WATERLOO, 18
June 1815
On February 26th
1815, barely ten months after the end of the Peninsular War, Napoleon
sailed from Elba to bring about the end of his brief period of exile. It
was the beginning of the final, momentous chapter of the Napoleonic Wars
that would culminate in the great battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's final
downfall. The campaign was also to result in a head to head between the
two great commanders of the age, Wellington and Napoleon, two men who had
yet to face each other in battle.
Napoleon landed in
France on March 1st and entered Paris on March 20th. He immediately set to
work raising an army, the so-called Army of the North which, by the time
of the Waterloo campaign consisted of 125,000 men. Facing Napoleon were
the armies of the Seventh Coalition - it had declared Napoleon `an enemy
and disturber of the world' - which numbered as many as 800,000 men. But
of the various armies opposed to him it would be the Anglo-Dutch army,
under Wellington, and Marshal Blucher's Army of the Lower Rhine that would
be the object of Napoleon's thrust in June 1815.
Wellington's
Anglo-Dutch army was a marked contrast to that which had triumphed in the
Peninsula, that particular army having been dispersed and scattered around
the world, mainly to America, and only a handful of his Peninsular
regiments would be present with him at Waterloo. Many of these were
already in Holland having served with Sir Thomas Graham's force which had
taken part in the campaign against Bergen-op-Zoom in 1813 and 1814. In
fact, only 34,000 of the 100,000 troops under Wellington were British, the
rest being Germans, Hanoverians and Brunswickers, all good troops, and a
large contingent of Nassauers, Dutch and Belgians. It was, as Wellington
was moved to write, `an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped.' His
staff was very inexperienced, although he did have several `old heads'
from the Peninsula, such as Hill, Picton, Alten, Kempt, Pack and Somerset.
He also had the services of the Earl of Uxbridge as commander of the
Allied cavalry. Uxbridge had eloped with the latter's sister-in-law early
on in the Peninsular campaign and following the Corunna campaign of
1808-09 saw no further service. As a result of this the British cavalry in
the Peninsula was deprived of the only real cavalry commander the British
Army possessed. Nevertheless, old differences having been settled,
Uxbridge was to lead the cavalry with distinction during the Waterloo
campaign.
On June 15th 1815
Napoleon's army crossed the Sambre, catching Wellington, who was dancing
the night away with his officers at the now-famous ball, given by the
Duchess of Richmond, by surprise. His army had concentrated to the south
of Brussels with Blucher's Prussians on its left. Napoleon's plan was to
drive a wedge between the two and fight each army separately. It was
vital, therefore, to prevent co-operation between the two and on June 16th
the two battles designed to ensure this were fought. At Ligny, Napoleon
himself attacked Blucher and gave him a severe mauling while Ney, with
about 42,000 men, attacked Wellington at the crossroads at Quatre Bras.
The end result of a day of hard, confused fighting was that Blucher,
having been forced to retreat north, in turn forced Wellington to withdraw
in the same direction, marching parallel with the Prussians and keeping in
close contact with them throughout.
By the evening of
June 17th Wellington had drawn his army up along a ridge barring the road
to Brussels, just south of the village of Mont St Jean. The position was a
good one and afforded Wellington a `reverse slope', upon which the
majority of his troops were deployed, out of sight of the French. On
Wellington's left flank were the farms of Papelotte and La Haye and the
village of Frischermont. The centre was protected by the farm of La Haye
Sainte, and the right wing by the chateau of Hougoumont, a particularly
strong position held by the light companies of the Foot Guards. Both of
these latter two positions lay a good distance in front of the main Allied
position on the ridge. Wellington's troops numbered 68,000 including
12,000 cavalry. He had 156 guns with him also. A further 17,000 Allied
troops were left at Hal, a few miles away to the west, in order to protect
his right flank against any outflanking manoeuvre Napoleon might attempt
in order to cut him off from his base at Antwerp. Napoleon's army numbered
72,000 including 16,000 cavalry. With 256 guns at his disposal he
outnumbered Wellington by nearly 100.
Wellington's
decision to fight was based on assurances given him by Blucher that the
Prussians, rather than retreat away from him, would march west in order to
fall upon the French right flank. In order to prevent such a move Napoleon
sent Marshal Grouchy with 30,000 men to pursue the Prussians and keep them
from coming to Wellington's assistance The absence of these 30,000 troops
would be a significant factor in the outcome of the battle.
