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Waterloo The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles

Page 33

by Bernard Cornwell

organisation/structure of armies 6–7

  Ostend 40, 49, 125

  Papelotte 138–9, 140, 167, 182, 187, 194, 201, 275

  Peninsular War 8, 30, 31, 45, 55, 108, 136, 146, 164, 171, 183, 212, 230, 243, 251, 264, 278, 290, 293, 298–9, 300, 301, 315, 322, 327, 345, 346

  Percy, Honourable Henry 319–21

  Picton, Sir Thomas 4, 45, 83, 85, 103, 110, 173, 189–90, 192, 204, 217, 314, 339

  Plancenoit 139, 173, 219, 248, 250, 257–8, 265, 271–4, 276–9, 285, 288, 295, 305–6, 324, 332

  Ponsonby, Sir Frederick 214–15

  Ponsonby, William 214

  Princess Borghese 17, 157

  Prussian army

  arrival at Waterloo 287–288

  left flank 68

  march to join Wellington 248–250

  right flank 30, 66, 67, 68, 74, 99, 128

  Quatre-Bras 51, 53, 54–7, 61–8, 73–4, 76, 81–6, 89, 90, 92, 94–5, 97, 101–2, 105–6, 108–14, 138, 150, 158, 187, 189, 194, 223, 231, 238, 248, 269, 275, 293, 315–16, 321, 324, 329–30, 334, 339

  Wellington victory 99

  rain and mud 117–18, 136–7

  Rebecque, Major-General Baron Jean-Victor Constant- 51, 55, 58, 83

  Reille, General 32, 121, 158, 159, 251, 287, 290, 293, 300

  Reuter, Captain von 72

  Richmond, Duchess of 39, 43, 46, 48, 53, 56, 58, 319, 334

  ball on eve of war 43–47

  Richmond, Duke of 51

  rifle, Baker 84

  Roberts, Andrew 121

  rocket troop 114–15, 131

  Royal Artillery 171, 341, 344

  Royal Horse Artillery 33, 131, 277, 304

  Royal Scots Greys 145, 193, 194–8, 200, 212, 214

  Russia 6, 10, 22, 23, 29, 36

  Saint-Amand 67, 73

  Saint Helena 16, 317, 339

  Saltoun, Lord 298

  Sambre, River 41, 47, 48–9, 53, 56, 288

  Saxe-Weimar, Prince Bernhard of 56, 63, 81, 83, 275

  Shelley, Lady 306, 307, 313, 319, 334, 348

  skirmishers 84–5

  British 188, 208, 252

  Dutch 83, 85, 183

  French 83–5, 94, 102, 183, 187, 259, 267, 268, 276, 278, 302

  Prussian 249

  skirmish line 63, 72, 84, 85, 246, 249, 286

  voltigeurs, French 84, 151, 266, 268, 278

  Smohain 139

  Sombreffe 53, 54, 55, 61

  Soult, Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu 26–7, 27, 28, 32, 121–2, 131, 144, 146, 174–5, 188, 192, 339, 340

  Sourd, Colonel 116

  Stuart, Sir Charles 122–3

  Suchet, Marshal 27

  Talleyrand, Charles-Maurice de 16, 22

  troop formation/deployment

  column and line 69–70, 252

  square 93–4, 233–4, 236

  Tuileries Palace 18, 19, 37

  Uxbridge, Lord 46, 115–16, 125–6, 131, 194, 222, 305, 314

  injury 305

  Vandamme, General 20, 73

  Vitoria, battle of 32, 39, 45, 82, 143, 212, 230

  Waldie, Miss Charlotte 62

  Wavre 107, 108–9, 113, 120, 127, 146–50, 153, 173–5, 220, 249, 250, 274, 285, 317, 324, 330

  Wellington, Duke of

  British ambassador 8

  centre of forces 96, 139, 156, 162, 201, 264, 269, 278

  Copenhagen (horse) 92, 93, 217, 297, 313

  early life 9

  later career 341–2

  left flank 94, 158, 172, 259, 287

  meeting with Blücher at La Belle Alliance 306

  meeting with Blücher before battle 65

  promise of help to Blücher at Ligny 330

  ‘reverse slope’ tactic 64–5, 67, 137

  right flank 5, 140, 156, 172, 181, 201, 245, 290, 299

  Wedderburn-Webster, Lady Frances (mistress) 45–6

  William of the Netherlands, Prince (Slender Billy) 8, 43–4, 51, 55, 94–5, 102, 124, 187, 208, 210, 262–4, 268, 293, 326, 341, 343

