An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 | 'A Damned near-run thing' by PAUL O'BRIEN After detaching sufficient forces to secure his other frontiers, Na- poleon, with an army of 124,000 men pushed north in order to seize Brussels. His strategy was to isolate the allied and Prussian armies, and destroy each one separately before the Austrians and Russians arrived. Sir Arthur Welsley, the Duke of Wellington, had arrived in Bel- gium to take command of the British-German army and their allied Dutch-Belgians numbering an estimated 83,000 troops. The bulk of his army consisted of 50,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry, and 6,000 artillery with 150 guns. At Liège, Wellington's Prussian ally, Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, was in command of 113,000 soldiers. Wellington knew he could not engage the French without Prus- sian support as Napoleon fielded 48,000 infantry, 14,500 cavalry and 7,000 artillery with 252 cannon. (It was with his artillery that Napoleon planned to decimate the allied forces facing him on the battlefield.) Though Napoleon was outnumbered, his troops were veterans of numerous campaigns, better equipped and more battle hardened than the coalition forces. Armaments for each side varied, with French troops equipped with the Charleville musket that fired an iron ball 19mm (3/4 inch) in diameter. This weapon, though deadly on impact, wasn't accurate unless fired at close range. Many British regiments were supplied with Baker rifles, which were fitted with a detachable sword bayonet. There were several key clashes in the lead up to Waterloo. On 16th June French forces engaged Prussian troops at Ligny. After fierce clashes the French defeated the Prussians but allowed them to withdraw in good order and regroup. Napoleon split his forces into different units and one of these, under the command of Mar- shal Ney, was ordered to secure the crossroads at Quatre Bras in order to harass the rear of the fleeing Prussian army. This battle, involving British troops, proved indecisive and Ney was hesitant, costing the French valuable time. Another French com- mander, Marshal Grouchy, with a force of 33,000 men also failed in his objective, which was to pursue the fleeing Prussians and pre- vent them from linking up with Wellington's forces. The Prussians withdrew leaving a small rearguard to hold Grouchy's troops at bay. On the morning of 18th June 1815 Napoleon amassed his armies facing Wellington's at Waterloo. The battlefield comprised of a long ridge running from east to west, bisected by the main road to Brussels. Wellington deployed his infantry along this ridge, exposing his artillery and sharpshooters to the French. In front of the ridge there were three positions that could be fortified to prevent any attempt to outflank Wellington's men. On the right was Hougoumont, a chateau, garden and orchard. On the left was the hamlet of Papelotte. Any attempt to turn Wel- lington's right flank would entail taking the fortified Hougoumont position. Any attempt to attack his centre would result in enfilad- ing fire coming from Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte. If a force attempted to push through on the left flank they would have to fight through the streets and hedgerows of Papelotte. The terrain was also waterlogged after heavy rains and was not suitable for the deployment of troops. While the main posts were occupied by British troops, the farm- house and orchard of La Haye Sainte was garrisoned by 400 light infantry of the King's German Legion. Welling- ton drew up his remaining forces in depth along a 2.5-mile (4km) front. On the previous day Wellington had been T wo hundred years ago napoleon bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba where he had been incarcerated. on reaching France, he mustered his old army and within weeks had dethroned the bourbon king, Louis XVIII, and had taken the title of Emperor of France. Coalition forces that had previously defeated napoleon's regime began mobilizing their armies, which inevitably led to a showdown ten miles from brussels at a hamlet called Waterloo. 'The Battle of Waterloo' painting by George Jones, 19th century.

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