Prussian Army
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The Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine 1815
Men-at-Arms The Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine 1815 1FUFS)PGTDISÕFSr*MMVTUSBUFECZ(FSSZ&NCMFUPO © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com Men-at-Arms . 496 The Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine 1815 Peter Hofschröer . Illustrated by Gerry Embleton Series editor Martin Windrow © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com THE PRUSSIAN ARMY OF THE LOWER RHINE 1815 INTRODUCTION n the aftermath of Napoleon’s first abdication in April 1814, the European nations that sent delegations to the Congress of Vienna in INovember were exhausted after a generation of almost incessant warfare, but still determined to pursue their own interests. The unity they had achieved to depose their common enemy now threatened to dissolve amid old rivalries as they argued stubbornly over the division of the territorial spoils of victory. Britain, the paymaster of so many alliances against France, saw to it that the Low Countries were united, albeit uncomfortably (and fairly briefly), into a single Kingdom of the Netherlands, but otherwise remained largely aloof from this bickering. Having defeated its main rival for a colonial empire, it could now rule A suitably classical portrait the waves unhindered; its only interest in mainland Europe was to ensure drawing of Napoleon’s nemesis: a stable balance of power, and peace in the markets that it supplied with General Field Marshal Gebhard, Prince Blücher von Wahlstatt both the fruits of global trading and its manufactured goods. (1742–1819), the nominal C-in-C At Vienna a new fault-line opened up between other former allies. of the Army of the Lower Rhine. The German War of Liberation in 1813, led by Prussia, had been made Infantry Gen Friedrich, Count possible by Prussia’s persuading of Russia to continue its advance into Kleist von Nollendorf was the Central Europe after driving the wreckage of Napoleon’s Grande Armée original commander, but was replaced with the 72-year-old back into Poland. -
'No Troops but the British': British National Identity and the Battle For
‘No Troops but the British’: British National Identity and the Battle for Waterloo Kyle van Beurden BA/BBus (Accy) (QUT), BA Honours (UQ) A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2015 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry British National Identity and the Battle for Waterloo Kyle van Beurden Abstract In the ‘long eighteenth-century’ British national identity was superimposed over pre-existing identities in Britain in order to bring together the somewhat disparate, often warring, states. This identity centred on war with France; the French were conceptualised as the ‘other’, being seen by the British as both different and inferior. For many historians this identity, built in reaction and opposition to France, dissipated following the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, as Britain gradually introduced changes that allowed broader sections of the population to engage in the political process. A new militaristic identity did not reappear in Britain until the 1850s, following the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. This identity did not fixate on France, but rather saw all foreign nations as different and, consequently, inferior. An additional change was the increasing public interest in the army and war, more generally. War became viewed as a ‘pleasurable endeavour’ in which Britons had an innate skill and the army became seen as representative of that fact, rather than an outlet to dispose of undesirable elements of the population, as it had been in the past. British identity became increasingly militaristic in the lead up to the First World War. However, these two identities have been seen as separate phenomena, rather than the later identity being a progression of the earlier construct. -
WATERLOO 1815 (2) Ligny
WATERLOO 1815 (2) Ligny JOHN FRANKLIN ILLUSTRATED BY GERRY EMBLETON © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CAMPAIGN 277 WATERLOO 1815 (2) Ligny JOHN FRANKLIN ILLUSTRATED BY GERRY EMBLETON Series editor Marcus Cowper © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 Napoleon escapes from the island of Elba The long march to Paris and return to power CHRONOLOGY 9 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 13 French commanders Prussian commanders OPPOSING FORCES 18 The command and composition of the French Army The command and composition of the Prussian Army Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS 29 THE CAMPAIGN OPENS 30 The French advance and the capture of Charleroi The Prussian withdrawal and the combat at Gilly Movements on the morning of 16 June Important decisions for the three commanders The struggle for the crossroads commences Final preparations at Fleurus and Sombreffe Vandamme attacks the village of St Amand Gérard begins the offensive against Ligny Orders to envelop Brye and St Amand Zieten launches a counterattack at Ligny Blücher intervenes in the fighting at St Amand The contest escalates at St Amand la Haie Urgent reinforcements bolster the attacks II Korps enters the fray at Wagnelée A column approaches from Villers Perwin Gneisenau sends a messenger to Quatre Bras Fateful decisions in the heat of battle Determined resistance at St Amand and Ligny Napoleon orders the Garde Impériale to attack Cavalry charges in the fields before Brye The Prussians retreat north towards Tilly Wellington holds the French at Quatre Bras AFTERMATH 90 THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY 92 FURTHER READING 94 INDEX 95 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com INTRODUCTION King Louis XVIII and the victorious coalition armies were welcomed enthusiastically by the Parisians when they entered the French capital in the spring of 1814, following Napoleon’s enforced abdication and exile. -
Chapter 26 the Approach to Battle: Sombreffe, Morning, 16 June
Chapter 26 The Approach to Battle Sombreffe, Morning, 16 June I THE PRUSSIAN HIGH COMMAND had reached Sombreffe in the afternoon of 15 June. The site had been carefully chosen, for the entire position had been thoroughly studied by the army staff in earlier months, although apparently some were doubtful of it as a battleground. Many years later Nostitz, who in 1815 was a major and Blücher’s ADC, claimed that, the danger of accepting battle in the position of Sombreffe had often been put forward by many persons, yet Generals von Gneisenau and von Grolman adhered firmly to the idea. Count Groeben [staff, Reserve Cavalry, I Corps] had carefully reconnoitred and surveyed the chosen battlefield, and had described in such vivid colours its many advantages as to have given rise to an almost fanatical passion for it, which the objections put forward by other members of headquarters, among them myself, could in no way modify.1 Blücher intended to give battle there on 16 June – it was to be the decisive day.2 The site and the timing highlight clearly the problem of the inter-allied arrange ments. Wellington’s principles for a defence were: to hold firmly strong points like Mons or Ath in order to divert or slow a French advance, to keep the field army well back from the frontier, and to launch a counter- offensive on about the third day of operations, having meanwhile given the two allies time to unite. The Prussians, on the other hand, had placed one quarter of their army close to the frontier, and had chosen a fighting position for their entire force only a few miles behind it, aiming at a battle on the second day. -
Le Retour De L'empereur June 16 and 18, 1815
Vive l'Empereur ! Le Retour de l'Empereur June 16 and 18, 1815 Ligny Quatre-Bras Waterloo Wavre Scenarios and specific rules Pratzen Editions 2011 1 Historical Background .................................. 2 Quatre-Bras ................................................. 5 Historical Background 1- Historical Scenario.................................... 6 2- The Duke strikes back .............................. 7 Arguably one of the most famous, if not the 3- Ney ten years younger............................... 8 most famous, battle of history, Waterloo 4- The Prince of Orange gamble ................... 8 (called Mont St Jean for the French and La 5- d’Erlon at the rescue ................................. 8 Belle Alliance for the Prussians) was the Ligny ............................................................. 9 culminating act of Napoleon’s attempt to 1- Historical scenario .................................. 10 regain the mastery of France. 2- La Victoire en chantant........................... 11 Napoleon’s landing on the shores of France 3- Vandamme Attacks................................. 12 near Cannes on March 1, 1815, sent a shock 4- Ligny on Fire........................................... 13 through the gathered (and argumentative) 5- Holding Thielmann................................. 13 politicians, generals and crowned heads of 6- The Guard Attacks.................................. 14 state. The Congress of Vienna was meant to 7- Enter the Prussian IV Corps.................... 14 finalize the 1814 victory over Napoleon but 8-