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Home , Battle of Waterloo, Hougoumont, La Belle Alliance

Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from and The of Waterloo (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis.

Battle of Waterloo The history of the battle in the words of the men who fought and died there The morning of 1815 saw 180,000 men, 60,000 horses and 500 pieces of crammed into 2½ sq miles of Belgian countryside. In the nine frantic hours that followed, a quarter-century of central European warfare was brought to a close, leaving more than 44,000 dead, dying and wounded on the field. It was an extraordinary event. Waterloo may have been “the nearest run thing you saw in your life” - as the Duke of famously described it - but it was also the turning point in the history of modern , bringing Bonaparte's rampage across the continent to an end and ushering in one of the most peaceful centuries of history. Two hundred years later, it is right and fitting that we should remember a battle more brutal and more fiercely contested than any that had gone before. Wellington’s army was a smorgasbord of British, Dutch, German and Belgian troops, the majority of whom had never been in battle before. Most of their letters and reports were written immediately after the event, and their reactions are unsullied by reflection or discussion - an unexpurgated oral history of the battle. They don’t always tally with each other, but they do take us deeper into the battle and a step closer to imagining what it must have been like. This is raw history. Napoleon's proclamation to his army on June 15 “Soldiers, today the coalition against us wants the independence and the most sacred rights of . They have begun the most unjust act of aggression: let us therefore march to meet them; they and we, are we not the same men? “The fools! One moment of good fortune blinds them. The oppression and the humiliation of the French people are beyond their power! If they enter France, they will find their graves! “Soldiers! We have forced marches to make, to fight, dangers to face; but, with perseverance, victory will be ours; the rights, the honour and the welfare of our country will be reclaimed. “For all Frenchmen who have the courage, the moment has come to conquer or perish!” The battle looms: the night of June 17 As the Duke of Wellington made his plans that evening, it was widely thought in the ranks that Napoleon had vastly superior numbers, though the accepted number today puts the French at 69,000 with 250 , and Wellington's forces at 67,000 with 150 cannon. Wellington had, it was later said, toured the whole area the previous year and observed that, if he were ever to fight for the defence of , he would do so at Waterloo because of the lay of the land there. The village stood a short distance

1 Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from The Daily Telegraph and The (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis. from the Forest of Soignies, and the paved road from Brussels to . To the right was a ravine, near Merbe Braine. To the left a hill above the hamlet of Ter la Haye. Both were situated on a pass. The Allied front line could be formed atop a gentle ridge, giving it a tactical advantage. It was a restless night for Lieut Archibald Hamilton of the Greys

“In spite of the rain we slept pretty soundly, lying at our horses’ heads, they being formed in line, and linked together, but we were repeatedly awoke during the night by their taking fright at the lightning and thunder, at the same time advancing over us! But no one was hurt! And as the nights in the middle of summer are short, we arose with the day break; a miserable looking set of creatures we all were; covered with mud from head to foot, our white belts dyed with the red from our jackets, as if we had already completed the sanguinary work, which we were soon about to begin.” For Lieut Emanuel Biedermann of the 2nd Light Battalion, it was a night of foreboding: “There was no doubting that a decisive battle would be fought on the next day, and most men were probably given to grave reflections in the night, that very well could be, and indeed was, the last one for many of us. I was confronted with the question: will you see your homeland and your loved ones again, or will your restless life be cut short by an enemy’s sword?” Major Arthur Rowley Heyland of the 40th Foot prepared detailed instructions for his pregnant wife Mary, and their six children, should he be killed the next day: “My dear Mary, “What I recommend my love in case I fall in the ensuing contest, is that my sons may be educated at the Military College, except Arthur, who is hardly strong enough: the hazards of a military life are considerable, but still it has its pleasures, and it appears to me of no consequence whether a man dies young or old, provided he be employed in fulfilling the duties of the situation he is placed in this world. “For yourself, my dearest, kindest Mary, take up your residence in Wales, or elsewhere if you prefer it, but I would advise you, my love, to choose a permanent residence. My daughters, may they cling to their mother and remember her in every particular. “My Mary, let the recollection console you that the happiest days of my life have been from your love and affection, and that I die loving only you, and with a fervent hope that our souls may be reunited hereafter and part no more. “What dear children, my Mary I leave you. My Marianna...My Anne, my John. My children, may you all be happy and may the reflection that your father never in his life swerved from the truth and always acted from the dictates of his conscience, preserve you, virtuous and happy, for without virtue there can be no happiness.

