The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the The Netherlands. A French Army under the command of Napoleon and his deputy Marshal Ney was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington combined with a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Von Blucher.
On 13 March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw Four days later, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia mobilised armies to defeat Napoleon.Critically outnumbered, Napoleon knew that once his attempts at dissuading one or more of the Seventh Coalition allies from invading France had failed, his only chance of remaining in power was to attack before the coalition mobilised. If he could destroy the existing coalition forces south of Brussels before they were reinforced, he might be able to drive the British back to the sea and knock the Prussians out of the war and then turn his armies towards the Austrians and Russians. An additional consideration was that there were many French-speaking sympathisers in Belgium and a French victory might trigger a friendly revolution there. Also, the British troops in Belgium were largely second-line troops; most of the veterans of the Peninsular War had been sent to the United States and Canada to fight the War of 1812.
Napoleon moved against the concentrated Prussian army first. On 16 June, with a part of the reserve and the right wing of the army, he attacked and defeated Blücher's Prussians at the Battle of Ligny. The Prussian centre gave way under more heavy French assaults but the flanks held their ground. Ney, meanwhile, found the crossroads of Quatre Bras lightly held by the Prince of Orange, who repelled Ney's initial attacks but was gradually driven back by overwhelming numbers of French troops. First reinforcements and then Wellington arrived. He took command and drove Ney back, securing the crossroads by early evening, too late to send help to the Prussians, who were defeated at the Battle of Ligny on the same day. The Prussian defeat made Wellington's position at Quatre Bras untenable, so the next day he withdrew northwards, to a defensive position he had reconnoitred the previous year—the low ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean, south of the village of Waterloo and the Sonian Forest
.Once he had intelligence of the Prussian defeat, Wellington organised a retreat from Quatre Bras to Waterloo. Napoleon, with the reserves, made a late start on 17 June and joined Ney at Quatre Bras at 13:00 to attack Wellington's army but found the position empty. The French pursued Wellington's retreating army all the way to Waterloo, however due to weather and the head start that Napoleon's tardy advance had allowed Wellington, apart from a cavalry action at Gennape there was no other substantial engagement.
ARMIES
The French army of around 69,000 consisted of 48,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry, and 7,000 artillery with 250 guns.Napoleon had used conscription to fill the ranks of the French army throughout his rule, but he did not conscript men for the 1815 campaign. All his troops were veterans of at least one campaign who had returned more or less voluntarily to the colours.The cavalry in particular was both numerous and formidable, and included fourteen regiments of armoured heavy cavalry and seven of highly versatile lancers.
Wellington claimed that he himself had "an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced Staff".His troops consisted of 67,000 men: 50,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry, and 6,000 artillery with 150 guns. Of these, 25,000 were British (including a disproportionate number of Irishmen), with another 6,000 from the Kings German Legion (KGL). All of the British Army troops were regular soldiers but only 7,000 of them were Penninsular War veterans. In addition, there were 17,000 Dutch and Belgian troops, 11,000 from Hanover, 6,000 from Brunswick, and 3,000 from Nassau.
Many of the troops in the Coalition armies were inexperienced. The Dutch army had been re-established in 1815, following the earlier defeat of Napoleon. With the exception of the British and some from Hanover and Brunswick who had fought with the British army in Spain, many of the professional soldiers in the Coalition armies had spent some of their time in the French army or in armies allied to the Napoleonic regime. The historian Barbero states that in this heterogeneous army the difference between British and foreign troops did not prove significant under fire.Wellington was also acutely short of heavy cavalry, having only seven British and three Dutch regiments. The Duke of York imposed many of his staff officers on Wellington, including his second-in-command, the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge commanded the cavalry and had carte blanche from Wellington to commit these forces at his discretion. Wellington stationed a further 17,000 troops at Halle, 8 miles (13 km) away to the west; they were not recalled to participate in the battle but were to serve as a fallback position should the battle be lost. They were mostly composed of Dutch troops under Prince of Orange's younger brother Prince Frederik. They were placed as a guard against any possible wide flanking movement by the French forces, and also to act as a rearguard if Wellington was forced to retreat towards Antwerp and the coast. According to Hofschröer, the best Dutch troops were at Halle and he questions the reasons for their placement.
The Prussian army was in the throes of reorganisation. In 1815, the former Reserve regiments, Legions, and Freikorps volunteer formations from the wars of 1813–1814 were in the process of being absorbed into the line, along with many militia regiments. The militia were mostly untrained and unequipped when they arrived in Belgium. The Prussian cavalry were in a similar state.Its artillery was also reorganising and did not give its best performance – guns and equipment continued to arrive during and after the battle. Off-setting these handicaps, however, the Prussian Army did have excellent and professional leadership in its General Staff organisation. These officers came from four schools developed for this purpose and thus worked to a common standard of training. This system was in marked contrast to the conflicting, vague orders issued by the French army. This staff system ensured that before Ligny, three-quarters of the Prussian army concentrated for battle at 24 hours notice. After Ligny, the Prussian army, although defeated, was able to realign its supply train, reorganise itself, and intervene decisively on the Waterloo battlefield within 48 hours. Two and a half Prussian army corps, or 48,000 men, were engaged at Waterloo – two brigades under Friedrich Von Bulow, commander of IV Corps, attacked Lobau at 16:30, while Zieten's I Corps and parts of Georg Von Pirch 's II Corps engaged at about 18:00.