The battle of
Waterloo began at some time between 11.30 and noon on Sunday, June 18th,
with an assault by Jerome Bonaparte's division upon the chateau of
Hougoumont, held by the light companies of the Foot Guards. The attack was
intended to be merely a feint, the intention being to draw troops away
from the Allied centre which was to be the real target for Napoleon.
Jerome, however, threw more and more men into the attack until the fight
for Hougoumont became almost a battle within a battle, the Guards hanging
on grimly throughout the day in the face on intense French pressure. The
most dangerous moment for the defenders of Hougoumont came at around 12.30
when Jerome's men forced open the north gates of the chateau and were only
forced out after a desperate piece of defending led by Lieutenant Colonel
James Macdonnell, of the Coldstream Guards. The chateau would remain in
British hands for the rest of the day, even as flames burnt most of it to
the ground following French artillery bombardment.
At about 1.30pm the
second phase of the battle began when Napoleon launched D'Erlon's corps
against the Allied centre and left. The attack was preceded by a massive
artillery bombardment from 80 guns of Napoleon's `grand battery'. The
attack demonstrated that the French had learned little from the Peninsular
War as they came on in bulky, unwieldy columns. `They came on in the old
style and were driven off in the old style,' Wellington remarked later,
although at first D'Erlon was successful. Indeed, Bylandt's Belgian
brigade was broken and the steady volleys from both Pack's and Kempt's
brigades could not halt the columns. The French reached the top of the
ridge only to be met by Picton's division which burst through some hedges
and unleashed a terrific volley into the massed ranks of muddy,
blue-jacketed Frenchmen. The attack came shuddering to a halt in the face
of a withering fire from Picton's men, most of whom were veterans of the
Peninsula. Tragically, Picton was killed at the moment of triumph, for he
fell dead from his horse with a musket ball in his forehead. He died
cheering his men on, cursing them as usual as he had done so often in
Spain and Portugal. It is perhaps fitting that Picton, the veteran of so
many of Wellington's great victories in the Peninsula, should meet his end
at the greatest triumph of them all.
While Picton's men
stepped over his dead body to press home their attack, Uxbridge chose the
moment to launch his cavalry against the disorganised Frenchmen. D'Erlon's
commanders tried desperately to reorganise their men but were suddenly
swept away by an avalanche, formed of Uxbridge's Union Brigade, consisting
of the 1st (Royals), 2nd (Scots Greys) and the 6th (Enniskilling)
Dragoons. The Scots Greys had seen no active service since 1795 but made
up this absence with a vengeance as they smashed into the shocked ranks of
terrified Frenchmen who surrendered in their thousands. During the charge
Sergeant Ewart, of the Greys, captured the eagle of the French 45th Ligne
Regiment, whilst on the brigade's right the Household Brigade charged,
delivering an equally devastating attack against D'Erlon's battered
columns. During its attack the Household Brigade also took an eagle.
Unfortunately, the triumphant cavalrymen, the Union Brigade in particular,
became carried away with their success and charged on despite the sounding
of the recall. The Scots Greys charged right up to Napoleon's guns,
slaughtering the gunners and spiking many guns but their horses were soon
blown and the Scotsmen suffered a severe mauling following a
counter-attack by enemy cavalry, during which Major General Sir William
Ponsonby, the brigade commander, was killed. Nevertheless, the attack had
completely smashed D'Erlon's corps, some 3,000 Frenchmen being killed or
wounded, while a further 3,000 were herded over the ridge towards Brussels
as prisoners.
At about 4pm
Wellington ordered the Allied line to pull back a short distance in the
face the continuous heavy French artillery bombardment. This order was
perceived by Marshal Ney to be a withdrawal upon which he ordered a
massive cavalry attack by up to 10,000 French cavalry who cantered up -
charging was almost impossible over the muddy ground - time and time again
to engulf the Allied infantry squares which stood steady on the reverse
slope of the ridge. These attacks continued for about two hours and yet
achieved nothing, mainly due to the fact that the cavalry were unsupported
by artillery. In fact, the infantry squares welcomed the attacks as they
gave then some release from the tortuous artillery bombardment that rained
down upon them throughout the day and as long as the squares held firm
there was little danger.
Even as Napoleon's
cavalry thundered up the ridge of Mont St Jean the Emperor looked eastward
in dismay as dark columns of troops began to appear on his right flank.