2 Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from The Daily Telegraph and The Battle of Waterloo (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis.

“Let my children console you, my love, my Mary. A R H” Major Heyland was one of more than 10,000 to fall the following day, amid nine hours of furious fighting that would decide the fate of Europe. The day of the battle: June 18 As Wellington's army woke at Waterloo, they found that the overnight torrential rain had turned the ground to mud. Looking out towards the French line, where the Emperor Napoleon’s army was gathering, their main concern was finding warmth and something to eat. “Half a cup of coffee without sugar and a piece of bread was all I had in the way of breakfast,” wrote Lieut Ernst Meier of the 2nd Light Dragoon Regiment. “Afterwards, I warmed my cold limbs with a moderate portion of Krambambuli [cherry liqueur]. Thus began the memorable June 18 1815.” Ensign Macready peered across the shallow valley, covered in tall grain, towards the ranks of French soldiers: “About half past 10 o’clock the enemy began moving his forces, and displayed strong columns of and opposite every part of our position. A superb line of red stretched from their left, far beyond our right flank, but from the nature of the ground, they were not much feared. [The British had the better strategic position.] “Thus stood the contending armies. We (I mean the multitude) were not aware that Blücher [the Prussian field marshall, an ally] could afford us any assistance, as we heard that he was completely beaten and hotly pursued; but no British soldier could dread the result when Wellington commanded. Our poor fellows looked wretchedly, but the joke and laugh was bandied between them, heartily and thoughtlessly as in their happiest hours. “About 11 o’clock some rations and spirits came up; the latter was immediately served out to the men, but I dared not drink on my empty stomach. I had just stuck a ramrod through a noble slice of bull beef, when an aide de camp galloped up, and roared out, ‘Stand to your arms.’ We were in line in an instant.” land Napoleon, right, met for their final showdown at Waterloo The battle began around 11am. Napoleon was at his station, near the inn of , with view of the entire battlefield. Initially he was on foot, pacing backwards and forwards, issuing orders. His adversary Wellington had stationed himself on a ridge to the rear of farmhouse. Plainly attired, he calmly contemplated the scene.

Hougoumont It started with an attack by a division of the French 2nd Corps, led by Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, on farmhouse and gardens, held by a

3 Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from The Daily Telegraph and The Battle of Waterloo (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis.

1,500-strong Allied force and standing between the two armies. If taken it would have uncovered the British flank and given the French an advantage over the whole line. Though hugely outnumbered, light companies from Gen Byng’s brigade of Guards and the Dutch Nassau Regiment defended their position fiercely. Ensign Macready witnessed the onslaught: “The obstinacy of the assailants was only exceeded by the gallantry of their opponents. For an hour and a half they were muzzle to muzzle and bayonet to bayonet. “Fresh bodies were poured in incessantly by the enemy, and the Guards repeatedly reinforced their comrades. I saw them amid the flames of the trees and outhouses, to which the French had set fire, alternately advancing and retiring, first the red and then the blue jackets prevailing. Around single trees whole companies lay dead. “At length the overwhelming force of the enemy enabled him to establish himself in the orchard and gardens, and the building itself became the point of attack. From its doors and windows our gallant guardsmen poured an unceasing shower of bullets, and the enemy fell dead in heaps around them. “Repeated and successful sallies astonished the Frenchmen, and convinced them of the inutility of their perseverance. After two hours of most determined exertion they retired from this spot, leaving it covered with the bodies of their countrymen.” Pte Johann Peter Leonard of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Nassau Regiment, was at Hougoumont and recorded five successive French attacks: “The fifth was beyond description. The hornbeam trees of the garden alley, underneath which we stood, were razed by the immense cannonade and so were the beautiful tall trees along the outside of the farm. Walls were collapsing from both the heavy bombardment [and] the severe thunderstorm that raged above us, the likes of which I have never experienced before; one could not distinguish one from the other. The skies seemed to have been changed into an ocean of fire; all of the farm's buildings were aflame. The soil underneath my feet began to shake and tremble, and large fissures opened up before my very eyes.” Napoleon’s failure to capture Hougoumont, despite pouring so many men into the task, is judged a crucial factor in his defeat at Waterloo, but those on the field of battle that day did not have the benefit of hindsight. La Haye Sainte The French attack on Hougoumont was accompanied by a heavy cannonade on Wellington's whole line, in preparation for an assault by the French infantry. This was repulsed, but the Allied infantry were then subjected to a massed of the French cavalry. Much of the fighting that afternoon concentrated on the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte. Friedrich Lindau of the 2nd Light Battalion, King's German Legion, was one of its defenders:

4 Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from The Daily Telegraph and The Battle of Waterloo (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis.

