Wellington's Hidden Heroes: The Dutch and the Belgians at Waterloo

by Veronica Baker-Smith

The Duke of Wellington described the Battle of Waterloo as “the most desperate business I ever was in . . . I was never so near being beat.” The courage of British troops that day has been rightly praised ever since, but the fact that one-third of the forces which gave him his narrow victory were subjects, not of George III but of the King of the Netherlands has been almost completely ignored. This book seeks to correct a grave injustice through the study of Dutch sources, the majority of which have never been used by English-speaking historians.

The Dutch-Belgians have been variously described as inexperienced, incompetent and cowardly, a rogue element in the otherwise disciplined Allied Army. It is only now being tentatively acknowledged that they alone saved Wellington from disaster at Quatre Bras. He had committed a strategic error in that, as Napoleon advanced, his own troops were scattered over a hundred kilometers of southern Belgium. Outnumbered three to one, the Netherlanders gave him time to concentrate his forces and save Brussels from French occupation. At Waterloo itself, on at least three occasions when the fate of the battle “hung upon the cusp,” their engagement with the enemy aided British recovery. Their commander—the Prince of Orange—has been viciously described as an arrogant fool, “a disaster waiting to happen” and even a dangerous lunatic. According to the assessment of Wellington himself, he was a reliable and courageous subordinate.

This book reveals a new dimension of the famous campaign, and includes many unseen illustrations. For the first time, a full assessment is made of the challenge which Willem I faced as king of a country hastily cobbled together by the Congress of Vienna, and of his achievement in assembling, equipping and training 30,000 men from scratch in 18 months. During this 200th anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo, the veneration which the Duke of Wellington justifiably enjoyed after the campaign should not be allowed to overshadow his lifelong lack of recognition of the debt he owed the Netherlanders. As he once said himself, “there should be glory enough for all,” and in these pages some of his most vital allies are finally allowed to claim their share.

Genres: Military History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2015

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the very interesting things about history is that it is being constantly revised and re-interpreted. This book fits this description to a "T" and actually does a fair job of doing so. There is always a ton of nationalistic fervor involved with military history, and this is especially so when it comes to the Napoleonic wars. The British wrote a ton of material on the war, and in most case from the period spent most of their books patting themselves on the back for how they almost single-handedly defeated Napoleon. Wellington was held at a near divine level for much of the following history, with very little credit given to the British allies, in particular the Prussians and the Dutch/Belgian forces. The contributions of the Austrians and Russians are scoffed at derisively in many cases in spite of doing most all of the ground war work against France for the majority of Napoleon's reign. This book tries to at least right one of the wronged armies.

I'll be the first to say that the Prince of Orange is probably not really maligned enough in an official sense as the perception of his ineptness was largely agreed with by most all officers and parties involved. That said, the actual unit commanders were entirely cut from a superior cloth, being both brave and competent. The actions at Quatre Bras covered them in glory, and indeed likely saved the allied army from a devastating setback. The contributions at Waterloo get less mention, excepting of course any negatives they can be saddled with. Units faced Grand Battery fire for an extended period and held their ground far longer than other contemporary units did in similar circumstances... including some British units. Their timely interventions also steadied a shaky front where the French were nearly breaking through. The stand of the 7th Infantry Battalion may have been critical to the Allied success later in the day and cannot be underestimated.

I think the author does a solid job here given credit where credit is due, and except with the small issue I have with rehabilitating the Prince's reputation a bit too much, is a well done revision recognizing the heroic actions of the lesser known allies. Decent references round out this fine effort. Solid 4 Stars

[Billy Ripley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed informative book tackling all the relevant controversies head-on with common sense, logic, and exploring all the biases equally too.
Excellent addition for Waterloo campaign researchers.