They were Blucher's Prussians. Napoleon despatched his Young Guard and
Middle Guard to the village of Plancenoit where bitter fighting raged as
both French and Prussians fought to the death. The village changed hands
several times before Blucher's men finally held on to the place.
In the centre of
Wellington's position, meanwhile, a crisis had occurred with Ney's capture
of the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte. The defenders, the 2nd King's German
Legion Light Battalion, had put up a magnificent resistance all day but
when their ammunition finally ran out they were forced to abandon the
place. Major Baring, the commanding officer, and barely forty men made it
back to the main Allied position. The fall of La Haye Sainte enabled the
French gunners to bring their pieces to within just a few hundred yards of
the centre of Wellington's line which reeled under the weight of this new
onslaught and even Wellington's seasoned British troops found it difficult
to remember anything worse happening to them in the Peninsula. The climax
of the battle had finally arrived.
The effect that the
fall of the farmhouse had on the Allied line was not lost on Napoleon who
realised that now was the time to launch his Imperial Guard into the
attack. It was now or never, for if he could not defeat Wellington before
the Prussians made their presence felt then the consequences for him and
his empire would be catastrophic.
Napoleon duly turned
to his Imperial Guard, those faithful warriors who had been kicking at his
heels for years as together they had marched to glory after glory. The
Imperial Guard had yet to taste defeat and it was with great confidence
that seven battalions of the Guard, supported by guns, set out across the
muddy fields, churned up by the earlier cavalry attacks. It is somewhat
surprising that the Guard took this route as it would, possibly, have been
easier to march directly up the Brussels road and smash through
Wellington's centre. However, Napoleon's veterans turned off the main road
and headed for that part of the ridge held by Maitland's Brigade of
Guards. It is perhaps fitting that the decisive chapter of the final,
great battle of the Napoleonic Wars should come down to a clash between
the finest troops that both Napoleon and Wellington could offer, the
Imperial Guard and the 1st Foot Guards.
The Imperial Guard
advanced across the muddy ground in squares, the Guard not wanting to
taste what D'Erlon's troops had tasted earlier in the day. From ground
level, of course, these dense squares gave the appearance of being columns
and thus gave rise to the endless arguments as to just exactly what was
the Imperial Guard's formation. As the French approached the ridge they
separated into two, one body of troops heading for the 30th and 73rd
Regiments and the other heading straight towards Maitland's Foot Guards.
The attack was in many ways a repetition of so many of the French infantry
attacks in the Peninsula. To the Imperial Guard the ridge looked deserted
but just before it, lying in the corn, were two battalion's of the 1st
Foot Guards and just at the moment when the French saw victory within
their grasp Wellington shouted, `Up Guards, Make Ready, Fire!' All at once
the Imperial Guard saw its path blocked by a long red barrier which seemed
to spring up from the ground itself. The French hardly had time to gather
their wits about them before a series of devastating volleys tore them to
shreds, sending them reeling and staggering backwards. The Foot Guards
advanced to press home their attack, many of them `firing from the hip',
so close was the range. As the Imperial Guard began to fall back Sir John
Colborne's 52nd Light Infantry wheeled round to pour more musketry into
its shocked ranks, the enfilade fire of the Peninsular veterans finally
breaking the Frenchmen's resolve and sending them streaming away to the
rear.
We'd like to thank
Ian Fletcher, renowned military author on the Peninsula and Waterloo, for
his contribution to our website.
Battle of Waterloo:
The
Life Guards at Waterloo
On April 27th 1815, the Life Guards
again left London for the Continent, on their way to one of the most
tremendous battles of modern times. On the 17th June, information reached
Wellington that the Prussian Army, under Blucher, had been defeated on the
previous day at Ligny. This defeat was prophesied by the Duke, who said,
when he saw the disposition of his troops the Prussian General was making,
"The Prussians will get most damnably licked!" Wellington
therefore resolved to fall back through Quatre Bras, so as to enable him
to keep u communications with Blucher. The cavalry took up a position to
cover the retreat, and to check the French advance guard a Hussar regiment
charged some French Lancers which were supported by a body of Cuirassiers,
in the town of Genappe, but they were repulsed; they were too light for
the purpose. The 1st Life's were thereupon launched at the enemy. They
charged in column, the rear rank of the rear troop charging first. The big
heavy stalwart troopers made very short work of the Frenchmen, and so
effectually stopped their approach that the army was enabled to take up
its position on the plain of Waterloo unmolested. In fact they not only
held the French cavalry in check, but absolutely scattered the body in
every direction; and even pursued them, and inflicted great slaughter
among them all through a neighbouring village. The Life Guards then
marched on and rejoined the main body of the army in front of the village
of Waterloo.