“The crash of a thousand [French] rifles filled our ears, and a jubilant ‘En avant!’ could be heard. They were backed up by two columns of enemy troops that marched at so rapid a pace that we said to each other: ‘The French are in such a hurry because they want to have their meals in Brussels today.’ Only until the enemy came close to our hedge did we open fire; it was so murderous that the ground was covered at once with a mass of wounded and dead.” Pte James Smithies, of the 1st Dragoons, gave a vivid description of the close combat that ensued: “The [French] had coats of steel, whilst we had no such protection; and then again their swords were much longer, which made it greater odds who would come victorious out of the fray. “On we rushed at each other, and, when we met, the shock was terrific. We wedged ourselves between them as much as possible, to prevent them from cutting, and the noise of the horses, the clashing of swords against their steel armour, can be imagined only by those who have heard it. “There were some riders who had caught hold of each other's bodies - wrestling fashion - and [were] fighting for life, but the superior physical strength of our regiment soon showed itself, and we drove them from the ridge.” At 6pm, after successive failures, the French finally captured the farmhouse. They were now able to bring up artillery and bombard the closely packed squares of Allied infantry at close range. The Allies could not endure such punishment for long. But Wellington knew that help was on its way in the form of Field Marshal Blücher’s , and that he need hold on only a few hours more. “These English,” Napoleon is said to have remarked to his chief of , Marshall Soult, “fight admirably, but they must give way.” Soult replied, “I think not. They prefer being cut to pieces.” Blücher’s Arrival It was late afternoon when the Prussian army began arriving at Napoleon’s right flank and rear. Napoleon knew time and numbers were now against him and so made one more push, with his trusted Imperial Guard. But under Wellington’s direction it was repulsed, with the feared Imperial Guard, veterans of Napoleon's many campaigns in Europe, fleeing in terror. An astonished Ensign Macready described the retreat: “It was near seven o’clock, and our front had sustained three attacks from fresh troops, when the Imperial Guard were seen ascending our position, in as correct order as at a review. As they rose step by step before us, and crossed the ridge, their red epaulettes and cross belts, put on over their blue greatcoats, gave them a gigantic appearance, which was increased by their high hairy caps and long red

5 Waterloo Uncovered – Reading to Remember 2017 Text from The Daily Telegraph and The Battle of Waterloo (published by Extraordinary Editions), and assembled by Rachel Willis. feathers, which waved with the nod of their heads as they kept time to a drum in the centre of their . ‘Now for a clawing,’ I muttered; and I confess, when I saw the imposing advance of these men, and thought of the character they had gained, I looked for nothing but a bayonet in my body, and I half breathed a confident sort of wish that it might not touch my vitals. “While they were moving up the slope, Halkett [his commander], as well as the noise permitted us to hear him, addressed us, and said, ‘My boys, you have done everything I could have wished, and more than I could expect, but much remains to be done; at this moment we have nothing for it but a charge.’ Our brave fellows replied by three cheers. “The enemy halted, carried arms about 40 paces from us, and fired a volley. We returned it, and giving out ‘Hurra!’ brought down the bayonets. Our surprise was inexpressible when, pushing through the clearing smoke, we saw the backs of the Imperial . We halted, and stared at each other as if mistrusting our eyesight. Some nine pounders from the rear of our right poured in the grape amongst them, and the slaughter was dreadful. In no part of the field did I see carcasses so heaped upon each other. I could not account for their flight, nor did I ever hear an admissible reason assigned for it. It was a most providential panic.” The collapse of the Imperial Guard quickly spread panic through the French ranks and many turned and fled. Wellington and Blücher [met] beside La Belle Alliance where the Duke agreed that his exhausted troops be spared the pursuit of Napoleon and the French, entrusting it to the fresher Prussians. Estimates put the French losses at Waterloo, dead, wounded and taken prisoner, at around 27,000. Over the whole campaign, the Prussians’ aggregate loss was stated officially as 33,132. Casualties among Wellington's army of British, Dutch and German troops were approximately 23,000. Napoleon tried to regroup in Paris but abdicated as on June 22 and was exiled to where he died in 1821. On July 7, Wellington and Blücher entered Paris in triumph.

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