Walking Waterloo

Walking Waterloo Summary

2009-10-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Waterloo was not only the first of our Walking Napoleonic Battlefield holidays, it was also one of the first holidays after we got married.

We drove from Osnabruck to Waterloo on 7 July 1971 and spent 10 days exploring Brussels and the battlefield.

It was the first of three visits, but by far the most comprehensive. We did not do a lot of preparation, but fortunately most of the sites of interest are well marked. And we did have a copy of Jac Weller "Wellington at Waterloo". As well as excellent descriptions of each stage of the battle, there are also a lot of aerial and ground photographs and even a chapter on visiting the battlefield.

The next blog will deal with our first visit to Portugal and Spain to explore Wellington's Peninsular battlefields. You can find it at:

http://walkingportugalandspain.blogspot.com/

The Left Flank

2009-05-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Prince of Orange at the battle of Waterloo

The Left Flank is the least well know of all the positions on the Waterloo battlefield. This may be because no British or KGL infantry fought in this area. Wellington was not personally involved in this area. The cavalry brigades of Vivian and Vandeleur were stationed behind the area in support, but were not called upon to fight here.

Throughout the battle the area was held by a brigade of Perponchers Dutch-Belgian division under the command of Saxe Weimar.

PLHS - the Left Flank at Waterloo

The Left Flank of the allied Waterloo position consists of a collection of farms, villages and hamlets by the name of Papelotte, La Haye (not to be confused with the farm of La Haye Sainte) and Smohain. Because of their initials they are sometimes known as PLHS.

Papelotte (centre) with La Haye on its right. On the far right is the hamlet of Smohain.

The Dutch-Belgians occupied the buildings of Papellote, La Haye and Smohain. A mixed French force approached and occupied Frischermont, but were prevented from advancing any further. There was prolonged skirmishing fighting during the morning.

The sunken road south of Papelotte (left). La Haye is on the right

During d'Erlons attack his right hand division, commanded by Durette, was directed towards this area. However he soon fell behind the other three divisions due to the broken ground. Before he could reach PLHS the rest of d'Erlons command were in rout, pursued by the Union and Household cavalry brigades. Durette wisely withdrew.

In the foreground La Haye, in the background Papelotte

The next serious fighting was during the late afternoon. About 6pm, as Ziethen's Prussians began to appear, Durutte send forward several battalions. He wanted to take and hold PLHS to secure the French right flank. The French captured some of the isolated farms, but the Dutch-Belgians held the main PLHS area.

Smohain is on the left, the brook can be seen above the hamlet

The most serious damage to the Dutch-Belgians was done by the Prussians - not the French. Ziethen approached on the road beside the Smohain brook. He saw the farms of Papelotte and La Haye still in possession of troops who appeared to be French because of their uniforms. The Prussians attacked immediately, and Saxe Weimar thought they were Grouchy's men. Their barricades were not properly placed to resist an attack from the north east and they were eventually forced back. When the mistake was discovered they reoccupied PLHS, but were unable to take any part in the final attack on the French.

Smohain brook

I was not sure whether to include PLHS in my record of our 1971 visit. We did visit the area, but only to drive around in the car. We found it to be a very confusing area, and one which were had not come sufficiently prepared to explore. However I did have these interesting photographs and map, and it seemed a shame not to include them.

So I hope that you will accept this final part of our Waterloo battlefield walk as our own Waterloo Post Script.

Hougoumont

2009-05-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Of all the buildings and locations on and around the battlefield of Waterloo, none were better known to Jan and I than Hougoumont. I had read so many stories about the heroic defence, seen so many drawings and photographs, that I felt I knew it well - even though I had never been there before. So to actually walk in the grounds of Hougoumont was an experience we were not to forget.

But before we recall the visit itself, lets just remind ourselves where Hougoumont is, and why it was so important. These two aerial photographs help us to do so. The one above was taken from 14 in the plan. You will see that this was the direction of the French attack. You can also see how close the farm is to the Lion monument, which marks Wellingtons right flank. Hougoumont is not as close to the allied positions, but it does protect his right flank. And of course because it is slightly further from the allied line, it was more difficult to support, reinforce and resupply.