The night of 17th June was full of misery.
The rain poured down incessantly, drenching man and beast alike.
Thunderstorms raged heavily from time to time, and the army was thoroughly
well soaked to the skin. The troopers wearied with the fighting of the
day, had no shelter for themselves or their horses, and rested as best
they might. There was not much attempt at encampment, for it was pretty
generally understood that the next day would be fraught with momentous
issues. So the men grumbled the night away and took what cat naps they
could, and when the reveille was sounded at the break of day there was no inducement
for the sluggard to resist its summons. There was much to do ere the
troops were set in battle array; swords to rub up, horses to be groomed,
uniforms to be coaxed into some sort of order, and it was not until 10
minutes to 12 on that every memorable Sunday morning that the first gun
was fired from the French centre.
What a striking difference
there was on that summer Sunday morning in England and in Belgium! At
home, the people of every town and village were in church putting up
heartfelt prayers for the safety of their loved ones, fathers, sons and
sweethearts, who were fighting far away in a foreign land, peace and calm
pervading the warm June air, and the sun shining over all. While there on
the rain-soaked plain of Waterloo, there stood two armies facing each
other, with the sting and reek of gunpowder in their nostrils, and the
lust of war in their hearts.
The French at
once commenced the battle with a furious attack on the farmhouse of
Hougomont, held by the Guards under Byng, and simultaneously Ney attacked
the British centre with 20,000 men. the French pushed fiercely on.
Wellington's first line was shaken, and in parts broken, while a whirl of
cuirassiers charged up to the very crest of the British position. The
moment was critical. The pressure on the infantry was simply tremendous,
and for a moment it seemed as though disaster had befallen. Then the
Scotch and Irish regiments dashed at the enemy, led by the gallant General
Picton, who was shot at the head of his troops with the roar of battle
resounding in his dying ears. At the same moment the Scots Greys and
Inniskillings were hurled at the French by Sir William Ponsonby, and as
they passed through Pictons Brigade, some of the Scotch regiments broke
ranks and clinging to the stirrup leathers, charged along with them. The
enemy were thrown into the utmost confusion.
All this time
the First Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, the
Blues and the 1st Dragoon Guards, were standing still, chaffing at their
inaction and longing for the time when they too, might come to close
quarters with the enemy. While they were acting the part of spectators of
the stirring events that were going on before them in the plain below, let
us look at the Life Guards. Great big stalwart fellows they were, not a
man under six feet in his boots, mounted on magnificent black horses
standing sixteen hands. Their burly frames were clothed in double breasted
scarlet coatees, with a scarlet and yellow sash around the waist, and
trousers of a blueish mixture with a red stripe running down the outside
seam; brass helmets were on their heads with a huge red and white woollen
crest and tall straight scarlet and white plumes on the left side of the
head-dress. The officers were dressed like the men, but with gold lace on
the cuffs and collar, and with black shabraques, the men having white
saddle cloths. Each man was armed with a long straight sword, carbine and
pistols.
The French renewed the attack,
this time supported by their cavalry. The British infantry was formed into
squares, on came the French surging up the hillside, the French cavalry
actually surmounting the ridge and charging nearly up to where Wellington
had taken up his station. The infantry reserved their fire until the
cuirassiers were almost upon them, and then each square belched forth
sheets of flame. The French cavalry reeled. Wellington seized the
psychological moment and ordered the First Cavalry Brigade to charge. The
Heavies deployed and advanced in line, the Life Guards on either flank,
the 1st Dragoon Guards in the centre, with the Blues in reserve. They
halted a few minutes, about 100 yards from the enemy to "dress",
the troopers settled themselves in their saddles and then, as the trumpets
crashed out with brazen voice, the whole Brigade charged in line. The
French cavalry, unlike our men, wore cuirasses and used a longer sword,
but such was the terrific onrush of the Heavies that they could not stand
the tremendous shock. Horses and men went down like poppies in a
hurricane. Nothing could withstand them; the Frenchmen were fairly ridden
over, and before long were going helter-skelter down the hill, utterly
discomfited.
