THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
1815.
Napoleon had reached Frasnes at nine o’clock on the morning of the
17th, and determined on attacking the allied commander. Still uncertain
as to the route by which Blucher was retiring, he detached Grouchy in
pursuit with the third and fourth corps, and the cavalry of Excelmans
and Pajol, with directions to overtake the Prussian marshal, if
possible, and in that case bring him to action.
While Buonaparte delayed his attack until his reserve and the sixth
corps came up, his abler antagonist was preparing to retire. This
operation in open day was difficult, as the Dyle was in the rear of
the allies, and the long and narrow bridge at the village of Genappe
the only means by which the _corps d’armée_ could effect its passage.
Wellington disposed some horse-artillery and dismounted dragoons upon
the heights, and leaving a strong rearguard in front of Quatre Bras,
he succeeded in making his retreat, until, when discovered, it was too
late to offer any serious interruption to the regressive movement of
the allies.
While the rear of the columns were still defiling through the narrow
streets of Genappe, Napoleon’s advanced cavalry overtook and attacked
the rearguard, and a sharp affair ensued. The 7th Hussars, assisted
by some squadrons of the 11th and 23rd Light Dragoons, charged the
French horsemen boldly, but they were repulsed; and a second effort was
bravely but ineffectually attempted. The Life Guards were instantly
ordered up, and led in person to the charge by Lord Anglesea, who
was in command of the British rearguard. Their attack was decisive;
the enemy were severely checked, and driven in great disorder back
upon their supports. No other attempt was made by the French cavalry
to embarrass the retreat of the allied columns, and except by an
occasional cannonade, too distant to produce any serious effect, the
remainder of the march on Waterloo was undisturbed by the French
advance.
The allies reached the position early in the evening, and orders were
issued for the divisions to halt and prepare their bivouacs. The
ground for each brigade had been already marked out; the troops piled
their arms, the cavalry picketed their horses, the guns were parked,
fires were lighted along the lines, and all prepared the best mode of
sheltering themselves from the inclemency of the weather, which scanty
means could afford them in an exposed position like that of Waterloo.
All through the day rain had occasionally fallen, but as night came on
the weather became more tempestuous. The wind rose, and torrents of
rain, with peals of thunder and frequent lightning, rendered the dreary
night before the battle anything but a season of repose.
While the troops bivouacked on the field, the Duke of Wellington with
the general officers and their respective staffs occupied the village
of Waterloo. On the doors of the several cottages the names of the
principal officers were chalked--“and frail and perishing as was the
record, it was found there long after many of those whom it designated
had ceased to exist!”
The ground on which the allied commander had decided to accept battle
was chosen with excellent judgment. In front of the position, the
surface declined for nearly a quarter of a mile, and rose again for
an equal distance, until it terminated in a ridge of easy access,
along which the French had posted a number of their brigades, the
intermediate space between the armies being covered by a rich crop of
rye nearly ready for the sickle. In the rear, the forest of Soignies,
intersected by the great roads from Charleroi to Brussels, extended;
and nearly at the entrance to the wood, the little village of Waterloo
was situated. The right of the British was stretched over to Merke
Braine, and the left appuied upon a height above Ter le Haye. The whole
line was formed on a gentle acclivity, the flanks partially defended
by a small ravine with broken ground. The farmhouse of La Haye Sainte,
in front of the left centre, was defended by a Hanoverian battalion,
and the chateau of Hougomont, in advance of the right centre, held by a
part of the Guards and a few companies of Nassau riflemen. This was the
strongest point of the whole position; and the Duke had strengthened
it considerably, by erecting barricades and perforating the walls with
loopholes, to permit the musketry of its defenders to be effectively
employed.
Wellington’s first line, comprising some of his best regiments, was
drawn up behind these posts; the second was still further in the rear,
and, from occupying a hollow, was sheltered from the fire of the
French artillery. The third was formed of the cavalry; and they were
more retired still, extending to Ter le Haye. The extreme right of the
British obliqued to Merke Braine, and covered the road to Nivelles,
while the left kept the communication with the Prussians open by the
Ohain road, which runs through the passes of Saint Lambert. As it was
not improbable that Napoleon might endeavour to reach Brussels by
marching circuitously round the British right, a corps of observation,
composed of the greater portion of the fourth division, under Sir
Charles Colville, was detached to Halle; and consequently those troops,
during the long and bloody contest of the 18th, were at a distance from
the field, and remained _non combattant_.
The allied dispositions were completed soon after daylight, although it
was nearly noon before the engagement seriously commenced. The division
of Guards, under General Cooke, was posted on a rise immediately
adjoining the chateau of Hougomont, its right leaning on the road to
Nivelles; the division of Baron Alten had its left flank on the road
of Charleroi, and was drawn up behind the house of La Haye Sainte.
The Brunswick troops were partly in line with the Guards and partly
held in reserve; and the Nassau troops were generally attached to
Alten’s division. Some of the corps in line, and a battalion acting _en
tirailleur_, occupied the wood of Hougomont. This _corps d’armée_ was
commanded by the Prince of Orange.
The British divisions of Clinton and Colville, two Hanoverian brigades,
and a Dutch corps under the command of Lord Hill, were placed _en
potence_, in front of the right.
On the left, the division of Picton, a British brigade under Sir John
Lambert, a Hanoverian corps, and some troops of the Netherlands,
extended along the hedge and lane which traverses the rising ground
between the road to Charleroi and Ter le Haye. This village, with the
farm of Papilotte, contiguous to the wood of Frichemont, was garrisoned
by a post of the Nassau contingent, commanded by the hereditary
Prince of Weimar. The cavalry were under the direction of the Earl of
Uxbridge, and the artillery were commanded by Sir George Wood.
No part of the allied position was remarkable for natural strength;
but where the ground displayed any advantages, they had been carefully
made available for defence. The whole surface of the field of Waterloo
was perfectly open, and the acclivities of easy ascent. Infantry
movements could be easily effected, artillery might advance and retire,
and cavalry could charge. On every point the British position was
assailable; and the island soldier had no reliance but in “God and his
Grace”--for all else depended on his own stout heart and vigorous arm.