The second aerial photograph gives an even better impression of the farm and garden. The "covered way" is a sunken road which gave some shelter to reinforcements or resupply vehicles moving to the farm. As this road was nearest to the allied line, it was commanded by the allied artillery and dangerous for the French to approach.

Although the farm was surrounded by the French during the battle, not a single Frenchman managed to enter either the farm complex or the garden and survive - except as a prisoner.

This is the view of Hougoumont which most of the attacking lines of French infantry would have seen. However at the time of the battle there would have had to pass through an extensive woods to reach this point.

I have a large poster of this famous painting in my wargames room, of the hand to hand fighting for possession of the woods to the south of the farm.

In preparation for our visit to Hougoumont we had read Jac Wellers "Wellington at Waterloo", in which he confirms that visitors are welcome in the courtyard, the ruins of the chapel, the garden and through the passage to the south beneath the first floor of the farmers house. Given that this is a working farm, I think this is very generous of the resident farmer.

It was quite an experience to stand in front of the very door which played such an important part in the battle. We sat by the wall and read an extract from our second reference book David Howarth's "Waterloo, A Near Run Thing". This is a collection of first hand accounts of various events of the battle. Unfortunately I no longer have my copy, so I can't quote from it. However I clearly remember reading about an English skirmisher who was so involved in the fighting in the woods that he failed to realise that his colleagues had withdrawn inside the farm. When he reached the gate, he found it locked. He recounts how a French skirmisher took careful aim at him, fired, but missed. We read this account right by the door he found locked on the wrong side on that memorable day

As we sat there, the farmer came out on his tractor. He gave us a friendly nod and went on his way. So we felt quite encouraged to fully explore the farm and gardens.

Another famous painting of the fighting for the southern gate. For me this one captures what it must have been like to come forwards and batter against this door time and time again.

We walked around the outside of the garden wall. Its much higher than I had imagined, and it was interesting to read that the defenders built wooden platforms so that they could fire over the wall at the attacking French. They also knocked loop holes in the wall, which could still be seen. We paused to read an account of how the French grasped hold of the muskets and tried to pull them through the loop holes.

We walked around the farm to the northern gate, or rather to the gap in the wall where the northern gate would once have stood. This was the scene of another famous episode of the battle. The garrison had left this gate closed and barred, but not barricaded, so that they could receive reinforcements and ammunition from the ridge.

"A giant French leiutenant seized an axe from one of his pioneers and weakened the bar where it was exposed between the doors. He then led a charge which crushed the doors inward breaking the bar. In an instant, many French rushed into the courtyard. But (Colonel) Macdonnel himself and several officers and men closed the gates by main strength, replaced the bar and killed or incapacitated every enemy soldier inside, probably helped by musket fire from the surrounding buildings".

Wellington was later to say that Colonel Macdonnel (commander of the garrison) was the bravest man at Waterloo, and that his action in closing the gate was the most important single action contributing to winning the battle.

To sit in the courtyard entrance and read this account was thrilling indeed.

This photographs was taken from the north gate looking across the courtyard towards the chapel and the south gate. This was the scene of another epic action. "The buildings were set on fire by French howitzer shells, but resistance continued unabated, since a large part of the actual fortfied area was in the open behind bare walls."

Wellington sent a note pencilled on goatskin to Macdonell which read:

"I see that the fire has communicated from the hay stack to the roof of the chateau. You must however still keep your men in those parts to which the fire does not reach. Take care that no men are lost by the falling in of the roof or floors. After they will have fallen in occupy the ruined walls inside of the garden, particularly if it should be possible for the enemy to pass through the embers to the inside of the house".

Only a few days earlier we had seen this very message, handwritten in pencil by the great man himself, in the Wellington HQ museum in the village of Waterloo.