This portion of the
charge was shared by the 1st Life Guards and the Dragoon Guards on the
left. The 2nd Life Guards were opposed to the flower of the French
cavalry, the famous Carabiniers a Cheval, every man of whom was selected
from the ranks of the Army at large for individual bravery. As they
charged the British they were thrown into confusion. In their path was a
hollowway - the sunken road of Ohain- and before speed could be slackened
the foremost ranks went crashing down on to the road 15 feet below, a
writhing mutilated mass of men and horses. As soon as what was left of
them had scrambled up the opposite bank and had reformed in some sort of
order, the 2nd Life Guards raced down upon them. Without waiting for the
impact, the French turned and fled across the Charleroi Road. But the
Guards went after them and continued the pursuit so hotly and impetuously
that they pretty nearly made an end of the entire cuirassier regiment, and
absolutely penetrated the French first line. Captain Kenyan's troop
actually captured a battery, and endeavoured to carry it off. But they had
gone too far. A body of Lancers outnumbering the Life Guards three times
over, attacked them and they were besides exposed to the fire of several
columns of infantry. They had, therefore, to retreat hastily, after
accomplishing- what had never before been attempted, much less achieved -
the total defeat of the French Cuirassiers.
Among
the many gallant soldiers that took part in this memorable charge of the
2nd Life Guards, one man was elevated by the people into a popular hero.
Who has not heard of Shaw the Lifeguardsman? John Shaw was a corporal in
the 2nd Life's, and began his career as a prize fighter. He was a
Nottingham man and fought his first fight in his own village Woolaston. So
pluckily did he stand up under the mauling he was getting from a much more
powerful man, that he excited the admiration of Jem Belcher, then a noted
"pug". Show won his first battle and then came up to London and
enlisted in the regiment. He defeated the celebrated Molyneaux, and just
before he went on active service he gave a pugilist named Painter a most
terrible drubbing, knocking him down ten times in succession. It will be
seen that a man in habitual hard training, with muscles like steel ropes,
and a thorough knowledge of how to use his sword, was quite fitted to
perform astonishing feats of valour.
When
his regiment came into contact with the French horsemen, Shaw selected his
man and rising in his stirrups, cut his opponent through the helmet right
down to the chin. During the day he is said to have killed at least nine
Frenchmen. But the stalwart trooper met his death towards the close of the
battle. In the last charge but one made by his regiment, Shaw was
surrounded by a dozen of the enemy. He made a gallant stand and when his
sword snapped close to the hilt, it is said that he took off his helmet
and used it as a cestus, hitting out from the shoulder with the brass
weapon, until he was cut down.
Charge
after charge was made by the French cavalry, and attack upon attack was
delivered by all arms. A tremendous cannonade would be opened, followed by
a whirlwind of horsemen, which masked the advance of divisions of
infantry. But all to no purpose. The 1st Cavalry Brigade charged again and
again, until men and horses alike drooped and were wearied, almost
exhausted. Then came the end. Napoleon caused his entire army to advance.
The long suffering British squares dissolved into line. They fired one
volley then charged. The Foot Guards furious with long restrained passion,
rushed on the leading divisions. These wavered, fell back; the British
charged home with the bayonet. The cavalry came up, and overwhelmed,
utterly and entirely defeated, the French fell back.
At
that moment the Duke shut his glass with a snap and said: "The field
is won. Order the whole line to advance. Let the Life Guards charge."
And the Life Guards did charge! Scattered and flying the French retreated.
Napoleon and his brother Jerome tried to stop them , but without success.
Cambronne's brigade of the Old Guard alone stood firm. They formed into
square and defied the victorious British. Vivian's Hussars charged them,
surrounded them on every face of the square. But they refused to
surrender. A pause ensued, dramatic in its intensity, while both sides
glared at each other. Then at the sight of Napoleon's veteran soldiers,
the ever victorious Old Guard, standing defiant to the last, and awaiting
total annihilation with dignified composure, the British gave a great
cheer of admiration for their heroic bravery.
At
that precise moment, the Life Guards swept down upon the stubborn square
and dispersed and cut it to pieces, very few of its component parts being
left to swell the tide of retreat. All semblance of order was lost in what
remained of the French army. A panic set in "Sauve qui Peut!"
was the universal cry, and what was, only a few hours previously, one of
the finest armies the world had seen, was simply one vast
undistinguishable mass. The allied squadrons, the Heavies always in front,
gave them no respite, and shattered their flanks and rear, and completed
the awful rout. The Duke of Wellington rode up to the Life Guards after
the battle and thanked them for their distinguished bravery.
