'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

In regard to Napoleon's wounds, you might find this article interesting:

https://www.napoleon-series.org/biogr...

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - More on the wounded at Waterloo:

Captain Curzon, a member of Wellington's staff, was mortally wounded near the end of the fighting and was found bleeding beside his favourite charger, itself suffering badly from a leg shattered by a round shot. A fellow officer went in search of a doctor, but by the time the latter arrived he found Curzon dead, leaning his head against his horses neck. 'As I approached,' the doctor related to Gronow later with tears in his eyes:

it neighed feebly, and looked at me as if it wanted relief from the pain of its shattered limb, so I told a soldier to shoot it through the head and out it out of its pain. The horse as well as its master were both old acquaintances of mine, and I was quite upset by the sight of them lying dead together.

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

Betsy wrote: "We shall see, but it has NO MAPS! Realistically if you had never read a book about Waterloo, could you 'understand' it without maps?"

That's really wrong - no book on any battle should be without maps!

Betsy wrote: "While perusing my books trying to find some to donate to the library, I came upon a small book, The Battle of Waterloo by Jeremy Black. I know nothing about it, but with some days to go in June, I ..."

Nice find Betsy!

Betsy wrote: "Even that short paragraph illustrates quite well how horses fared during this time period, and this was only a small part of the number lost in those twenty years. Considering that horses were stil..."

It is indeed Betsy, they had no say in the matter, just dragged into the maelstrom of modern warfare!

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - The poor long-suffering horses at Waterloo:

"According to Harry Smith, 'Every Staff officer had two or three (and one four) horses shot under him. I had one wounded in six, another in seven places, but not seriously injured.' Two Guards officers posted in the area near Hougoumont lost six horses between them. Amongst Uxbridge's aides-de-camp, one had three horses killed under him, another lost two and a third lost one. Uxbridge himself had four horses shot under him, while Major General Sir Colquhoun had five horses killed under him. Captain John Whale of the 1st Life Guards had two horses hot under him. Cornet James Gape and Lieutenant Henry McMillan, both of the Scots Greys, noted that Captain Edward Cheney lost five horses, though as Gape described, he 'kept mounting the fresh ones with the same coolness that he would had they been at his own stable door. My mare received three slight wounds. One was a bullet through her ear.' McMillan also recorded Captain Robert Verner wounded through the shoulder, apparently by the same musket shot which fatally struck his horse in the head. McMillan's own horse became a casualty from a shot to the shoulder, while he described his cloak as being 'like a riddle from musket balls.' Captain A.K. Kennedy of the Royal Dragoons was wounded twice and had two horses killed as he rode them. Major Percy, sent to London to present the famous Waterloo Dispatch and the two captured eagles to the Prince Regent, had his horse killed under him, while Brevet Major Lawrence, 13th Light Dragoons, lost three."

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

Great quote Betsy; "The miracles wrought by his arms have bewitched our youth, and have taught us to worship brute force. The most insolent ambition is spurred on by his unique career to aspire to the heights which he attained."

I've read a lot of Hibbert's books, they were the go-to books on a lot of historical subjects, but I think they have been around for quite a while now and much better titles have appeared on the market.

I'd like to read more on this part of the fighting at Waterloo.

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - From the chapter; 'Aftermath and Bucher's Bill':

"Ensign Charles Short, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, expressed a sentiment which ran through much of the correspondence of the day: 'It was very beautiful to see the engagement though horrid afterwards. Kincaid, too, was appalled. 'The field of battle, next morning, presented a frightful scene of carnage,' he recalled in his diary:

It seemed as if the world had tumbled to pieces, and three-fourths of everything destroyed in the wreck. The ground running parallel to the front of where we had stood was so thickly strewed with fallen men and horses, that it was difficult to step clear of their bodies; many of the former still alive, and imploring assistance which it was not in our power to bestow.

Captain James Nixon, 10th Hussars. marched with his regiment over the field in the direction of Nivelles, observing as he went 'so horrible a scene scarcely ever any man witnessed. The ground for the space of a league was covered with bodies absolutely lying in ranks, horses wandering about most terribly wounded and grouped in heaps with their riders.' Indeed, the wounded were so ubiquitous that moving artillery proved problematic, as Lieutenant Ingilby recalled:

In traversing the field, following the flight of the French, it was hardly possible to clear with the Guns the bodies of both Armies which strewed the ground, and afterwards late at night ... when despatched to bring up some ammunition waggons, it was with difficulty we could avoid crushing many of the wounded on the road near La Haye Sainte, that had crawled there in hope of more ready assistance. There were some whom life was not yet extinct that we supposed the French Artillery had crushed by passing over in their retreat.

Corporal John Stubbings, 1st Dragoon Guards, found the field and miles beyond it so 'covered with wounded and slain [that] in some places my horse could not pass without trampling on them ...'."