The chapel was amongst the buildings which caught fire. It was being used to shelter wounded soldiers, both French and English. Many perished as they were unable to drag themselves out of the building. There is a wooden cross on the wall of which only the feet are burned, the rest survived.

A very sad place to stand and consider how terrible it must have been to perish in such a dreadful way. I recall reading about a guardsman who was fighting in the nearby farm. His brother had been injured earlier, and placed in the chapel. When he saw that the chapel was on fire he asked, and received, permission to leave his post and move his brother out of the chapel. As soon as he had done so he returned to his post in the farm.

This photograph was taken from the top of the garden wall and is number 23 in the diagram above. Area A is where the French infantry tried to pull the muskets through the loop holes. B is the farmers house. C the chapel. This garden was the scene of some of the most determined fighting of the whole battle. The defenders fired over the wall, and through the loopholes, and bayonet any Frenchman brave enough to try to climb of the wall.

Corner of the south and east garden wall. The bricked-up loopholes show clearly in the right foreground section. Further to the left are some stone lined loopholes, still open, made when the wall was built.

Our second, well thumbed, guide to the battle. Jac Weller is great for a general overview of the battle, and the sequence of events. But David Howarth really brings it all to life with the actual words of men who took part in the battle. My favourite memory of visiting Waterloo is of sitting in the garden, eating a picnic lunch and reading from "Waterloo, A Near Run Thing".

Jan is standing near a monument to the French who died at Hougoumont. Srange place to put it. There were many casualties in the general area, but I believe no French soldier entered the garden, except possibly as a prisoner.

There are also two graves in the garden covered by stone slabs. One is where Captain Blackman of the Coldstreamers was buried on the day after the battle. The second is Sergeant Major Edward Cotton of the 7th Hussars. He died at Waterloo in 1849, a wealthy man after many years as a professional battlefield guide.

La Haye Sainte

2009-05-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

We were very excited about finally exploring one of the two most famous buildings of this, or any other, battle. We didn't need Jac Weller's "Wellington at Waterloo" to check what had happened here. Like everyone else we were well aware of the heroic defence by the Kings German Legion. Of the hand to hand fighting at the east/west passage of the south barn. Of the French pursuit through the house when the defenders ran out of ammunition. As we stood at the cross roads looking down at the familiar outline of La Haye Sainte we were filled with excitement.

From the cross roads we searched to the left of La Haye Sainte for the famous sandpit which was held by the riflemen of the 95th for most of the battle. We were to be disappointed, for it had been removed to make way for an electric railway from Brussels to Plancenoit.

We walked down the Charleroi road and inspected the buildings from the road. It looked exactly the same as it had in all of those paintings I had seen, including one of French infantry trying to storm the gate and walls.

From this excellent aerial photograph you can easily see why the farm was so important to the allied defence. I believe that the sandpit must have been somewhere near the monument on the right hand side of the road near the cross roads. However this was not so obvious at ground level. The group of buildings north west of the cross roads are new. You can see how close to the vital cross roads the farm is. And when you consider that French artillery was placed in the kitchen gardens towards the end of the battle you realise how close Wellington came to losing his centre and with it the battle.

A marks Napoleons command post, which we had visited earlier. It was much more difficult to make it out from the cross roads, and what had appeared a high hill when we stood there looked quite flat from the cross roads. B marks the area of the sandput. The monuments are (left) the Hannoverian (KGL) and (right) to Gordon. Strange that there is no monument to the 95th rifles.
It is easy to imagine d'Erlons corps attack, and the subsequent charge of the union and household cavalry brigades on the left. Also the massed French cavalry charges, and the final advance of the Imperial Guard on the right.

Another excellent demonstration of how strategic the farm was during the battle. And also a clear view of how much the Lion monument has changed the whole battlefield.

You can see from this old print that the farm and its complex of buuildings has changed little since the battle.

A very unusual photo of the farm from the west. This is number 28 in the diagram above. The right hand door on the right hand barn is the one which was used for firewood on the night before the battle. You can see why it would have been so difficult for the French to gain entry on this side, other than by the open doorway.