They
had 108 men and 217 horses killed during the day. The Duke himself was in
considerable danger at one time. An eyewitness records that the French
cavalry charged to within fifty yards of the Commander-in-Chief, as he
stood with only one Aide-de-camp left out of all his staff, the rest being
either killed or wounded, in a square of the Foot Guards.
Napoleon's
tactics at Waterloo were described by Wellington in a letter to Marshal
Beresford:
"Napoleon did
not manoeuvre at all, he just moved forward in the old style. I had the
infantry for some time in squares, and we had the French cavalry walking
about us as if they had been our own."
During
the progress of the battle several of the Headquarter Staff endeavoured to
extract from Wellington what his plans were incase he, himself, was
killed. But the Duke took no manner of notice until at last he said:
"I have no plan. They must be defeated."
When
Picton's dead body was carried off the field there was found in his pocket
a commission appointing him Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in
the event of Wellington's death. The Life Guards marched with the army to
Paris, which was occupied by the allies, and at the beginning of 1816
embarked for England. (Excerpt from The
Navy and Army Gazette October
1st 1896 by G F Bacon)
Grenadier
Guards at Waterloo
In the
campaign of Waterloo the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the First Guards, under
Maitland, and the 2nd battalions of the Coldstream and Third (Scots) Guards,
under Byng, formed the First Division of the army. They rendered service never
to be forgotten. The Division reached Quatre Bras about half past six on the
evening of June 26th, having met many wounded who said the day was going badly
for us. Maitland was at once directed to clear the Bots de Bossu, on the right
of the position, and his men straight away rushed into the wood with a cheer,
and drove all before them, but the French turned their gun fire upon the wood,
and many were killed or injured by trees cut down by the balls. Maitland's
Guards were then formed outside the wood, where they were furiously charged by
cavalry. Taking shelter therefore at the edge of the thicket and supported by
some Black Brunswickers, they almost annihilated their assailants and, with
heavy loss, held the ground.
At Waterloo
the light companies of both brigades were posted in the wood and gardens of
Hougoumont, where they were reinforced at midday by four more companies of the
Coldstreamers, while the brigades themselves were on the ridge of the position
to the rear, on the extreme right of the line. At Hougoumont the First Guards
fought with heroic valour. It was a conflict worthy of Titans. In vain did
Prince Jerome throw his strength against the old château, to the possession of
which Bonaparte attached high importance. The walls were loopholed, and the
place was held in strength, but repeatedly the French came on to achieve a
temporary success, and then to be driven out again. A desperate struggle took
place in the wood, where on one side or the other, men retreated fighting from
tree to tree. Not less than 8,000 Frenchmen were put hors de combat in the
tremendous onslaught made upon Hougoumont. But Lord Saltoun maintained his
position, and renewed attacks were in vain. The loss, however, was terrible and
the light infantry were almost annihilated when the Coldstreamers came to their
aid. During this momentous struggle, the farm buildings were set on fire by the
guns, adding immensely to the difficulty of the defence, and consigning many
wounded to an agonizing death.
While the
attack on Hougoumont was thus being made, a tremendous fire was poured on the
allied line. When it ceased, the Imperial Cavalry, at headlong speed, charged
the steady squares of the Guards, and the decimated ranks recoiled, but to hurl
themselves anew on our bayonets.
The 3rd
battalion of the First Guards was one of the regiments most exposed to this
terrible onslaught. "It was upon these troops," says Siborne,
"that fell the first bursts of the grand early attacks, and it was upon
these troops also that the French gunners seldom neglected to pour their
destructive missiles." Through all that terrific day the vast masses of
gallant Frenchmen were broken against the iron sturdiness of the British
squares, which stood like stoney islands amid the lapping waves of a sea of
fire. General Cooke, commanding the division of Guards, and Colonels D'Oyly and
Stables, in command of battalions, retired wounded from the field, and Lord
Saltoun, who had returned from Hougoumont, succeeded to the 3rd battalion. At
length, as the day wore on, Bonaparte, seeing the oncoming of the Prussians,
concentrated his furious cannonade mainly on the position held by the Guards
preparatory to his grand attack, and but for the shelter of a hollow way, they
must have been annihilated. At this time, Maitland, by the Duke's orders, formed
his two battalions into line four deep, and scarcely was the change made, when
5,000 men of the Old Imperial Guard, led by Ney, were seen advancing at the pas
de charge to the attack. Shouting Vive l' Empereur! they came steadily on, but,
when they reached the crest, the Guards rose up like a wall and poured out a
pitiless volley, the rear ranks passing with loaded muskets to the front. What
matters it, says Lord Saltoun, whether Wellington cried "Up Guards and at 'em!"
or no? He never heard the words only "Now Maitland, now's your time!"
