretty much Flash. I never expected to get caught up so much in it, but Waterloo is an astonishingly complex battle, with more interpretations than any other single battle in history and it was all I could do to keep it down to half a book!

What no google major? You have elevated yourself to the zenith of these boards.

 

T-Dog

Definitely no googling Tom, except for the pictures of course. I do have quite a fascination for the battle though and if I could go back in time and float over any battle in history, this would be the one.

But of course T-Dog won't tell about Wolfe Tone or Napper Tandy or Casement.far too many Irish traitors too count. Some still alive

Typo above. Not allowed to delete because T-Dog screams the site down