We entered the farm yard by the gap in the wall above. This is 30 in the diagram. It also features in the painting shown at the top of this page. We sat here and read Chapter X of "Wellington at Waterloo", titled the loss of La Haye Sainte. The defence of this farm must be one of the most heroic in the history of the British army, for of course the KGL was part of the British army. This building was often surrounded by the French during the battle, but the garrison held even when they ran out of ammunition. Jac Weller describes how "...cartridges for the rifles had been called for at least three times but none had arrived. Baring (the garrison commander) refused to surrender, even after they fired their last rounds. But the French soon realised their advantage and began climbing over roofs and walls, knowing that the Germans cound not shoot them. Frenchmen took deliberate aim and killed man after man like sitting ducks".

It was a very strange feeling to stand in the very gateway which had withstood wave after wave of French attacks. You can see how difficult it would have been for infantrymen to hack their way through this massive door.

This is the east-west passage where "...seventeen Frenchmen were killed here in hand to hand fighting, their bodies being used by the defenders to reinforce their barricade". It is 31 in the diagram above.

Jan stands at the same door way in July 1971.

This is the north side of La Haye Sainte farm house. Shown as 33 in the diagram above. This is where the french artillery were placed towards the end of the battle. However their crews were shot by 1/95th Rifles from south of the Ohain road.

The same farm house from the south side. This is where "...shortly after 6pm the defenders were driven through the courtyard and into the farmhouse. They did not have a single round of ammunition, but held the doorway for several minutes with bayonets only. The French could take any liberties now, they climbed on a cart and fired at a range of under 10 yards. Baring led the retreat through the small doorway. Only a few made ti, for the French took the house by sorom. A pitiful remmant, Baring and 42 men (of the original 376), managed to get through to the garden. The British riflemen shot any French who pursued".

We approached the farm house, but someone inside knocked on the window and quite understandably did not want us to impose any further. We left the farm yard and sat opposite reliving the exploits of those brave men and their daring deeds.

By far our most emotional and rewarding day yet. Even better was to come the following day when we visited Hougoumont.

The Lion

2009-05-05T01:46:00.000-07:00

We were on the seventh day of our visit before we finally went to the Lion Monument and adjacent visitors centre. This was deliberate, as we wanted to save the best for last. However our first impression was this was not by any means the best!

This fine aerial photographs shows the location of the Lion Monument, and it also shows clearly the damage building it has done to the battlefield. This was one of the most important parts of the whole battlefield, and the tons of earth removed to build the monument has changed the lie of the land beyond recognition. You will probably be aware that this monstrosity was constructed to celebrate the part played in the battle by the Prince of Orange, and the fact that he received a minor wound during the battle. This may not immediately strike you as the most important event of the many which occurred on that fateful day in June 1815. However when you consider that his dad was the King of the Netherlands you begin to understand why it was done. The single good thing to come of it, is that it can be seen from any part of the battlefield, and makes orientation very easy.

It was another warm and sunny day when we arrived. Yet our first impression of this long awaited visit was that it was quite depressing. The whole area, and in particular the buildings, were very much past their best. Clearly not much money had been spent on the area in recent years, and it was beginning to show. Our second impression was that it was a shrine to Napoleon, with very little reference to Wellington. If the battle of Waterloo, and the winner, were not so well known by every Englishman, it would be easy to come away from Waterloo thinking that Napoleon must have won!

Our first visit was to the imposing, if somewhat faded, museum and film show. The most impressive part of the museum was this excellent Grenadier of the Old Guard. Jan looks quite impressed, and indeed impressive in her fancy straw hat. The rest of the museum, including this diorama of Napoleons marshals poring over a map, was less impressive.