Thus was the iron shower set free. The Old Guard wavered and when at length the
column reeled, shattered and broken, Saltoun cried out, "Now's the time, my
boys!" and the Guards sprang forward, and drove the enemy over a hedge of
dead and dying down the hill. In that conflict of giants, and at Quatre Bras,
the First Guards lost 181 killed, including 7 officers, and had 853 wounded,
making a total of 1,034. They had rendered glorious service, and earned undying
fame. "Guards," exclaimed Wellington, "you shall be rewarded for
this." and so it happened that, as a distinguished honour, they became
"The First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards." (Excerpt from
The Navy and Army Gazette November
20th 1896 by John Leyland )
Scots Greys at Waterloo
A
few years after the dawn of the 19th century, came the culminating battle
of the long series of hard fought struggles with the once dominant power
of France. In common with the rest of the troops, the Scots Greys suffered
all the discomforts of mud, rain, soaked clothing and sodden provisions,
before the battle of Waterloo. They took up their position on that
eventful day behind the left centre of the line, and they were obliged to
wait for a long time in chafing inactivity. A multitude of glittering
bayonets and streaming colours came sweeping along in cold phalanxes,
preceded by clouds of skirmishers. A division of French infantry
outstripping their fellows, charged up into the centre of Wellington's
position, and forced the summit of the hill upon which was the Duke. The
Greys were moved up to support the infantry who were opposing the French
advance. Some of the troops composing the attacking force were Napoleon's
Foot Guards, great, big, strapping fellows, hardy old campaigners most of
them, who had been with their hitherto invincible leader in numberless
battles. The troops that prepared to bar the way were also war-scarred
veterans who had fought under the Iron Duke in Spain and Portugal, but who
were weaker in numbers than the Frenchmen. To the left of the English
regiments was a brigade of German cavalry and light horsemen. When the
French Guards came up, they charged these, and made frightful havoc of
them, men and horses alike. So shaken were the Prussians that they were
broken up and forced to retire. The French then turned their attention to
the sturdy English regiments who had formed from square into line in order
to receive them.
On came the
victorious Guards, flushed with the easy triumph of our allies. This was
only one of the many critical moments of the day. Uttering fierce cries of
" A bas les Anglais!" they swept along. Our brave fellows were
not behind hand in their reply, and a fierce bayonet to bayonet, knee to
knee struggle commenced. Sheer weight began to tell - the infantry were
shaken- the fight broke up into a series of more or less isolated combats.
Suddenly the bugles rang out. Orders were shouted. Some semblance of a
line was evolved out of the struggling mass. The psychological moment had
arrived. The foot soldiers opened ranks, the squadrons passing through the
intervals.
Then their turn came. The
gallant Uxbridge gave his orders, which were instantaneously given through
the throats of the cavalry trumpets - "Tort! Gallop! Charge!"
Down
they charged straight at the face of the opposing columns. The foremost
ranks of the enemy were absolutely broken up. Away plunged the Greys into
the thickest of the fight. Like a huge grey wave topped with crimson and
white, the regiment pierced there way through rank after rank of the
French. Load above the roar and din of the battle rose the cry
"Scotland for ever!" Along they dashed, encountering masses of
the enemy that wellnigh overlapped them. The French infantry broke. The
firing ceased; and as the smoke slowly curled away on the damp air, the
huge white plumes on the towering bearskins were seen like flashes of foam
on a troubled sea of struggling, fighting, ensanguined mobs of men.
Numberless deeds of daring and valour during that wonderful ride went
unnoticed and unrecorded. A man on foot armed with a rifle and bayonet, is
generally accounted a match for any cavalry soldier. But at Waterloo when
the big heavy men, knee to knee, on the big heavy grey horses, came
tearing down upon the French infantry, they carried all before them. Their
opponents, stalwart seasoned old soldiers, scattered and were cut down,
ridden over, decimated.
