Waterloo (Napoleonic Horseman Book 6)

by Griff Hosker

  The Earl of Uxbridge appeared next to us. " Sir Arthur, I have gathered every cavalry squadron I could manage to find. We have four brigades of light cavalry and I have cobbled together the survivors of the union brigade. It is little enough but they are there." He pointed just behind us where I saw a mix of Scots Greys, Inniskillings, Life Guards and Dragoon Guards. There were barely four squadrons left from four regiments.

  "Thank you, Uxbridge."

  At that moment the Grand Battery belched its fire across the valley. It was like a scene from hell. The sky had already darkened as dusk approached but storm clouds were also gathering. The swirling cloud of smoke from the guns was also ever present. I could not get the taste of the powder from my throat no matter how much water I drank. We looked as though we would have to fight on into the night.

  The Duke pulled his hat down a little tighter as the wind gusted. I was still bareheaded. "Well gentlemen the game is afoot. I believe the French are to attack again. Any sign of the Prussians?"

  The Earl said, "They are in the woods yonder but the Young Guard is holding them up somewhat."

  "Then we only have to endure this for a short time. Here it comes!"

  It sounded like the wind as the cannon balls screamed towards us. There was little accuracy now. Every cannon on both sides needed cleaning. Many would need a rebore. The windage added to the accumulation of unburned powder meant that some balls ploughed into the hillside, others flew overhead but some managed to strike horses, guns and men; it was a lottery. There was little skill now. If you were hit then it was fate rather than an enemy which decided it.

  I was on one side of the Earl and I felt the wind pass between us. Copenhagen reared a little and both the Earl and myself looked at the Duke in case he had been wounded. Then the Earl looked down and said, "By God, sir, I have lost my leg."

  The Duke looked down and said, "By God sir, so you have."

  I reached over and grabbed the reins of the Earl's horse. Then I stepped down holding both reins in my right hand. The Duke dismounted too. The ball had taken the leg off cleanly. I handed the reins of the horses to the Duke and took a cravat from a dead officer whose body was close by. I tied it tightly around the thigh. It was my second tourniquet of the day. "Hang on sir, and I shall take you to the surgeon."

  I leapt onto Pierre's back and, grabbing the reins from the Duke led the Earl back to Waterloo and the overworked surgeons. As I rode I kept looking anxiously over my shoulder to see that he was still on his horse. The Earl was a superlative horseman and wounded or not he was not going to fall. "Nearly there, sir."

  "Dashed kind of you Matthews. You are a good fellow."

  His voice sounded slurred as though he was drunk. I shouted to the orderlies as we approached, "It is the Earl of Uxbridge! He has lost his leg. Lend a hand there you chaps."

  Two big orderlies ran over to me. One had been there when I had brought Sharp. "You don't need to keep bringing us fresh ones, Major. We have more than enough to be going on with."

  The other put his arm behind the Earl's back. "Just let yourself go, sir; I promise we won't drop you." As they laid him on the stretcher they said, "You can leave him with us, sir. It is a clean wound. It just needs cauterizing and stitching."

  I left the Earl's horse to his own devices. I suspect the animal was as shocked as the humans had been. I noticed that the Duke had brought up the troops from behind the ridge once more to face the guns. The French bombardment was a prelude to an attack.

  When I reached the ridge there was just myself and the Duke who were left. He gave me a wry smile. "We are becoming a smaller target Matthews. Let us hope that at least one of us sees the outcome of the battle. I should hate to die and not know how it turns out." I don't know why but that made me laugh.

  "Come let us rally the men." General Halkett's men were in square and they were suffering. We stood by the rear wall of the square. I saw at least two colonels lying wounded and General Halkett himself came over to us. "For the love of God, Sir Arthur, either let us withdraw or reinforce us!

  The Duke's face showed no emotion. "Every Englishman on the field must now die on the spot we occupy!" As he turned his horse's head away he shouted, "Hold fast, General. It will be over before too long."

