How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did Free

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Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did problem. Return to Book Page. Two centuries after the Battle of Waterloo, the French are still in denial. If Napoleon lost on 18 June and that's a big 'if'then whoever rules the universe got Published in the th Anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo a witty look at how the French still think they won, by Stephen Clarke, author of Years of Annoying the French and A How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did in the Merde. If Napoleon lost on 18 June and that's a big 'if'then whoever rules the universe got it wrong. As soon as the cannons stopped How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did, French historians began re-writing history. The Duke of Wellington was beaten, they say, and then the Prussians jumped into the boxing ring, breaking all the rules of battle. In essence, the French cannot bear the idea that Napoleon, their greatest- ever national hero, was in any way a loser. Especially not against the traditional enemy — les Anglais. Stephen Clarke has studied the French version of Waterloo, as told by battle veterans, novelists, historians — right up to today's politicians, and he has uncovered a story of pain, patriotism and sheer perversion Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published June 4th by Century first published April 29th More Details Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jun 23, Paul rated it it was amazing Shelves: history. Just do not let the French hear you say that as they believe they won and yes we lost, there is How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did collective amnesia in France for the last years. As Stephen Clarke shows throughout this delightfully funny but factual book the French do not like to see their ultimate hero cast as a failure at Waterloo. Even Napoleon wrote after the battle that he won and that the English cheated, as he sat in exile on an obscure British territory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The French political, education, military systems are deeply based on the Napoleonic codes even today, when he lost at Waterloo even the Arc de Triomphe had not been completed but the boulevards had! French patriotism does not allow them to admit that they lost at Waterloo from Victor Hugo to the recent French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin all state that it was the French that won the moral victory. A victory? No, a lottery, won by Europe and paid for by France. Such as he was able to raise an army of force between March and June ofmen to guard against invaders and these were mobilised and ready to act. Again one cannot disagree with the fact that on all sides at Waterloo it took super human courage and stoicism or plain stupidity to fight a battle in which the main tactic of both sides was to stand up in non-camouflaged uniforms and let the enemy fire at you, or charging armour without anything that was bullet proof right in to the mouth of canon that was firing right at you. One interesting aside about Waterloo and the weather, it was raining in JuneHow the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did this came as a surprise to the French blaming God for being against them with the weather. But if they had done their research they would have found that June has the fourth highest amount of rainfall in Belgium so turning those fields in Flanders in to a quagmire and rivers of mud. It cannot be said we learnt the lesson of history of Flanders, rain and mud years later. In fact Napoleons canons attempted to pound the British lines but most of his cannonballs settled in the mud and did nothing. Out of the 80, books that have examined every inch of the battle at Waterloo, How The French Won Waterloo is probably the most interesting and funny making the subject seem almost fun but not hiding the harsh realities of war. Sometimes a student needs to remember facts but as a history graduate I tend to remember the funnier stories as it always sparks my memory towards the actual facts. This book is fun, well written and a very welcome addition to the Waterloo canon and I am sure there are plenty of people who will smile all the way throughout the book. Sep 27, Chris Boulton rated it really liked it. This is my second dip in the historical writings of Stephen Clarke and I enjoyed this one just as much as the last one " years". Pretty sure it's the genetically programmed need to take the mikey out of the French. Remember the google search thing where you put in "French military victories", click "I'm feeling lucky" and it comes up with no results and asks "did you mean "French military defeats"? I like this book be This is my second dip in the historical writings of Stephen Clarke and I enjoyed this one just as much as the last one " years". If you take the changes, the years of relative peace and the ironing out of Napoleon's laws and government that could only really come into effect because Napoleon lost and abdicated the second time then, yeah, I guess they did win a victory of sorts. I also liked the idea that Napoleon won history. So what I'm trying to say is. It's cool. Aug 14, Jpp rated it it was ok. May 30, Noemi rated it really liked it. A refreshing and quirky read soaked with entertaining sarcasm. It was fun to explore the battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's