Least impressive of all, indeed downright disappointing, was the film show. We were delighted to see that Waterloo was on show. We had recently seen it, but were more than happy to repeat the performance, and at Waterloo itself. Imagine our disappointment when we sat down in the tiny cinema and discovered it was a silent, black and white version which, in 1971, must have been at least 30 or 40 years old. It was similar to one of those Charlie Chaplain films which always feature a car race. I would not have been surprised if he had appeared in the middle of the most unconvincing battle scenes I have ever seen. Now it might well be that this was actually a well known classic, and that I am showing my ignorance. However we were bitterly disappointed to find that it was not the wonderful, colourful movie with Rod Steiger as Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington.

I am pleased to be able to confirm, and you will be happy to learn, that this was the last of the disappointments of this day. Our next visit was to the fantastic Waterloo Panorama in the circular building which stands beside the Lion.

As we entered the dark circular room we were blown away by the scale of the panorama. The whole wall is covered by a life sized painting depicting the massed French cavalry charge. The foreground is littered with battle debris, such as broken artillery wheels, muskets etc. The room is filled with the sound of battle from the surround sound system. It may not be too impressive by modern standards, but we had never seen anything like it before. And it is by far the most impressive recreation of a Napoleonic battlefield that I have ever seen. We spent at least an hour walking around the room soaking up the sights and sounds.

Emerging into the bright midday sunshine, we climbed the 226 tall steps to the top of the Lion Monument. It was well worth the effort. It may have done massive damage to the battlefield, but the view from the top is quite breath taking. You are immediately orientated when you see Hougoumont to the right and La Haye Sainte to the left. We opened our well thumbed copy of Jac Wellers "Wellington at Waterloo" and I read aloud to Jan from Chapter IX The French Cavalry Attacks. We were so engrossed that it took some time to realise that we were surrounded by a small group of visitors who obviously found my account more interesting than the pre-recorded machines which tell the story of the battle in many languages.

We were in no hurry to leave our matchless view point, and we had come prepared with a picnic lunch. Having orientated ourselves, and read an excellent description of the cavalry charges and studied the ground over which it took place. We then turned to our second battlefield companion, the excellent "Waterloo, A Near Run Thing" by David Howarth. This book contains the first hand accounts of a number of soldiers who took part in the actual battle. Unfortunately I no longer have my copy, it disappeared over the years. So I cannot quote from it now. But I do remember how exciting it was to read the actual words of participants in the battle while looking at the ground they were describing.

It was late afternoon when we came back down the 226 steps to return to the car. This had been the least energetic day so far, and we had not really done any battlefield walking. However we felt we had really explored the area through "Wellington at Waterloo" and "A Near Run Thing". We had an excellent grasp of the battle, the battlefield and personal accounts of different participants. We were ready for tomorrows excursion. In the photo below you can see a clue to the location of our next visit.

Napoleons HQ

2009-04-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

Just weeks before we visited Waterloo, Jan and I had seen the movie "Waterloo". It was still fresh in our minds, and helped us to bring to life the locations we visited during this tour.

Nowhere was this more true than at Le Caillou, Napoleon's headquarters on the night before the battle. It had featured in the film, and this made it easier for us to imagine what it must have been like at the time.

Looking out of the window at the back garden I could easily imagine the Guard Lancers preparing for battle in the pouring rain. I have no idea whether there were any cavalry billeted in the garden on the evening of 17 June 1815 - but I like to think there might have been

The moment we entered the ADC room, I could picture Napoleon (Rod Steiger) greeting his marshals at breakfast on the morning on 18 June 1815. Remember how he received the report of the wet ground, and dismissed Soult's warning about Wellington and reserve slope tactics? Again not sure it happened here - but it should have done.

This gruesome display case had a legend "French Hussar". This poor chap did not feature in "Waterloo", and we both felt he should not feature in a museum either. It was in bad taste in 1971, and surely it has been removed in this more sensitive age?

My favourite room was Napoleon's bedroom. It was claimed that the bed was the original, and it certainly looked probable. Once more Rod Steiger came to the rescue, with an image of him retiring to bed the night before the battle with a look of pain on his sweating face.

