Despite having given a word to the language, Waterloo continues to be an unknown battle. The author demonstrates that a few quotable quotes from Wellington and Napoleon and several gallant cavalry charges are only a small part of one of history’s most dramatic and colourful events.
The author has used his many years of research to produce an account of the battle of Waterloo that has all the grandeur and military detail one could want, but which never loses its interest in individual human experience. Here Napoleon rides forward to take personal command of a small detachment of French Marines to fight his way across the Sambre River on the way to Waterloo. Hanoverian exiles who have been fighting Napoleon for a decade under English command are surrounded and wiped out in a classic ‘last stand’ at the hour of victory.
The Waterloo Campaign also covers the death of the Duke of Brunswick, the reconciliation of Napoleon and his estranged brother Jerome in the crucible of battle, and the tragic loss and miraculous delivery of many ordinary people.
In addition to its popular appeal, this book has found favour with the most demanding of military enthusiasts.
Special features of The Waterloo Campaign include:
The most complete orders of battle available for the British, French and Prussian armies A detailed comparison of artillery and musketry capabilities Weather conditions for each hour of the battle the best informed estimates available on unit strengths and casualties, for horses as well as humans, during the campaign Contents:
Preface to the Series
1. France, Napoleon and Europe, 1814-1815
2. ‘The Grand Disturber’, Winter 1815
3. The Armies Gather, Spring 1815
4. Along the Sambre, 1-16 June
5. The Battle of Ligny, 16 June
6. The Battle of Quatre Bras, 16 June
7. Retreat and Pursuit, 16-17 June
8. With Marshal Grouchy, 17-19 June
9. Waterloo: Sunday 18 June
- Morning: The Preliminaries
- 1130: Hououmont
- 1300: The French Infantry Attacks
- 1545: The French Cavalry Attacks
- 1700: Plancenoit
- 1800: The Crisis
- 1900: La Garde!
- Evening: Disaster
10. The End, 19 June-15 July
Guide for the Interested Reader
Order of Battler: Campaign of the Hundred Days
Index