whereabouts from a rather British perspective. I definitely learned a great deal of interesting things that are often overlooked in textbooks and history classes. May 29, Shawn rated it it was amazing. A wonderfully lively and engaging read. The wry wit offers a unique and clever approach to what is How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did considered and researched work. Challenging himself unpeal the rational onion that is the enduring popularity of Napoleon, Clarke successfully attempt to ask how and why facts can be assembled to support the belief that Napoleon or the French forces were the Victor's in Clarke relies largely on French sources balanced against carefully selected foreign commentators both contemporary and A wonderfully lively and engaging read. Clarke relies largely on French sources balanced against carefully selected foreign commentators both contemporary and modern to substantiate and document the enduring myth of Napoleon. This is a superb read, approachable and written in Clarke's consistently witty fashion - both amusing and educational. Half billion pounds, is How much England has paid for fight with Napoleon, paying anyone who dare to help. To begin with, Napoleon's enthusiasts think even that God has send rain on times of battles Napoleon could not use his favourite weapon, artillery. At war, same as in love. To end you have to be in the closeness. In two decades french developed interesting ideas ab Half billion pounds, is How much England has paid for fight with Napoleon, paying anyone who dare to help. In two decades french developed interesting ideas about wining Wotterlo, such as, that they captured more baners, some say, even six, losing only two eagels. Other one is that first part of the battle hes been won by french, second by British. Pierre Cambronne has said " merde! And that naked him a winner in enthusiasts eyes. Le memorial de sainte-helene memorial is like Bible to bonapartists. As swell written that How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did didn't crave for crown, that he got it up from gutter, given by people. There are also other books on the subject that are mensioned,with one example of french paranoia that everyone is against the France, an that Waterlo is more like lottery win, rather then wining. As for me I will always be in favor of Aristocracy, that core of France. English Accuracy, precaution, geometry, prudence intuition Name of this exam is meaning preparing to become scholar or knight. Finally defeat of Napoleon has been whining ground for France as France could grow and How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did after that period. Sometimes you win, and sometimes… Merde! When you think about Napoleon, you very rarely think of the Empereur as a loser. Based on this line of thought, Clarke gets back for the third time after Years… and Dirty Bertie on history books and delivers a witty account on the last years and the legacy the first emperor of France left. With this, he takes some pleasure and the reader with himpoking fun at Bonapartists and French historians that tend to give Napoleon more than the des Sometimes you win, and sometimes… Merde! With this, he takes some pleasure and the reader with himpoking fun at Bonapartists and French historians that tend to give Napoleon more than the deserved amount of moral victories. May 08, Miltiadis Michalopoulos rated it really liked it Shelves: military-history. This is a very witty and entertaining book, but it is also well balanced and, rather surprisingly, it pays a lot of respect to Napoleon, to his faithful soldiers and to France. I give 4 stars to this delightful and engaging book. Jul 25, Flob rated it liked it. Well it amused me. Now, I don't know how accurate the title is and how prevelent the attitude is across How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did but this is a rather amusing review of the instances and occasions where the history of How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did has been interpreted slightly differently by those on the side of the Tricolour, including reference to the many occasions where Napoleon himself did the exact same thing. The Battle Of Waterloo: How The French Won (Or Think They Did) - HistoryExtra

Given that the first cannon shots were fired at about 11am, this would mean that as night fell, Napoleon was victorious. It sounds here less like a lost battle than an abandoned football match. So he admits defeat, albeit in a confusing way. This is a key argument, because it suggests that Napoleon emerged from 18 June with one victory and one defeat. Almost the only piece missing from his empire-building puzzle was Britain. Britain was almost the only European country that Napoleon never managed to invade. All of which explains the perversely twisted arguments that Bonapartist historians have given to diminish the Anglo-Prussian victory of Juneever since Napoleon did so in his post-battle report. One of their classic arguments is that Wellington cheated. A year earlier, he had predicted that the open farmland south of Brussels might How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did the site of a standoff between British and French forces in the region, and had found the ridge where he would align his soldiers on 17 June Some might argue that reconnoitering for higher ground in a strategic location was intelligent military planning — to Bonapartists, though, it was cheating. That