It is funny, but everyone has heard of Waterloo. What I knew was that a big battle, the last battle, to stop Napoleon from basically taking over Europe and that was about it. What I learned when I visited was so much more.
This part of the trip was Dad's idea. He threw it out as a suggestion of places that were close that we could go and see and I jumped at the chance. I am going to give you a history lesson and it starts on Sunday, June 18, 1815. Actually, to get a fuller picture, we have to go back a little further. I am not going to give you the whole of Napoleon's life, just a few of the highlights to set the stage for the Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769. He was educated in a military school where he advance quickly and in 1796 was made commander of the French army in Italy (he "forced" Austria and its allies to make peace while there). He also married Josephine in that year (though he divorced her in 1810). He conquered Ottoman-ruled Egypt in 1798 to disrupt the British trade routes with India but after the British Navy had their way with him, he returned to Paris to face the new Austria and Russian alliance with Britain.
In November 1799 Napoleon overthrew the French Directory and became first consul and then five years later the French Senate made him emperor and he promptly went to war (they were aptly named the Napoleonic Wars) with every major European power. After a string of victories, France became the dominant power in continental Europe. Things started to change with the invasion of Spain which started the Peninsular War and the 1812 invasion of Russia and the next five years cost Napoleon dearly. In March of 1814 Paris fell and Napoleon went into exile on the island of Elba. After only ten months he managed to escape and return to France where he reestablished himself and began to reorganize and build up his army, initiating the Hundred Days Campaign to recover the power he had lost, thereby setting the stage for the Battle of Waterloo...
When Napoleon returned to power the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia formed a Seventh Coalition and began to mobilise armies to go against him. There were two main forces that were able to form quickly, one under the Duke of Wellington from Britain and the second was the Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Von Blücher. As Napoleon saw it, if he could destroy these two forces before they could join the other states in a coordinated attack against France, he might be able to drive the British back to the sea and possibly knock the Prussians out of the war entirely.
Napoleon's plan was to stop Wellington's forces before they could combine with Blücher's army, so he divided his French soldiers into a left wing, commanded by Marshal Ney, a right wing, commanded by Marshal Grouchy and the reserve wing which was his command. Early on June 15th, Napoleon crossed the frontier near Charleroi and secured his central position between Wellington and Blucher's armies. When Wellington heard of Napoleon's position he immediately ordered his army to concentrate on Quatre Bras (crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels and Nivelles-Namur roads) where the Prince of Orange and his brigade was holding their position against Marshal Ney's soldiers. Ney was to secure the crossroads which would allow him to reinforce Napoleon in the east if necessary.
On June 16th, Napoleon moved against the Prussian army first with the right wing and part of the reserve. He defeated Blücher at the Battle of Ligny. The Prussian center gave way but the flanks held. Marshal Ney, after being able to overwhelm the Prince of Orange, lost the crossroads position when Wellington and his reinforcements arrived. Even though Napoleon won the battle against the Prussians, he had to withdraw northwards to a more defensible position because of Wellington's holding of the position at Quatre Bras.
One of the most important things that happened is the Prussian unnoticed and uninterrupted retreat from Ligny. Due to vague orders Grouchy and his right wing were unable to prevent the Prussians from reaching Wavre. In one of the video's that I saw while on the grounds, it was mentioned that Napoleon did not believe that the Prussians would continue fighting after having been defeated in the Battle of Ligny. That was not the case, however, and they did not retreat to the east along their own lines of communication, but they fell back to the north in a strong position south of Wavre and met up with Bülow's IV corps, parallel to Wellington's line of march. By June 17th, Wellington had moved his armies into position at Mont Sainte-Jean, just to the south of Waterloo with the main French army following behind. There were 23,000 British troops with 44,000 allied troops and 160 guns against 74,000 French troops and 250 guns.
It rained really hard the night of June 17, which caused Napoleon to delay the start of the battle until midday. Napoleon had decided that it was best to defeat the British forces first before the Prussian Army, led by Blücher, arrived in the field, and then deal with the Prussians afterwards in a second separate encounter. With this in mind the French attacked Hougoumont, a western most outpost that was important to Wellington to maintain to prevent the French from outflanking his army. This was an important part of the battle because a large number of French were used to try and take it. Wellington only used 3,500 men to the French's 14,000.
It was reported that during a three hour period 12 cavalry attacks were made up to the ridge of La Haye Sainte and back and this is where the heavy casualties took place. The final French cavalry attack happened at about 5:30 pm and it was said to be delivered at a walk because the horses were so exhausted. One of the accounts of the final cavalry charge stated that at the end everyone was so tired that "the cavalry and the men in the squares merely stood and stared impotently at each other".
Then, in a last-ditch effort, Napoleon ordered his Imperial Guard (they had never been defeated) to attack the British lines. Although the Guard managed to breach through the first line, they were then met with strong resistance and the French guard began to fall back. Wellington then ordered his troops to advance all along the line.
At around 7 pm, just as the British forces began to counterattack, the Prussian cavalry charged into the battlefield and broke through Napoleon’s right flank as the retreating Imperial Guard formed a square around their Emperor and Generals to protect them. Napoleon and what remained of his army fled from the field.
Napoleon escaped capture, returning to Paris on June 21st where he then abdicated. After being denied passage to America (can you imagine) he surrendered to the British and on July 5th he boarded the HMS Bellerophon which transported him to the island of Saint Helena where he lived under guard until he died May 5, 1821.
The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of twenty-five yeas of warfare and provided the final overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte. The battle was also also the bloodiest exchange that had been witnessed to date. The death toll from the Battle of Waterloo was 25,000 for France and 22,000 for England and its allies. 33,000 were wounded. Approximately 1 in 4 soldiers died during the battle.
The Lion Mound was Erected between 1824 and 1826, and it is dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of Waterloo. It marks the spot where the Prince of Orange, heir to the crown of the Netherlands, was wounded.
There are 226 steps leading up to the lion, which is said to protect the globe and symbolizes new-found peace in Europe.
The French also made it a law that no buildings were to be built on the spot where the Battle of Waterloo took place. The land has remained farmland, the same as it did at the time of the battle, all those many years ago.
I was amazed at the attitude that I saw towards Napoleon's memory. In the gift shop at Waterloo, and everywhere around France for that matter, there are busts, posters, key chains, shot glasses, mugs, plates and all other trinkets that you can think of with Napoleon's face on them. I have been to Germany and I know that they don't have a high regard for Hitler and I don't think that you will find this same type of reverence for other countries historical dictators like Stalin or Pol Pot.
If you look at French history you will see that there was so much civil unrest, what with the Revolution and Reign of Terror, that placed things in motion for a man such as Napoleon to take advantage of the country and her people. It is the same with any dictator that rises to power in history. I think the major difference between Napoleon and say...Hitler or Stalin is that Napoleon actually tried to do some good for his country in his country and they loved him for it. In my research I found that under his direction he tried to reform the economy, legal system, education and he reinstated the Roman Catholic Church as the states religion. He also initiated the Napoleonic Code which forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion an stated that government jobs must be given to the most qualified. Internationally he was able to help negotiated a European peace. He became so popular that in 1804 he was elected emperor of France. If he would have been content to rule France and only France, his legacy and French history would have most likely been a lot different. But like a lot of rulers, he wanted power and absolute power corrupts absolutely. His International peace only lasted three years. I started to think of how different life would be if he had succeeded in his quest to rule Europe. Imagine all of the Irish folks I met speaking French with an Irish accent. He would have tried for America next, and we would have had another French War in our history books. I am grateful that it turned out the way that it did and the Allied forces were able to stop him at Waterloo.
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