Leaving Le Caillou we drove a short distance towards Waterloo, before turning right at La Belle Alliance and climbing a small hill to a plaque which claimed it was the scene of Napoleons command post during the battle. I have not seen this mentioned in any of the books I have read, but I did remember the scene above from "Waterloo". It was easy to imagine this small area packed with staff officers and ADC coming and going. And of course the great man himself surveying the battlefield.

In this photograph you can see the hill just to the right of La Belle Alliance, beside the road leading to Plancenoit. We had climbed the stone steps leading to the command post, and were rewarded by a fantastic panorama of the battlefield.

Directly in front of us was the area where Napoleon placed the massed French artillery of the grand battery. In front of that the ground over which d'Erlon led his massed infantry columns against Pictons thin red line. We could see where the attack stalled, where the French were smashed by the cavalry of the Union and Household brigades. Where they in turn came to ruin when they pursued the routed French, only to be repulsed by French cavalry as they reached the grand battery. All very stirring stuff.

We settled down in the warm midday sun to have a picnic. Jan had come prepared with bread, cheese, apples and a bottle of wine. I had come prepared with Jac Weller's "Wellingtion at Waterloo"

We spent a very pleasant couple of hours eating our lunch and reading aloud from Chapter VIII, which covers d'Erlon's attack in great detail. We had great fun pondering where the various infantry columns advanced and came to ruin.

Throughout this period we had the hill to ourselves. It was a Monday afternoon, so perhaps there were less visitors. Many cars drove to and from Plancenoit, but none stopped to disturb our peace and quiet.

La Belle Alliance stands on the junction of the Plancenoit and Waterloo-Charleroi roads. It was

here that Wellington met Blucher and they agreed that the Prussian army would perform the pursuit of the routed French army.

It was also the spot where the 1st battalion of the Grenadiers of the Old Guard stood and died. Again "Waterloo" came to our aid with that memorable scene near the end when they refuse to surrender and are blasted by a mass of artillery. Now I doubt very much that that particular scene owes a lot to historical accurracy. But it did give a very striking picture of hopeless defiance, which I think probably was true of the last stand of the Old Guard. I believe that this memorial marks the spot.

Plancenoit

2009-04-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

We found it very difficult to determine Prussian movements around Plancenoit. We knew that the Prussian army had advanced from Paris Wood towards the town, but could not find where Paris Wood was.

This photo shows Plancenoit, with the church in the centre. It is taken from the direction in which the Prussians would have advanced on the town.

This interesting photo gives a good impression of what Plancenoit might have looked like to an advancing Prussian infantryman.

There is no doubt that the fighting raged around the church, and that is one place which is easy to locate. The shape of the town has not changed greatly since 1815, and the church is still in the centre.

When we were there the church was closed, but we could walk around the outside area and church yard. On a warm summer evening it was difficult to imagine what it must have been like on 18 June 1815.

Although we walked around the town we did not see anything else which was obviously related to the battle. Unfortunately Jac Weller's "Wellington at Waterloo" does not go into much detail about Plancenoit, presumably because he had a similar problem. There is a general description of the fighting, but nothing specific apart from mentioning that the church was the centre of the fighting.

This is the road which leads from Plancenoit to La Belle Alliance, and the Prussian army would have advanced along this road having driven the French from the town.

This impressive, and very Prussian, monument lies between Plancenoit and La Belle Alliance, and marks the Prussian advance.

Ligny

2009-04-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday 10 July 1971 was another sunny morning, as we once more drove down the Charleroi road, past Waterloo to Quatre Bras and turned left towards Ligny.

To quote Jac Weller from Wellington at Waterloo "...the villages here have not increased astonishingly in size, but there is still not much to see even from the air. This is a confusing battle to read about and even more confusing to walk over" And how right he is!

To be honest I did not know a lot about the battle when we visited in 1971. In recent years I read a book called something like "Waterloo, a German Victory" by Peter Hirschhofer. I believe the first volume covered Ligny, and has a lot of diagrams and maps. Ideal as a battlefield companion. Unfortunately not available to me in 1971.

Nor is much about Ligny in Wellington at Waterloo, and that was my main source of reference. There is not even a map. I hoped that I might be able to find something in Ligny itself, but could find nothing in English.

