Histories of the Waterloo campaign and tours of the battlefield generally concentrate on the battle between the armies of Napoleon and Wellington - the role of Blucher's Prussians is left in the background. Peter Hofscher's fascinating account focuses on the Prussians at the Battle of Waterloo and on their critical but often neglected contribution to the battle. He tells the story of the grueling Prussian advance towards the battlefield and he records the ferocious and decisive fight that broke out when they arrived. At every stage he allows the reader to follow in the footsteps of the Prussian soldiers as they struggled across the Belgian countryside almost 200 years ago.
German troops formed the majority of Wellingtons forces present at the Battle of Waterloo including those of Nassau, Brunswick, Hanover and the Kings German Legion, and they have left a large number of first-hand accounts of their role in the battle. The actions of the King's German Legion an integral part of the British Army and partly officered by British soldiers has been published in English, but to a limited degree: Herbert Siborne published letters written to his father; Ompteda and Wheatley have had their memoirs published; and History of the Kings German Legion included a small number of letters, including the oft-misquoted account of the defence of La Haye Sainte by Major Baring. This forms a tiny proportion of the German material available. Therefore it is not surprising that early British histories of the battle have largely sidelined the achievements of the German troops, and this has been regurgitated by most that have followed. This situation did not change until the 1990s when Peter Hofschroer published his two-volume version of the campaign from the German perspective, which included snippets of German documents published in English for the first time. But even this proved not totally satisfactory, as it did not provide the whole document to allow full interpretation. There is a great need to provide an English version of much of the original German source material to redress the imbalance; this volume is intended to remedy that situation by publishing sixty of these reports and letters fully translated into English for the first time, giving a clearer insight into the significant role these troops played. Gareth Glover is a historian specialising in the Waterloo campaign and the Peninsular War. He left school at eighteen to join the Royal Navy as a Seaman Officer and completed his extensive training course at Dartmouth College. He has published articles in The Waterloo Journal and the Journal of the Royal Artillery, and a novel about Waterloo, Voices of Thunder. Christmas Selection 2010, Napoleon.org website
The British archives of the Napoleonic wars are unique, brimming with personal letters to family and friends or journals that record their innermost thoughts. The human aspect of war comes to the fore, the humor and exhilaration; the fears and miseries; the starvation and exhaustion; the horror and the joy.It is usually accepted that very few common soldiers of this period could read or write and that the few letters and journals that do exist emanate from more senior officers, who were required to be able to write to perform their duties. Volume I proved this to be a fallacy, and this volume continues with a further three accounts, and shows how the ordinary soldier saw things, giving a different aspect to our studies. Also included:* The poignant final letters of older family men such as Major Arthur Heyland, jar noticeably with the bawdy and carefree scribbles of youth by such as Ensign Kinchant (including describing his visits to bordellos) who also lost his life that day. * A long series of letters by Lieutenant Frederick Johnston of the 6th Inniskillings and of Lieutenant George Blathwayt of the 23rd Light dragoons sheds important light on cavalry regiments who have few previously published memoirs. * A very interesting letter by Second Lieutenant Richard Cocks Eyre of the 2nd Battalion 95th Rifles makes a mockery of the myth that British troops did not openly plunder the local farmhouses before the battle for food and fuel to burn. *A letter by a civilian visitor to the area six weeks after the battle ends this volume, which will engage and fascinate the reader.
Writing to his mother the day after the fighting, Captain Thomas Wildman of the 7th Hussars described ‘a victory so splendid & important that you may search the annals of history in vain for its parallel’. Little wonder, for Waterloo was widely recognised – even in its immediate wake – as one of the most decisive battles in history: after more than twenty years of uninterrupted conflict, this single day’s encounter finally put paid to French aspirations for European hegemony. The culminating point of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo also witnessed levels of determination and bravery by both sides which far exceeded anything experienced by the veterans of Wellington’s recent campaigns in Spain and Portugal. Indeed, it was that unconquerable spirit which left over 50,000 men dead on the field of battle and tens of thousands of others wounded. This thoroughly researched and highly detailed account of one of history’s greatest human dramas looks first at the wider strategic picture before focusing on the tactical roles played by individual British units – all meticulously examined with the benefit of an extensive array of hitherto unexploited primary sources which reveal the battlefield experience of officers and soldiers as never before. Refusing simply to repeat the same unchallenged accounts and to commit the same errors of previous historians, this work relies exclusively on hundreds of first-hand accounts, by men of all ranks and from practically every British regiment and corps present on that fateful day, to provide a fresh and revised perspective on one of the most pivotal events of modern times.