  We headed back to the tree. "I shall go to Maitland and the Guards. Bring the 3rd Netherlands Light Cavalry Division and place them behind General Halkett. Perhaps their horses will stop them running." It was cold but it was necessary.

  As I galloped the hundred yards or so the horsemen Pierre had to step carefully to avoid riding over corpses. The ground was littered with them.

  The light horse regiments looked to be a larger number than they actually were; their horses helped with the illusion. They followed me back and formed two lines behind the shaken division. When I reached General Halkett I said, ""The Duke says you may go in line now if you wish sir."

  It was a lie, of course. The General wanted them in square in case the French cavalry appeared again but they would suffer fewer casualties that way and with the Light Horse behind them then the threat of French cavalry was diminished.

  The French army, and especially the Imperial Guard, like drama and we heard the pas de charge. The Imperial Guard were coming. The drums seemed to be the sound of our doom as they echoed across the valley. Occasionally the cannon would drown out the noise but then it would be there again as it came up the slope in waves. It was like a heartbeat. It was the heartbeat of the French army. I found myself alone under the elm tree. I checked my watch. It was shortly before seven thirty in the evening of a very long day. Normally battles peter out but not this one. It was like two bare knuckle fighters. Both are spent but neither will give in. The blows are weaker but still hurt. We were like that. We were trading blows and we were bleeding.

  I watched the Middle Guard as they marched towards us. Shell and ball still flew overhead and men still fell but every eye was fixed on the steady march of the five columns. Each column represented a battalion of very experienced soldiers. There were Chasseurs and there were Grenadiers. Both were fine soldiers. These men would not run after five solid volleys. They would trade punches and bayonets. The troops who marched were the most fanatical and the most loyal of the Emperor's troops. Behind them I saw the Old Guard and the Guard cavalry. Should this blow not deliver the knockout then more fresh troops would do the job. It seemed hopeless.

  I found myself looking over my shoulder. I wondered how Sharp was. I was resigned to dying beneath that elm tree but I wanted Sharp to survive. He would be able to go back to the D'Alpini estate and enjoy a well earned retirement. I would lie with the others here. I would remain with my comrades, French and English.

  Chapter 14

  I realised that the Duke had not returned and I was his only aide. I galloped a rested Pierre towards General Maitland and the Guards Division. The Duke frowned when I rode up, "What's the matter Matthews? Having a rest?"

  "No sir."

  "Good." He pointed to his right. "Join Sir John Colborne and the 52nd. This will be hot soon. If he is able I want his men to fire along the flank of this end column. He should be able to enfilade them."

  "Sir!"

  That was Wellington's way. The General of that Division was General Adam but the Duke liked to use regiments. He knew that the 52nd was one of the largest regiments we had left and they had suffered less than most. I did not have far to ride. They were lying down in the field. "Sir John, his lordship would like you to try to enfilade the French column if you get the chance."

  "Right Major."

  I left the highly competent Colborne to complete the Duke's orders and rode back to the elm tree and Sir Arthur. "I think, Matthews, that you will be needed by General Halkett. His men have done well over the last three days but they have taken a hard pounding." He hesitated and then put his mouth closer to my ear. The noise of shot and shell was deafening but I think he did not wish to shout. "If I fall..."

  "Sir, you are a rock and you will not
fall. You cannot for you are the heart of this army."

  "Never the less I have seen too many good friends fall today. I think we can win today. We can hold them here but to win we need Bonaparte's Guards destroying. Choose your moment and send in the cavalry if you believe they can tip the balance."

  "Sir, that is a great responsibility! I am but a Major."

  "Matthews you are the most dependable officer I have ever met. You are calm and you have a military mind. Use those abilities for your country. I trust you. Battles are won and lost on such tight margins and decisions. If things go as I plan and hope then when I wave my hat three times that will be the signal to advance. Make sure that the cavalry is kept in good order." Then he turned and rode behind the Guards.