The Battle of Waterloo:
As the French troops advanced, heavy fighting began in the vicinity of Hougoumont. Defended by British troops as well as those from Hanover and Nassau, the chateau was viewed by some on both sides as key to commanding the field. One of the few parts of the fight that he could see from his headquarters, Napoleon directed forces against it throughout the afternoon and the battle for the chateau became a costly diversion. As the fighting raged at Hougoumont, Ney worked to push forward the main assault on the Coalition's lines. Driving ahead, d'Erlon's men were able to isolate La Haye Sainte, but did not take it.
Attacking, the French had success in pushing back the Dutch and Belgian troops in Wellington's front line. The attack was slowed by Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton's men and counterattacks by the Prince of Orange. Outnumbered, the Coalition infantry was hard-pressed by D'Erlon's corps. Seeing this, the Earl of Uxbridge led forward two brigades of heavy cavalry. Slamming into the French, they broke up d'Erlon's attack. Carried forward by their momentum, they drove past La Haye Sainte and assaulted the French grand battery. Counterattacked by the French, they withdrew having taken heavy losses.
Having been thwarted in this initial assault, Napoleon was forced to dispatch Lobau's corps and two cavalry divisions east to block the approach of the advancing Prussians. Around 4:00 PM, Ney mistook the removal of Coalition casualties for the beginnings of a retreat. Lacking infantry reserves after d'Erlon's failed attack, he ordered cavalry units forward to exploit the situation. Ultimately feeding around 9,000 horsemen into the attack, Ney directed them against the coalition lines west of Le Haye Sainte. Forming defensive squares, Wellington's men defeated numerous charges against their position.
Though the cavalry failed to break the enemy's lines, it allowed d'Erlon to advance and finally take La Haye Sainte. Moving up artillery, he was able to inflict heavy losses on some of Wellington's squares. To the southeast, General Friedrich von Bülow's IV Corps began to arrive on the field. Pushing west, he intended to take Plancenoit before attacking the French rear. While sending men to link up with Wellington's left, he attacked Lobau and drove him out of the village of Frichermont. Supported by Major General Georg Pirch's II Corps, Bülow attacked Lobau at Plancenoit forcing Napoleon to send reinforcements from the Imperial Guard.
As the fighting raged, Lieutenant General Hans von Zieten's I Corps arrived on Wellington's left. This allowed Wellington to shift men to his embattled center as the Prussians took over the fight near Papelotte and La Haie. In an effort to win a quick victory and exploit the fall of La Haye Sainte, Napoleon ordered forward elements of the Imperial Guard to assault the enemy center. Attacking around 7:30 PM, they were turned back by a determined Coalition defense and a counterattack by Lieutenant General David Chassé's division. Having held, Wellington ordered a general advance. The Guard's defeat coincided with Zieten overwhelming d'Erlon's men and driving on the Brussels Road.
Those French units that remained intact attempted to rally near La Belle Alliance. As the French position in the north collapsed, the Prussians succeeded in capturing Plancenoit. Driving forward, they encountered French troops fleeing from the advancing Coalition forces. With the army in full retreat, Napoleon was escorted from the field by the surviving units of the Imperial Guard.
Battle of Waterloo - Aftermath:
In the fighting at Waterloo, Napoleon lost around 25,000 killed and wounded as well as 8,000 captured and 15,000 missing. Coalition losses numbered around 22,000-24,000 killed and wounded. Though Grouchy won a minor victory at Wavre over the Prussian rearguard, Napoleon's cause was effectively lost. Fleeing to Paris, he briefly attempted to rally the nation but was convinced to step aside. Abdicating on June 22, he sought to flee to America via Rochefort, but was prevented from so by the Royal Navy's blockade. Surrendering on July 15, he was exiled to St. Helena where he died in 1821. The victory at Waterloo effectively ended more than two decades of near-continuous fighting in Europe.
"Just as I was pushing one of our men back into the ranks I saw him fall at my feet from a sabre slash. I turned round instantly – to see English cavalry forcing their way into our midst and hacking us to pieces. Just as it is difficult, if not impossible, for the best cavalry to break into infantry who are formed into squares and who defend themselves with coolness and daring, so it is true that once the ranks have been penetrated, then resistance is useless and nothing remains for the cavalry to do but to slaughter at almost no risk to themselves. This what happened, in vain our poor fellows stood up and stretched out their arms; they could not reach far enough to bayonet these cavalrymen mounted on powerful horses, and the few shots fired in chaotic melee were just as fatal to our own men as to the English. And so we found ourselves defenseless against a relentless enemy who, in the intoxication of battle, sabred even our drummers and fifers without mercy." Captain Duthilt of the French 3rd Division describing the Charge of The Scots Greys (Above)
A Waterloo era Britsh infantry square would usually consist of four ranks, 2 kneeling making a thicket of bayonets and 2 ranks standing firing at the enemy. Officers and Seargents would stand in the middle to direct the fire
Wellington at Waterloo
The White Nancy in Bollington was built in 1817 to commemorate the victory at the battle of Waterloo, it has been painted accordingly in recent months
To obtain the North Coords you need the year the Marshal to the North was born = ABCD And the year the Prussian Marshal to the South Died= EFGH N 53 (D-C)(A-E).(F/2)(G)(F) Now answer these few questions to obtain the West Coords. 1.Number of countries in the seventh coalition that fought at Waterloo=I 2.The Earl of Uxbridge lost how many limbs at Waterloo=J 3.How many cannon initially defended Quatre Bras=K W 002 0(I).(K/4)(I)(I-J)
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.