Waterloo: June 18, 1815: The Battle for Modern Europe

Vincke, Colonel von 67

Vivian, Major-General Sir Richard Hussey 88, 89, 102, 108, 109

Voice from Waterloo, A (Cotton) 13

von Bijlandt, Major–General Graf van 66, 67, 71

Wagram, Battle of 64

Waterloo, Battle of: Bois de Paris 88; Braine l’Alleud 53, 104; British reinforced by two Prussian corps 37–8; British retreat to Mont St Jean 35–7; casualties 67; Charleroi 21, 25, 27, 29, 35. 39. 40, 77. 93. 96–7. 127; chivalry 15–16; choice of battlefield 29; close-run battle 101; commencement 19–21, 55–6; Duchess of Richmond’s ball 13; Forest of Soignes 37–8, 40, 52, 72, 114; French accounts of 85–7; French defeated and flee 108–11; Frischermont chateau 50, 53, 87, 88; Gembloux 37, 38, 71; Genappe 36; Hal 38, 39, 40, 114, 115, 118, 131; historical accounts of 13–14; historical significance of 13–17, 121–2; Hougoumont 49, 50, 55–9, 75, 78, 82, 95, 97, 100–1, 103, 104, 106, 107; Imperial Guard attempts to break Wellington’s line 99–103; interaction of cavalry, infantry and artillery 61–2; La Belle Alliance 50, 89, 93–4, 102, 103, 105, 109, 111, 131; La Haye Sainte 49, 50, 53, 65, 71, 73, 75, 78, 86, 89, 91–3, 95, 97, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 108, 120, 127, 130, 131; Ligny 30, 31–2, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 54, 62, 105, 113, 116–17, 120, 130, Lion Mound 103, 115; logistical problems 21, 27, 94–5; loyalty, worries on both sides about 23–4; lull in fighting 71; mud 51, 52, 65; Napoleon launches massive infantry assault under d’Erlon 63–73, 75; Ney leads heavy cavalry attack 75–87, 105; Ohain road 49, 51, 86, 106, 115, 131–2; Papelotte 51, 53, 65, 100; Plancenoit 88, 93, 97, 102, 109, 118; Prussian army arrives on battlefield 88–9; Quatre Bras 26, 29–32. 35–6, 39. 40, 66, 67, 76, 113, 116, 117, 120, 123, 130; ravine of death 86–7; sandpit 62–3, 66, 71, 93; size of battlefield 53–4; Smohain 99; soldiers’ letters 124–5, 126–8; Sombreffe 29, 30; squares 78, 80–1, 83, 84, 109, 127, 128; strategic and tactical errors 113–19; topography 49–51, 103; troop numbers 20–3, 24, 39–40, 82, 87–8, 119–20; Wavre 33–4, 37. 52 53. 66, 71–2, 89, 117, 120, 130; weather 38, 51–3; Wellington’s line, break opens up in 95–6

Waterloo (film, 1973) 86

Waterloo Ball, The (Fraser) 123

Waterloo Companion, The (Adkin) 39

Weller, Jac 39, 113–14, 116

Wellington, Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of: battle line and positioning 40–1, 49–50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 66, 86, 88–9, 115, 129–32; Blucher, communications with 26, 31; close-run battle, comments upon 120; communication problems 119; confidence 23; danger points in battle 93–6, 97–8; Duchess of Richmond’s ball, attends 27–9, 114; flexible defence 62; Forest of Soignes, chooses to fight in front of 40–1; Hal, leaves 17, 000 troops at 38–9, 114–15; head of Anglo-Allied armies, role as 20; Imperial Guard attack, reaction to 99–109; inexperienced staff, complains about 27; likens the description of a battle to a ball 13; mistakes 25, 29, 91, 113–15; mortal danger 81, 83, 96; Napoleon criticises tactics of 39; Napoleon, humbugged by 25, 29; Napoleon, rivalry with 17, 41; Napoleon, similarities with 30–1; Napoleonic tactics, criticises 65, 116; Ney’s cavalry charge, reaction to 78, 82; orders, interpretations of 76, 83; personal fighting 81, 83; Prussian retreat to Wavre, describes the importance of 33; Prussians, liaison with 71, 73, 88–9, 118, 131–2; reinforced 37–8; retreat to Mont St Jean 34, 35; strengthening of line, importance of 89, 131; topography, use of 30–2; troop numbers 21, 40; troops, lack of experience within 22, 24; turning point of battle, nominates the closing of the gates at Hougoumont as 57–9, 131; Uxbridge, relationship with 68–9; Waterloo despatch 129–32; Waterloo, chooses battlefield of 29–30, 115

Wheeler, Dennis 51

Wheeler, William 36

Whinyates, Brevet-Major Edward Charles 109

Zieten, Field Marshal Hans Ernest Karl von 25, 88–9, 99, 101, 114

Zulu War 14, 58

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ian Fletcher of Ian Fletcher Battlefield Tours, who in 2000 conducted me around no fewer than sixteen Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign battlefields, including several of Wellington’s masterpieces, and who has always been tremendously supportive of my Napoleonic Wars endeavours. Peter Hofschroer has introduced me to the revisionist accounts of Waterloo, and to the importance of the Siborne model, which can be seen in the National Army Museum, from where Andrew Uffindell and Julian Farrance have also been most supportive.

I should also like to thank Peter Chambers of Bangor, County Down, for his generosity in giving me Sir William Fraser’s book The Waterloo Ball.

Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, with whom I take annual threeday tours to sites of Napoleonic and Wellingtonian interest in London, France and Waterloo, has introduced me to many of the aspects of the battle that one can perhaps only fully appreciate by walking the ground itself. John, president of the Guild of Battlefield Guides, used to live near the battlefield and has conducted ninety tours of it, so I could not have been in better hands. He also very generously read my manuscript for me, as did John Morewood, editor of the excellent Waterloo Journal, the magazine of the Association of Friends of the Waterloo Committee, an organisation that all enthusiasts should join. I would like to thank both Johns most warmly.

This book is dedicated to Robin Birley, in grateful recognition of sixteen years of friendship and generosity.

ANDREW ROBERTS

www.andrew-roberts.net

October 2004

About the Author

ANDREW ROBERTS is the author of Napoleon and Wellington and Eminent Churchillians. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Napoleonic Studies and the Royal Society of Literature. His website can be found at www.andrew-roberts.net.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

By the same author

The Holy Fox: A Life of Lord Halifax

Eminent Churchillians

The Aachen Memorandum

Salisbury: Victorian Titan

Napoleon and Wellington

Hitler and Churchill: Secrets of Leadership

(ed.) What Might Have Been

Copyright

Originally Published in Great Britain in 2005 by HarperCollins Publishers.