“These lively and entertaining memoirs provide an intriguing counterpoint to Wellington’s better-known operations in the Iberian Peninsula” (Julian Stockwin, author of the Thomas Kydd series). It is often forgotten that Britain’s struggle against Napoleon ranged across the continents, and the extensive operations of the Royal Navy and the British Army in the Mediterranean were key battlegrounds in this prolonged war of attrition. Even when Napoleon considered himself the master of Europe, he was unable to control the Mediterranean. Lt. John Hildebrand arrived in the Mediterranean as part of the garrison of Malta in 1810. He was then involved in the defense of the island of Sicily; the campaign to capture the Ionian Islands; the siege of Ragusa; and the Occupation of Corfu. With the war ending in 1814, John and his regiment returned home, only to be sent to Belgium when Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815. The regiment was not involved at Waterloo, but was at Hal, where it guarded Wellington’s flank during the battle. He then marched to Paris with the army. “Napoleonic students will enjoy this refreshingly different slant on Napoleonic warfare.” —Stuart Asquith, author of Stuart Asquith’s Wargaming 18th Century Battles “Essential reading for military historians and collectors of Napoleonic War era artifacts and militaria.” —The Armourer Incorporating Classic Arms & Militaria
Sharpe and his adventures has made the 95th Foot renowned again and the discovery of an unpublished diary by an American from Charleston South Carolina who served, despite his father’s objections, as an officer in this elite regiment has caused great excitement. James Penman Gairdner was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but he was sent back to the ‘Old Country’ for his education, receiving his schooling at Harrow. After school, rather than joining his father’s merchant business he decided to become a soldier, receiving a commission in the famous 95th Rifles. He subsequently served, without a break, from the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 until the end of the war in 1814. He then fought in the Waterloo campaign and formed part of the Army of Occupation. He was wounded on three occasions. Throughout his service he kept a journal, which he managed to maintain on almost a daily basis. This journal, along with a number of letters that he wrote to his family, have been edited by renowned historian Gareth Glover and are presented here to the public for the first time. Readers will not find dramatic stories of great battles or adventurous escapades. Instead, Gairdner, details the everyday life of one of Wellington’s soldiers; one of marches and billets, of the weather, the places and the people of the Iberian Peninsula and of Paris and Occupied France – the real nature of soldering. His diaries also highlight the very strange relationship between these newly independent Americans and the ‘Old Country’ they had so recently fought with; which even allowed for a true American boy to fight in the British Army, but not in America!
For almost 200 years, the British perception of the Battle of Waterloo was that it was a great British victory gained over the French tyrant Napoleon which was achieved in spite of, rather than because of, the allied contingents in the Duke of Wellington’s army. Eyewitness accounts by British soldiers, encouraged by the doubts expressed in Wellington’s despatches, denigrated and vilified the courage and prowess of these allies. But in the last twenty years modern historians, with better access to the accounts and archives of the allied nations, have tried to put the record straight, and their efforts have been rewarded by changing attitudes and a greater understanding of the significant part the allies played. Andrew Field, in this the latest of his series of pioneering books on Waterloo, makes a powerful contribution to this continuing debate by analyzing in forensic detail the records of these allied forces throughout the campaign. In his balanced, nonpartisan reassessment he describes the make-up of these forces, their training and experience, and their military capability. Included are graphic accounts of their actions and performance on the battlefield. His work is essential reading for all students of the Waterloo campaign.
From the author of Talavera, an extensive history of the Battle of Waterloo from the losing side’s point of view. The story of the Battle of Waterloo—of the ultimate defeat of Napoleon and the French, the triumph of Wellington, Blücher, and their allied armies—is most often told from the viewpoint of the victors, not the vanquished. Even after 200 years of intensive research and the publication of hundreds of books and articles on the battle, the French perspective and many of the primary French sources are under-represented in the written record. So, it is high time this weakness in the literature—and in our understanding of the battle—was addressed, and that is the purpose of Andrew Field’s thought-provoking new study. He has tracked down over ninety first-hand French accounts, many of which have never been previously published in English, and he has combined them with accounts from the other participants in order to create a graphic new narrative of one of the world’s decisive battles. Virtually all of the hitherto unpublished testimony provides fascinating new detail on the battle and many of the accounts are vivid, revealing, and exciting.
‘One of the lancers rode by, and stabbed me in the back with his lance. I then turned, and lay with my face upward, and a foot soldier stabbed me with his sword as he walked by. Immediately after, another, with his firelock and bayonet, gave me a terrible plunge, and while doing it with all his might, exclaimed, “Sacré nom de Dieu!” ’ The truly epic and brutal battle of Waterloo was a pivotal moment in history – a single day, one 24-hour period, defined the course of Europe’s future. In March 1815, the Allies declared war on Napoleon in response to his escape from exile and the renewed threat to imperial European rule. Three months later, on 18 June 1815, having suffered considerable losses at Quatre-Bras, Wellington’s army fell back on Waterloo, some ten miles south of Brussels. Halting on the ridge, they awaited Napoleon’s army, blocking their entry to the capital. This would become the Allies’ final stand, the infamous battle of Waterloo. In this intimate, hour-by-hour account, acclaimed military historian Robert Kershaw resurrects the human stories at the centre of the fighting, creating an authoritative single-volume biography of this landmark battle. Drawing on his profound insight and a field knowledge of military strategy, Kershaw takes the reader to where the impact of the orders was felt, straight into the heart of the battle, shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers on the mud-splattered ground. Masterfully weaving together painstakingly researched eyewitness accounts, diaries and letters – many never before seen or published – this gripping portrayal of Waterloo offers unparalleled authenticity. Extraordinary images of the men and women emerge in full colour; the voices of the sergeants, the exhausted foot-soldiers, the boy ensigns, the captains and the cavalry troopers, from both sides, rise from the page in vivid and telling detail, as the fate of Europe hangs by a thread.
Two hundred years ago the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars convulsed the whole of Europe. These were key events in the history of the continent, and for Britain, and they are a fascinating field for historical _ and family history _ research. More records than ever are available on the men who served in the British army during the wars _ and on their families - and Carole DivallÍs new book is the perfect guide to how to locate and understand these sources - and get the most out of them. She gives a vivid insight into what soldiersÍ lives were like during the period and shows how much of their experience can be recovered from the records. Using the full range of sources - contemporary military records, correspondence, diaries, memoirs _ she reconstructs in detail the stories of a representative group of individuals who took part in the wars - a soldier who saw action as a marine in the Mediterranean fleet, a Gordon Highlander who was taken prisoner, riflemen who served at Walcheren, in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, artillery men who played a crucial role in battles and in sieges, a gentry family whose sons served as officers in the Peninsula and in India, and two remarkable women who were among the many who went to war with the men. Carole DivallÍs informative and accessible book will be essential reading and reference for anyone who wants to find out about the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and is keen to understand the part an ancestor played in them.