  Zieten, General von 49–50, 248, 270, 274–6, 277

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  NO ONE CAN WRITE ABOUT WATERLOO without leaning on the labours of other historians. I am particularly indebted to Mark Adkin, whose book, The Waterloo Companion, is indispensable. It is a magnificent compilation of almost everything you might ever wish to know about the battle. The book is lavishly illustrated, the maps are superb, the research exhaustive and the opinions judicious. Whenever I found myself confused, usually by contradictory eyewitness accounts, I discovered that Mark Adkin had already cleared a path through the disagreements. I owe him thanks.

  The battlefield today is dominated by the enormous Lion Mound, a memorial erected by Slender Billy’s father on the spot where his son was wounded. The Duke of Wellington, on seeing the mound, remarked, ‘They have ruined my battlefield,’ and so they had because, to make this monstrous lump, tons of soil were removed from the crest of the ridge so that visitors today cannot see the land as it was when the Imperial Guard made their final attack. Nevertheless the battlefield is well worth a visit, and the best guide is David Buttery’s Waterloo Battlefield Guide, which not only leads the visitor around the locations of the campaign, but tells the story of those four momentous days. The book is an essential companion for anyone visiting the battlefields of the campaign.

  Nothing can take us closer to the battle than the words of the men who were there, and no one has done more to preserve those accounts than Gareth Glover. By far the majority of the quotations I used in the book are drawn from Gareth Glover’s compilations, either Letters from the Battle of Waterloo or his three volumes of The Waterloo Archive. I am enormously grateful for his painstaking work.

  I was fortunate to meet the late Jac Weller and so had the privilege of listening to his robust opinions on Wellington, Napoleon and the battle of Waterloo. Peter Hofschröer’s opinions are just as robust, and the debate he sparked with his writings has broadened our knowledge of the battle. I am grateful to him, and to all the authors whose work has made mine so much easier. Patrick McGrady generously gave me his research on Elizabeth Gale, the five-year-old girl who witnessed the battle.

  I have been fortunate, too, in having the same publisher for all my writing career. The support I have received from Susan Watt, Helen Ellis, Liz Dawson, Kate Elton, Jennifer Barth, Jonathan Burnham, Myles Archibald and Julia Koppitz has been extraordinary, thank you! And thank you to my agent, Toby Eady, who has been with me from the first book and without whom there might have been no books.

  There would certainly have been no books without my wife’s support. Judy has been an inspiration throughout. It can be said of her, as Wellington remarked of the British infantry at Waterloo, that she is ‘the best of all instruments’. She is.

  Insignia derived from shako plates, buttons and regimental badges appear on the following pages: p. 5 & 8 – Royal Artillery shako plate (1813); p. 15 – Chap. 1, French Imperial eagle; p. 39 – Chap. 2, French Imperial Guard, shako plate; p. 61 – Chap. 3, 95th Rifles 1st Battalion; p. 81 – Chap. 4, bronze totenkopf worn on shakos by Prussian black Hussars; p. 105 – Chap. 5, French Life Guard shako plate; p. 133 – Chap. 6, King’s German Legion shako plate; p. 155 – Chap. 7, French 9th Hussars shako plate; p. 181 – Chap. 8, Gordon Highlanders insignia; p. 207 – Chap. 9, Royal Artillery shako plate; p. 229 – Chap. 10, 52nd Foot Infantry insignia; p. 257 – Chap. 11, Saxe Weimar badge; p. 285 – Chap. 12 – French Imperial Guard, shako plate; p. 313 – Aftermath, Royal Scots badge; p. 339 – Afterword – Royal Artillery shako plate.

  PICTURE CREDITS

  The listed page numbers and image credits relate to the hardback edition of this publication and should therefore be referenced in accordance with a copy of the physical edition.

  All reasonable efforts have been made by the author and publishers to trace the copyright owners of the material quoted in this book and of any images reproduced in this book. In the event that the author or publishers are notified of any mistakes or
omissions by copyright owners after publication, the author and publishers will endeavour to rectify the position accordingly for any subsequent printing.

