Waterloo April 2024 – Day Two.

We started the day at Hougoumont, where I was staying. Today was all about the 18^th June 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. Tomorrow we would concentrate on the Prussians.

The Hougoumont landscape has changed. There was wood to the south and the orchard to east stretched much further than the current walled garden. The walled garden, which many call the orchard was actually formal gardens and not an orchard. The buildings that now stand are the barns and staff accommodation. The main house and other barns were lost in the fire which ripped through the site on that fateful day in 1815. Many of the barn roofs were thatched and not tile as they are now. The farm is a site of desperate struggle, heroism, and sacrifice.

It is etched into the British psyche, a place sacrifice and endeavor against all odds. A battle within a battle, which sucked in twenty three percent of the total French infantry troops and yet was defended by less than 5% of the British Allied army. A battle which was not meant to be, with French Generals not adhering to their initial orders and ignoring their instincts deciding that taking the farm from the British was all that mattered. I was able to understand why this battle was so important to Wellington, not so much for the position, (although that was important) but for the amount of resources the French used which meant they were not being used elsewhere.

At the beginning of the day there were only around two hundred British Guards at the farm, it was mostly manned by Nassau troops and around two hundred Hanovarian troops. Throughout the days the farm was reinforced by more soldiers from the British Guards. Just after midday, the guards numbered more than a thousand. The battle raged from 11:30am until the after 7:30pm. The French managed to gain access to farm buildings via the North Gate, which lay on the opposite side of the farm from the French attack. The French seized their chance and pushed to get into the complex, yet due to the command of McDonnel and his quick reaction with Wyndham, Hervy, Gooch, and six other soldiers who fought the French back from the gates and closed them. Those French who had managed to get in, were soon killed.

The British artillery was used from the ridge to hit the French troops in the wood and orchard, French artillery was sadly lacking, and it is still debated why this was not used on the farm outer walls. Jerome, Napoleon’s brother committed more and more troops under his Generals Baudin and Soye. In the afternoon Marshal Foy committed his 1^st and 2^nd Brigades of the 9^th Division. At 2:45pm, you had both Jerome’s 6^th Division and Foy’s 9^Th Division attacking the farm.

The farm held all day, it was set alight by French mortars and still the Allied soldiers held firm.

Hougoumont was one of three strongpoints on the battlefield. Looking from the North (Wellington’s line on Mont St Jean Ridge) to the South, Hougoumont was on Wellington’s right flank. La Haye Saint lay in the middle and Papelotte Farm lay on the left-hand flank. Wellington wanted all these farms defended so it would channel the French attack and also concentrate French troops. Wellington’s main force was on the reverse slope of the ridge line stretching near Hougoumont to Papelotte. His army was a mix of nationalities. It was made up of British, King’s German Legion (part of the British Army from expatriated German soldiers), Nassau, Brunswick, Hanoverian, Dutch and Belgian troops. Just over a third of this force were British.

Zack then took us near to La Haye Saint in the center position of Wellington’s line. He explained that at around 1pm, Napoleon’s Grand Battery of eighty guns opened fire followed by D’Erlon I Corps attack. This took place to the left of La Haye Saint, Charlet and Quiot directly attacking the farm. On the far left of D’Erlon’s advance, Durette was tasked with attacking Papelotte Farm.

As the French in huge numbers get to the crest of the ridge, the British line, made up of Netherland Infantry started to buckle. Four battalions fell back, and one stood its ground. This left a gap of 210 yards in Wellington’s line and from the French observations, it looked like the battle was won. The line had been broken. It was then that the British Union Brigade launched its attack for that would rout the advancing French troops. In a space of twenty minutes the Union Brigade (Heavy Horse Brigade) had destroyed five French infantry brigades and inflicted 5,000 casualties. This included the Charge of the Scots Greys famously painted by Lady Butler. The French lost two Eagles in this charge.

The cavalry carved through the infantry and could now see the French Grand Battery and charged towards it, yet they had nothing with them to spike the guns and horses were now spent. (Horses need time to recover, using your heavy brigade can be a one-use option). Now it was the turn of the French cavalry to get into the action and they attacked the tired British Horses. This breaks them up and repels the attack cutting down many of the British cavalry.