  The French were now less than four hundred yards from our front line. The guns we had left were carving lines in their files but the Grenadiers and Chasseurs merely closed ranks. I placed Pierre next to Sir Colin. "The Duke sent me here, General. He thought I might be of some assistance."

  "Glad to have you. These fellows are all but done in. If they were a horse then we would have shot them already." He looked at the Brigade. They looked to have had the heart ripped from them. The shells were still exploding and the cannonballs still tearing holes in their ranks. The only consolation was that the hits were more random and haphazard.

  General Halkett turned and faced the depleted and spent brigade. Despite the firing around him he made his voice heard. "You have done all that can be asked of you lads but I am going to ask you to do more. Boney is sending his best men here to test them against us. I think we are better. We will give them a few volleys and then stick the bayonet to them. What do you say?"

  The sound of the guns was drowned out by a chorus of 'Huzzahs!'

  I felt proud and terrified at the same time. The French were bringing horse artillery with them this time. We would have to endure musket fire and cannon fire. We would have to stand against volleys from muskets which were as yet unfired. Our men had been firing for almost seven hours.

  As the huge moustachioed Guards approached, their bearskins wavered from side to side as they stepped and then passed over bodies and the undulating ground, I braced myself for the fierce fire and storm which would soon be coming my way. I did spy a kind of hope as I saw the Grenadiers before us trying to deploy into line. They had to do so or else they would have only had a handful of muskets able to fire. The Grenadiers were the tallest men in the Guard and with their bearskins they towered over us. It seemed as though we were being attacked by giants.

  One of the privates suddenly said, "By but these are big buggers! At least we cannot miss them."

  A sergeant roared, "That man! Quiet in the ranks!"

  General Halkett saw the Guards appear at the same time as I did and he shouted. "Present! Fire!"

  It was as though a fog had descended in the middle of a thunderstorm. The Grenadiers disappeared as every musket was discharged and the black smoke rolled towards the French. The Brigade got off a second volley before the Grenadiers returned fire. I felt the wind from their musket balls. They were more ragged than I had expected. General Halkett's prompt command had given us a marginal advantage. Redcoats began to fall but still their discipline held and they fired a third and then a fourth volley.

  Out of the fog a sea of bearskins emerged. They were less than twenty yards from us. The fifth volley made them disappear once more. I braced myself for another fusillade but instead there was nothing in reply and then the cannon balls began to rip into the flanks of the French line.

  I thought that we had won and then I saw that our soldiers were starting to move back. Halkett's brigade which had come within a whisker of victory now seemed ready to flee. They were falling back to the reverse slope. This was not a rout. They were retiring away from the enemy who seemed ready to push them back. Halkett's Brigade just turned and began to move back down the reverse slope.

  From the back of Pierre I could see that the Grenadiers had halted. We had stunned them. They were trying to regroup. Officers were down and there was a hiatus as order was restored to the Middle Guard. We had to move forward. Now was the moment when the Guards could be driven from the field. I could not see Sir Colin. Officers and sergeants were looking to me for I was the only officer on a horse that they could see. I remembered the Duke's words about margins. The French were overbalancing; one more push and they might fall and so I shouted, "The 5th Brigade will halt. About face!"

  This was a crucial moment. To my immense relief I heard the sergeants and officers who remained repeating the order. Sir Colin appeared at my side. I could see that he must have taken a tumble from his horse. He held the colours of the 33rd aloft and waved it. He nodded towards me as he moved forward still holding the flag. "The 5th Brigade will advance! Forward!"

  The Brigade began to move towards the Grenadiers. The 95th were peppering the horse battery with their rifles and the cannon fire had diminished somewhat. I put my heels to Pierre and drew my sword. A gap in the 69th's lines appeared and I hurtled though it. The young officer in command of the gun saw me when I was just ten yards from him. He was brave but the artillerymen of the French had only a short hangar with which to defend themselves. I had a long blade and I speared him with it. I withdrew it and was already reining Pierre in. I wheeled my mount around and sliced across the head of the sergeant who tried to fend me off with his rammer. He was too slow and the edge of my sword ripped across his throat. I laid about me with my sword. Even if I did not strike them then I stopped them from firing.