During the
fight, Sergeant Charles Ewart performed a glorious feat. As the Greys
attacked the 45th regiment of French infantry, Ewart singled out the
officer who was carrying the Eagle and rode for him. The Frenchman fought
hard. He thrust at Ewart's groin; but the Scotsman parried and cut his
opponent through the head. Then a French lancer rode up and attacked him
by throwing his lance at him. This too, Ewart parried, and then
getting furious, he charged the man, and with a strong sweep of his arm
and a dexterous turn of the wrist, cut the lancer from his chin upwards
right through his teeth. Another Frenchman then came up, this time a foot
soldier, and engaged him with his bayonet. But Ewart soon disposed of him
by nearly shearing off his head. After this, the gallant fellow went on,
Eagle and all, to follow his comrades, but General Ponsonby stopped him.
"You
brave fellow!" said the General. "Take that to the rear. You
have done enough until you get quit of it." Ewart obeyed orders, but
with the greatest reluctance.
Following
up their unprecedented success, the Greys went on, charging everything
they came across: Lancers, Cuirassiers, Artillery - little they cared
-until they actually penetrated to the rear of the French position. Their
glorious valour cost them dear, and it was only by hard, desperate
fighting that they regained the British lines and resumed their post only
just in time to give their mighty support to their gallant comrades of the
92nd Highlanders. This reckless handful - for there were barely 200 of the
92nd left - charged a column of French about 2,000 strong. With the odds
of ten to one against them, these brave fellows never hesitated for a
moment. They pierced right into the centre of the French, and when the
Greys charged up, the Highlanders broke ranks, and clinging to the
horsemen's stirrup leathers, went surging into the mass to the wild
skirling of the pipes and the yells of "Scotland for ever!"
Infantry and cavalry together destroyed or captured nearly every single
man of the opposing force.
Small
wonder is it that Napoleon, who was greatly impressed by the excellent
manoeuvring and swordsmanship of the Greys, exclaimed: "Ces terribles
chevaux gris! Comme il travaillent!"
Unfortunately,
during the big charge, the Union Brigade - the Scots Greys, the Royals and
the Inniskillings - encouraged and excited by their success which had
attended their gallant efforts, followed up their advantage rather too
far. They swept across the plain, making light of the ravine that crossed
their path, and captured, but failed to bring off, several batteries. But
when they had reached the rear of the enemy's position they were naturally
much broken and disorganised. The French, smarting under the havoc caused
by the serried ranks of the Heavy Dragoons, regained confidence and fell
upon the regiments with a large force of Lancers and Cuirassiers. It was a
case of fresh troops against spent ones. Yet our men, breathless and
panting from their mighty exertions, with their horses covered with mud,
fetlock-deep, proved equal to the occasion. They rallied, like the heroes
they were, and though sadly cut up, they fought their way through,
literally their path back towards their own lines, but not without heavy
losses.
The gallant commander of the
brigade, Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, was one of those who rode
through the victorious charge, but who never returned. His horse was
blown, and on the return hopelessly floundered about in the miry depths in
a piece of ploughed land. Despite all the efforts of his men, he was set
upon and killed by the French Lancers.
When
what remained of the regiment came back in two's and three's in scattered
groups, the men resumed their former position, exposed to a heavy fire
from the French artillery. Great as the British losses had been, those of
Napoleon's splendid army were greater, and the French leader sought to
force the issue. Well might Wellington sigh for "Night or
Blucher"; for in very truth victory was hanging in the balance.
Desperate attempts were continually being made by the enemy's infantry as
well as by his cavalry to force the stubborn English foot regiments,
stretching across the field in isolated squares, to yield their ground.
But with bull-dog tenacity they held on with iron grip. The Greys, in
common with the Household Cavalry and the other Heavy Dragoons, were
condemned to a time of motionless inactivity, until at length the Duke
assumed the offensive. The whole army made a simultaneous advance. The
Life Guards and the Blues charged, and then the whole line was ordered to
move. The Greys, all that was left of them, with men and horses alike
refreshed by the enforced bodily rest, joined in the pursuit. For
Napoleon's army gave way; his troops were utterly and entirely broken up
and pursued with dreadful effect by the English cavalry, were eventually
driven from the field, and the glorious field of Waterloo was won!
For
their conspicuous gallantry at Waterloo the Greys were allowed to display
the Eagle on their guidons, and "Waterloo" on the plume socket
of their bearskin caps. Every officer and man who was present at Waterloo
received a silver medal, and was entitled to reckon the action as
representing two years toward his pension. Excerpt from the Navy and Army Illustrated January 15th
1897 by G F Bacon