  BRIDGEMAN IMAGES: p. 35: National Gallery, London, UK – p. 36: (top left) Louvre, Paris, France / Giraudon; (top right) Musee de l’Armee, Paris, France / Giraudon; (bottom right) Musee National du Chateau de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, France / Giraudon; (bottom left) Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2014 – p. 37: (top) Musee de l’Armee, Brussels, Belgium; (bottom left) De Agostini Picture Library / G. Costa – p. 58: (top) The Trustees of the Goodwood Collection – p. 77: Private Collection / Giraudon – p. 78/9: (top) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (bottom) Musee de l’Armee, Brussels, Belgium / Patrick Lorette / Giraudon – p. 101: (top) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (bottom right) Private Collection / © Look and Learn – p. 102: (top left) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (bottom) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia – p. 103: (top) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (bottom) Brown University Library, Providence, Rhode Island, USA – p. 129: Private Collection / Photo © Mark Fiennes – p. 130: (top) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (bottom right) Château de Versailles, France; (bottom left) Musee du Val-de-Grace, Paris, France / Archives Charmet – p. 131: (top left) Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images; (top right) © The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, UK; (bottom) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection – p. 151: (top) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection; (middle) R.S.A.F. Enfield Lock, Middlesex, UK – p. 152: (top) Musee des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, France / Giraudon – p. 153: (top) Château de Versailles, France; (bottom) Private Collection / The Stapleton Collection – p. 177: (middle) National Army Museum, London; (bottom right) Musee des Beaux-Arts, Reims, France / Roger-Viollet, Paris; (bottom left) © The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, UK – p. 178/9: Private Collection – p. 202/3: Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery) U.K. – p. 204: (top) © Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London, UK; (bottom right) Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2014 – p. 225: (top left) Private Collection / Topham Picturepoint; (bottom) National Army Museum, London – p. 254: (top) Bibliotheque Marmottan, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France / Giraudon; (bottom) National Army Museum, London – p. 255: (top) Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London, UK; (bottom) Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images – p. 279: Private Collection / Photo © Bonhams, London, UK – p. 280/1: Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany – p. 282/3: (bottom) Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London, UK / © English Heritage Photo Library – p. 308: Musee de l’Armee, Brussels, Belgium / Patrick Lorette – p. 309: (top) Brown University Library, Providence, Rhode Island, USA – p. 309: (bottom) National Army Museum, London – p. 310/11: Palace of Westminster, London, UK – p. 312: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, Germany / © DHM – p. 337: (top) Musee de l’Armee, Brussels, Belgium; (bottom) © Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, UK – p. 338: (top) Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia; (bottom) De Agostini Picture Library / G. Dagli Orti.

  OTHER SOURCES: p. 4: Turner Worldwide / Sotheby’s– p. 34: © INTERFOTO / Alamy – p. 37: (bottom right) Getty Images / ©The British Library Board – p. 58: (bottom left) © Musée historique de Lausanne; (bottom right) English Heritage / Mary Evans – p. 59: akg-images – p. 101: (bottom left) akg-images – p. 102: (top right) Getty Images / Art Media / Heritage Images – p. 151: (middle) © INTERFOTO / Alamy; (bottom) © INTERFOTO / Alamy – p. 152: bpk – p. 177: © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Fontainebleau) / Gérard Blot – p. 204: (bottom left) © Paris- Musée de l’Armée, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Pascal Segrette – p. 205: painting hangs in The Great Hall, Edinburgh Castle / Reproduced by kind permission of Royal Hospital Chelsea / Photograph courtesy Eric Gaba, Wikimedia Commons – p. 225: (top right) © National Portrait Gallery, London – p. 226/7: © National Museums Scotland – p. 282/3: (top) akg-images / Erich Lessing – p. 342: © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Preface

  1 Glorious news! Nap’s landed again in France, Hurrah!

  2 Napoleon has humbugged me, by God!

  3 The fate of France is in your hands!

  4 Avancez, mes enfants, courage, encore une fois, Français!

  5 Ah! Now I’ve got them, those English!

  6 A cannon ball came from the Lord knows where and took the head off our right-hand man

  7 The Big Boots don’t like rough stuff!

  8 Those terrible grey horses, how they fight!

  9 We had our revenge! Such slaughtering!

  10 The most beautiful troops in the world

  11 Defend yourselves! Defend yourselves! They are coming in everywhere!

  12 Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained

  Aftermath: A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee

  Afterword

  Bibliography

  Index

  Acknowledgements

  Picture Credits

  About the Publisher

 

 

 


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