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - From the chapter; 'Aftermath and Bucher's Bill':

"All told, 200,000 men, 60,000 horses and over 500 guns were deployed in an area of near-perfect square extending no more than 2.5 x 2.5 miles. In the ten and half hours between 11 a.m and 9.30 p.m., 54,000 men fell as casualties - a rate of over 5,000 per hour - rendering the Waterloo battlefield more congested with fallen soldiers than any other patch of ground since, including the Somme in 1916. Around Hougoumont alone, an estimated 5,500 men became casualties in an area measuring 220 x 440 yards. The horrific blood-letting at Plancenoit exceeded this, with 11,000 killed and wounded choking the tiny village's houses, streets and churchyard."

The Prussian assault on Plancenoit:
https://www.waterlooassociation.org.u...

Scott wrote: "Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed

10:00 am episode: A gem of phi..."

Private Dixon Vallance was quite a deep thinker for a ranker. You could not argue in any way with his comments!

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - The Guard's advance against Halkett's position:

Some batteries of French artillery, operating in the gaps between the infantry battalions, ventured to within 100 yards of the main Anglo-Allied line, and upon unlimbering proceeded to inflict severe losses on Halkett's brigade, consisting of the 33rd, 69th, 30th and 73rd Regiments. Captain George Barlow, 2nd Battalion 69th Foot, described the scene thus:

... the Imperial Guard infantry advanced and made a most formidable attack. These fellows came up with carried arms and in the most determined manner to within seventy or eighty yards of the heights along which our infantry were placed and poured a terrible fire, two pieces of cannon accompanied them and being placed affront our brigade, which was formed en masses [sic], raked it most severely with grapeshot as did shells from some more distant howitzers. This was indeed the crisis of this eventful day, both armies were in close contact and hot action and the cannonade really tremendous along the whole line as the entire artillery of either army were in full play to support their respective parties in an effort which was to decide the fortune of the battle, an effort worthy of the great stake for which each contested.

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - Although the French cavalry had failed to break the British squares, the British lines were shaken. Ney requested the release of the Guard to make the decisive attack:

"The Emperor returned a refusal. From his position, now at La Belle Alliance - too far back from the main line and with the valley and ridge beyond it filled with the smoke of battle - Napoleon could neither appreciate nor see the state of affairs, nor properly judge the soundness of Ney's request. By neglecting either personally to stay abreast of the day's events or to trust those closer to the action, Napoleon failed to appreciate the pivotal importance of the opportunity before him - and thus squandered the chance to achieve a decisive result while time remained. On the other hand, while Napoleon failed to understand that Ney held victory in his hands, the marshal, in turn, could not appreciate why the Emperor should refuse to release the Guard; that is, that the outcome of the bitter struggle for possession of Plancenoit remained in the balance - and that its fall would enable the Prussians to sever the main road of retreat back to France."

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

Scott wrote: "Witnessing Waterloo: 24 Hours, 48 Lives, A World Forever Changed

8 a.m. episode; William Wheele..."

Great post Scott. A soldier's attachment to his regiment and the colours is hard to understand at times but it's a powerful pull for many who serve.

Scott wrote: "In some ways I believe Napoleon may well have preferred a 'glorious' death on the field of battle.

I agree Betsy, he was always looking for a miracle to regain his power, even up to the point his ..."

Considering Napoleon's nature and his early flirt with romanticism, I would tend to agree with him seeking out a soldier's death. Plus, I am sure he was hoping his lucky star had not faded and a miracle would soon arrive on the battlefield in some form or other.

The author of my book states that Napoleon took command of the Guard and marched them towards the allied centre. He indicates a point on a map where Napoleon handed over the Guard to Ney, just short of La Haye Sainte.

https://www.waterlooassociation.org.u...

I'm away for a few days on holiday and without my theme book so I will be back posting next week but I will be keen to keep on reading everyone else's posts :)

Isaac wrote: "I have had Blond's book since Christmas, but I have not gotten around to reading it yet. After hearing that it's your favorite I think I'll crack it open on vacation next month. I want to understan..."

I think Andrew Roberts' bio on Napoleon is the best single-volume account of his life!

John R. Elting's book is best for providing the structure and operation of the Grande Armee but Blond's book is great for the experience of the Grande Armee. I really hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

Betsy wrote: "Talking about 'What ifs', it's difficult to understand why Ney or someone let this go on or didn't offer artillery support. I'm not sure I've ever seen a satisfactory explanation (besides hemorrhoi..."

Betsy there does not seem to be any creditable reason for why the cavalry charges continued; Ney even dragged in the reserve cavalry. It would seem that Ney may have 'lost' his head in the excitement of the moment - too close to the combat to take hold of the French forces and Napoleon was too far back and indisposed.

"Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny" - Another account from the massed French cavalry attacks:

... Instead, after two hours' self-destructive carnage, the onslaught subsided, leaving the field strewn with weapons, equipment and ghastly ramparts of men and horses. Thousands writhed in agony on the ground while the infantry - exhausted and blackened with burnt powder - remained unmoved. When Wheeler later went to examine the effect of firepower he was astonished by what he found:

[I] never before beheld such a sight in as short a space, as about an hundred men and horses could be huddled together, there they lay. Those who were shot dead were fortunate for the wounded horses in their struggles by plunging and kicking soon finished what we had began.

Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny by Gregory Fremont-Barnes