We also looked at a memorial to the 27^th Inniskilling’s. The 6^th Division had moved up from Mont St Jean Farm, under Major-General Sir John Lambert. This was of great interest to me as I am the custodian of his ADC Thomas Baynes’ Waterloo Medal. Later in the day the Inniskilling’s form square due to French cavalry charges and were repeatedly struck by cannon fire from La Haye Saint when it was taken over by the French. The square stood firm although they took many casualties. There is a famous painting of this square with officers in the middle on horseback, of which two of those are Major-General Lambert and Thomas Baynes. We stood on the ground of the square which is just north of the memorial and paid our respects.

In just over an hour and twenty minutes from the start of Napoleon’s barrage to the glimpse that the battle was won for the French, to the charge of the Union Brigade and the counterattack of the French cavalry, the French attack was over. Napoleon would not have a better chance of winning Waterloo for the rest of the day.

We visited the Sandpit, which is now a layby, from which the British 95^th shot at the French attacking La Haye Saint. The farm had been surrounded with French getting into the orchard and outer sections. The farm would only fall at 6pm, and this was mainly due to the defenders running out of ammunition as the supply routes had been cut. They only had the bayonet left. These were the soldiers of the Kings German Legion, and their main troops were on the crest of the north and west of the farm.

We also travelled to Papelotte Farm which was defended by soldiers of the Saxe-Weimar, they held out most of the day and the French only managed to gain access to it around 6:15pm, then Zieten’s Prussian division arrived from the north, and the French retreated without resistance.

Travelling back along the ridge just north of Lay Haye Saint we then walked past the Lion’s mound westwards, back towards Hougoumont. This part of Welling’s line was where the guard divisions kept resupplying the defense of Hougoumont.  Also, some hardened Peninsular War veterans. There was a mix of Belgian and Netherland divisions. At around 4pm, Marshal Ney launched his first mass Cavalry Attack on these lines. It is stated that around 4,000 of all rank cavalry attacked the British Lines. The British and KGL formed 22 squares, with 14,000 men. Not one of the squares was broken. The attack and subsequent attacks which numbered just over 9,000 French cavalry had failed. The use of British Light Cavalry (Approximately 8,000) led counter attacks against the French cavalry. The main cause for casualties in the squares was artillery and not cavalry.

All day Napoleon had known the Prussians had been advancing from Wavre. He needed to defeat Wellington before they arrived, he needed to keep the two allied armies apart. For over six hours Napoleon had tried in vain to smash a hole in Wellington’s center. Now as the day drew to a close and with the Prussian’s closing in, he took his last gamble, which was to send in the Imperial Guard Infantry. Their band played the tunes they had played at fifty previous battlefields, they had never known defeat. This was now 7:30pm. It was also not just the Imperial Guard marching to the ridge, D’Erlon and Reille had been ordered to join as well as Donzelot. This was as close to an all-front attack by the French on the day.

The Imperial Guard approached the crest of the ridge and in the center of the line were surprised that there were no British soldiers on the other side. It was now that the famous words Wellington shouted, “Now Maitland, Now’s your time.” For Maitland’s Guards Brigade were lying down on the floor in the corn. At once over 1,400 infantrymen stood up in a four deep line, shoulder to shoulder and delivered a devastating volley into the French lines. The French regimental colonel Michel was shot, so too were a further twenty French officers. This volley took out around 20% of those still standing. It was too much for the Imperial Guard in this section. The British guards moved forward with the bayonet to confirm the rout.

The pivotal moment was that of Colonel Colbourne, commander of the 52^nd Foot. He was on the far west of the ridge and decided (with no order from Wellington) to move down the slope towards Hougoumont and outflank the French who were still driving up the slope. His devastating fire from the flank created panic in the French ranks and as they moved across the battlefield, the French fell into an outright retreat. The imperial guard was on the run; it had now tasted defeat. Wellington ordered an all-out advance which pushed the French back and into surrender.

The battle was over, and Napoleon had been defeated.

I will finish with a quote from Napoleon on the morning of battle when holding his breakfast meeting with his Marshals.

When Soult suggested that Grouchy should be recalled to join the main force, Napoleon said, “Just because you have all been beaten by Wellington, you think he’s a good general. I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad troops, and this affair is nothing more than eating breakfast”.

The Sepoy General did well, not only had he defeated Napoleon’s Marshals and Generals time and time again in Spain, but he also now had defeated Napoleon before bedtime. Sleep well.