  Some of the 69th had followed me and they butchered the gunners where they stood. Soon the whole battery was silent and our tormentors were dead. I allowed Pierre and myself to gather our breath. I saw the Grenadiers as they hesitated. The 5th had given them a bayonet charge and they had fallen back but they were trying to reform.

  General Halkett shouted. "Prepare muskets! Fire!" At the same time the gunners began to pour canister into the already thinning ranks. We had few guns close by but they did serious damage to the Grenadiers. We had stopped our column. They had had to move down the slope. They were still trying to form a line but General Halkett continued to order volleys so that our firepower was superior to theirs.

  I suddenly realised that we had borne the brunt of the first attack and that, to my right, the second column was about to strike the Guards. The slope had been easier facing us. The French there had made better time. I saluted General Halkett with my sword as he continued to fire volley after volley into the shattered column. They were still standing but all fight had gone from them. They were dead men walking. Their courage stopped them from retreating and the battered 5th Division stopped them from advancing. They would die where they stood. I had done what was needed and I would be needed elsewhere.

  I walked Pierre to the Duke who had also joined the Guards and the 52nd as they prepared to fire on the Chasseurs. General Maitland was watching the Duke. The French advanced confidently. The smoke and the noise had hidden the fate of their Grenadiers from them. They did not know that a fifth of their force was gone. These were two big columns; one of Chasseurs and one of Grenadiers. They were attempting to deploy into line, much as the other column had done. The Duke waited until they were just sixty yards from the bayonets before he shouted, ""Now Maitland! Now's your time! Up Guards!" The muskets were all raised. "Fire!"

  This was not a brigade which had suffered massive casualties like the 5th Division. These had not endured attack after attack. These were the elite of the British army and they would not miss. Over three hundred Frenchmen fell in that first volley.

  Maitland took over and the Guards repetitively raised and fired their muskets into the heart of the columns. The two columns, like the Grenadiers, faltered. They were brave men but it is hard to advance into a wall of lead. It was made even harder by the fact that they had to march up hill and clamber over the bodies of their comrades who lay before them. They formed lines and fired a ragged volley but the iron dis
cipline of the Guards held.

  I saw Marshal Ney exhorting these Guards who had never recoiled before to greater deeds of glory although, in truth, I did not see what else they could do. They were trying to march up hill into a storm of lead. The cannons at Belle Alliance were now silent for fear of hitting blue uniforms. I watched as Ney's horse was hit by a ball from the British guns. He jumped to his feet and clambered onto the horse given to him by his aide. The aide paid the price when a rifleman targeted him. He crumpled to the ground.

  And still the Chasseurs and Grenadiers tried to advance. The Duke shouted, "The Guards will advance!" It was a bold move for they were not yet beaten.

  The resolute Guards began to march down the slope. I waved my sword in the air and General Halkett saw my action. He must have thought that the Duke had ordered them forward. Miraculously the battered 5th Division did advance and then another miracle happened. It was something I thought I would never have seen, The Grenadiers and the Chasseurs began to fall back. The whole right hand side of the French advance had been halted and was now being driven back. They were moving back down the hill. They were still in good order but they were moving back.

  The terrain and the slope meant that the last column, the largest one, the 4th Chasseurs was only now arriving at the ridge. Thanks to the Duke's instructions Sir John Colborne had half of his huge brigade at right angles to the column. I heard the order to fire and almost jumped at the sound of the volley. The whole column disappeared in a cloud of black and acrid smoke. The volleys rolled around the valley. The artillery battered them. With the Guards, the 52nd and the 73rd all pouring volley after volley into them they broke and they ran. When they ran the other two columns who had been retreating in the face of our onslaught also ran.

  This was the moment when I saw the exhaustion on the faces of my countrymen. They could not purse. As much as they might want to their bodies would not allow them. The guns and the muskets fired into the backs of the Middle Guard as they retired.