WATERLOO
In the summer of 1815, Napoleon
found himself again facing Wellington, this time in Belgium. He
intended to divide the Prussian and British armies and destroy
them in detail. On June 16th, Napoleon led half his army into
battle against the Prussians at Ligny while Ney led the other
half against the British at Quatre Bras. Two days later, Napoleon
faced Wellington for the last time. After the battle of Ligny
and Quatre Bras, Napoleon advanced on the British army which was
concentrated at Mont St. Jean, Belgium. The British had arrayed
their forces in a defensive posture on a slight ridge that overlooked
a marshy valley. Wellington had anchored his right flank on a
stone farmhouse called Chateau de Hougoumont. In the center of
his line was another farmhouse know as La Haye Saint. Both of
these farmhouses had almost been converted into fortresses, giving
the British excellent defensive strongpoints. On the day of the
battle, Napoleon launched a three pronged attack on the Anglo-Dutch
positions. Fearing that any sort of a flanking assault would bog
down in the Valley, Napoleon decided to concentrate the majority
of his forces in an attempt to break Wellington’s center
and intended to launch only pinning attacks on the British left
and right wings. The French offensive began on the British right
flank at the Chateau. Held by only 4 light companies of British
guards, the Chateau became the focal point of vicious, close-range
fighting. Desperate attack followed desperate attack until virtually
all of Prince Jerome’s division, and almost half of the rest
of Reille’s corps, was involved in the fight. Wellington,
seeing the mass of uncommitted French troops opposite his center,
resisted the temptation to reinforce the Chateau’s defenders
and chose to save his reserves for the upcoming frontal assault.At
1:30 that afternoon, the main French assault began. Under the
cover of an 80 gun barrage, 3 French divisions charged through
the valley and up the slope of the ridge. When the French reached
the crest of the hill, they were met with withering musket fire
at point-blank range. In order to keep his units intact through
the bombardment, Wellington had ordered his men to lie down on
the concealed side of the ridge. So, when the 16,000 men of D’Erlon’s
Ist corps reached the top of the rise, they were confronted with
a mass of organized and determined British regulars. Nevertheless,
the French fought fiercely and succeeded in forcing a hole in
the Allied center. Before the French could exploit this weakness,
however, General Picton and a brigade of his peninsular veterans
charged into the fray and stopped the French breakthrough. D’Erlon
could move no further. Wellington, seeing the French stalled on
the ridge, called his cavalry to the attack. Under Lord Uxbridge’s
command, Lord Somerset’s Household cavalry and Ponsonby’s
Union Brigade Charged into the disordered French and threw them
off the ridge. D’Erlon’s men were put to flight and
badly mauled by the elite British heavy cavalry. Spurred on by
their success, the British cavalry continued their chase until
they reached the main French lines. Without infantry support,
they were all but annihilated by French artillery and cavalry
counter-charges. At this point, Marshal Ney was ordered to take
La Haye Saint, the farmhouse that so nicely reinforced the Allied
center. He led the rallied remnants of D’Erlon’s Ist
corps forward under cover of an intense bombardment and was repulsed
by the dug in defenders. Ney, thinking that the Allies were ready
to crack, called for a massive cavalry charge. He led forward
no less than 5,000 cavalrymen, many of them elite heavy cavalry,
in a charge against the ridge between La Haye Saint and Hougoumont.
Upon reaching the crest, the French were confronted with an awesome
spectacle, 20 British squares drawn up on the reverse slope of\par
the hill, waiting with gleaming bayonets for the gallant French
horsemen. The French cavalry circled the invincible squares, but
without artillery or infantry support the charge was doomed to
failure. The survivors fled back through the valley while Ney
tried in vain to rally them. After a brief lull in the battle,
Ney again formed an assault force out of the remnants of his cavalry
and again charged the ridge. He was once more repulsed, but this
time only barely. Wellington’s troops were becoming weary
and he was running out of reserves. After another lull in the
battle, Ney decided to try again. This time, however, he used
a proper combination\par of artillery, infantry, and cavalry and
he took La Haye Saint. Despite heavy casualties, the French managed
to storm the farmhouse and the nearby orchard. The British line
was about to crack and Ney could sense it. He called to Napoleon
for more reserves, but due to the Prussian arrival on the French
right flank, there were none left as the Imperial Guard was being
committed against the Prussians. Ney was forced to give up his
gains and pulled back across the valley. The battle quieted for
a short time, during which the Imperial Guard was placed back
in reserve. Wellington brought up the last of his reserves and
prepared for the final onslaught. At 7:00 PM the Imperial Guard
were released to Ney and were ordered to take the British held
positions on the ridge between La Haye Saint and Hougoumont. The
Guard, 11 battalions of the most disciplined and experienced troops
in Europe, marched up the ridge. Upon reaching the crest, an entire
brigade of British troops rose up from a cornfield and poured
withering fire into the French columns. For the first time, the
Guard broke and ran before the enemy. With the cry of, “La
Guard recule!”, the French army began to disintegrate. Wellington
seized the moment and counterattacked, putting the rest of the
army to flight. Napoleon’s last desperate gamble for victory
had failed, and with it his dreams of rebuilding his empire.