fruity picnic has haunted his family name ever since. In the early 19th century, generals led their troops from How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did front, and stayed almost permanently in the firing line. Others had betrayed him during the political upheavals in France inwhen Napoleon was deposed for the first time. Rain poured out of the Belgian sky all night before the battle, forcing the French soldiers to sleep in puddles and preventing Napoleon from manoeuvring his cannons — his favourite weapon — into place. A few raindrops more or less felled Napoleon. It was a change in the direction of the universe. No, because of God. Napoleon was also troubled by his health. Riding a horse on the battlefield was bound to be agony. The Bonapartists point to a crucial moment towards the end of the battle. As the French retreated, one group of men did so without breaking ranks — this was a battalion of the Garde, led by General Pierre Cambronne. Hearing this insulting rebuff, the British artillery opened fire from point-blank range and wiped out almost all of thewho instantly became martyrs — and in some French eyes, victors. Unleashing deadly lightning with such a word counts as victory. It is true that, even as early as the s, impoverished France almost relished the fact that it was being left behind by the British-led industrial revolution, and began to concentrate on its traditional industries such as the production of unique regional cheeses and wines, the distillation of perfumes from its native plants and hand-made high-quality clothes. Villepin suggests How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did the global importance of these French industries today are victories that sprung directly from Waterloo. Until the order was given to exile Napoleon to Saint Helena, he seriously believed that he could retire as a celebrity in England. His supporters point to the fact that his tomb in Paris is bigger, and more frequently visited by tourists, than that of any king of France. They rightly remind us that the legal system Napoleon founded, How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did Code Civilis still used right across Europe. Indeed, while he was alive, Napoleon always dressed in his own unique style. In short, Napoleon might have lost on 18 June and the debate about that continues in Francebut it is hard to deny that his highly vocal admirers are right — he has won the battle of history. Napoleon Bonaparte tries to lead the final assault by his Imperial Guard at the battle of Waterloo. The Duke of Wellington commanding his troops at the battle of Waterloo. Original artwork engraved by T Fielding after a drawing by R Westall. An engraving by Samuel Freeman from a painting by Paul Delaroche. A plan of the How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did of Waterloo. Your guide to the Roman empire: when it was formed, why it split and how it failed, plus its most colourful emperors. More on: United Kingdom. You may like. What is the significance of Waterloo? The Library Why Waterloo fires our imaginations. What killed Napoleon Bonaparte? How the French Won Waterloo - or Think They Did by Stephen Clarke - Penguin Books Australia

If Napoleon lost on 18 June and that's a big 'if'then whoever rules the universe got it wrong. As soon as the cannons stopped firing, French historians began re-writing history. The Duke of Wellington was beaten, they say, and then the Prussians jumped into the boxing ring, breaking all the rules of battle. In essence, the French cannot bear the idea that Napoleon, their greatest-ever national hero, was in any way a loser. Especially not against the traditional enemy — les Anglais. Stephen Clarke has studied the French version of Waterloo, as told by battle veterans, novelists, historians — right up to today's politicians, and he has uncovered a story of pain, patriotism and sheer perversion Stephen Clarke. His Merde novels have been bestsellers all over the world, including France. Research for The French Revolution and What Went Wrong took him deep into French archives in search of the actual words, thoughts and deeds of the revolutionaries and royalists of He has now re-emerged to ask modern Parisians why they have forgotten some of the true democratic heroes of the period, and opted to idolize certain maniacs. Indeed, as Stephen Clarke demonstrates in this cheeky book, they have spent two whole centuries 'indulging in outrageous denial'. Search books and authors. Buy from…. View all online retailers. Two centuries after the Battle of Waterloo, the French are still in denial. About the author Stephen Clarke Stephen Clarke lives in How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did, where he divides his time between writing and not writing. Follow Stephen on SClarkeWriter and www. Also by Stephen Clarke. Related titles. World History. Islands of Mercy. Pride And Prejudice. The Cut Out Girl. The Diary of a Young Girl. The Count of Monte Cristo. Napoleon The Great. The Longest Afternoon. Napoleon's Wars. The Crimean War. The Battle of The Nile. Russia Against Napoleon. The Enlightenment. Sicily ' Our top books, exclusive content and competitions. Straight to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did your email. Enter your email to sign up. Thank you! Your subscription to Read How the French Won Waterloo: Or Think They Did was successful. To help us recommend your next book, tell us what you enjoy reading. Add your interests.