Ligny is not a large village, and walking around we soon found Ligny church. This is the only photograph in Jac Wellers book about the battle. So at least we were sure that this is indeed the church which changed hands many times during the battle.

And then our luck changed, we found this lovely little museum. There is only two rooms in the museum, and appears to be a collection of items found on the battlefield.

The unique thing about the museum is that none of the exhibits were under glass, and could be handled. At least I think it was OK to pick up this original sword. There was no one to ask, and I really could not resist the temptation.

There were also a number of models of typical Belgian farm buildings. They were not dioramas, in that there were no model soldiers involved. However the painting below was on a nearby wall, so I am reasonably confident that it was a model of the same farm.

Encouraged by the excellent museum, we set off to explore the area. We found a farm building on the outskirts of the town which looked very like the one in the museum. However there was no plaque or other identification, and no sign of war damage. So it is quite likely that it was not the same one!

We looked around the outskirts, but could not find any bearings on the battle. We sat near the farm building, and imagined what might, or indeed might not, have happened there. But all in all a disappointing battlefield walk.

I would stress that our lack of success was entirely due to our own lack of research. Time and again we have found that the more preparation you do the more enjoyable the walk turns out.

However we had one little unexpected treat in store.

Driving back towards Waterloo I saw a little sign for Genappe. We parked the car and walked through the village to the little bridge over the river Dyle. It was so old that there could be no doubt this was the famous bridge which featured in both Wellingtons retreat from Quatre Bras and Napoleons even more famous retreat from Waterloo.

We took our picnic lunch from the car and sat on the banks of the river overlooking the bridge. As we ate our sandwiches on a lovely summer afternoon, I read Jan this description of the cavalry melee on this very spot during the afternoon of 17 June 1815.

"The French forced a passage across the bridge and though the village to its northern outskirts.". The French lancers were met by the 7th hussars, but their charge proved ineffective. The Life Guards were brought up...."the French were awed by their appearance, and ran away before they came near them....".

The scene was so unchanged that we could easily imagine the French lancers trotting across the bridge, only to come back minutes later in great disorder pursued by the Life Guards on their big black horses. Stirring stuff!

And the second story concerned the French retreat after Waterloo.

"The French were now completely broken and retreated mainly by the Genappe road. they were badly hampered in passing through the village by the long narrow main street and the small bridge. Here they suffered additional severe casualties in killed,wounded and prisoners and lost practically off of their wheeled transport. The Prussian cavalry even took the emperor's coach a few second after he had jumped out of it and on to a horse".

And here we were sitting just yards away from that very same bridge!

I took loads of photographs, but the film must have been faulty because they never came out. But my memories of that afternoon are perfectly clear without the aid of a photograph.

I guess what I learned from that lovely afternoon is that to enjoy a battlefield visit you only have to take the time to sit, look and recall the events that took place right there. And if you can find a spot such as Genappe bridge it really is not all that difficult to do.

If you are in the area, do take the time to visit Genappe. Personally I would not want to go back, it could never be so enjoyable a second time.

Quatre Bras

2009-04-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

A warm, sunny morning, and breakfast on the patio of the hotel was a nice way to start our third day. As we finished our coffee we studied “Wellington at Waterloo”, and in particular Chapter V Quatre Bras.

This volume really is the ideal battlefield companion. There is a short section on the topography of the area, and suggestions for places to visit. Then there are chapters on each phase of the campaign. But most important of all are the wonderful black and white photographs.

Many are aerial photographs, and are ideal for confirming your location. There are also close ups of the various farms and important strategic locations. These are particularly useful as you can be sure that your are looking at the correct farm, or cross roads or indeed in the right direction! On a first visit to a battlefield it really is very difficult to orientate yourself with only a modern map and a line drawing from a book. Although published in 1967 I would still strongly recommend this wonderful book to anyone attempting the battlefield for the first time.

We were soon on the road, and driving across the Waterloo battlefield, and the unmistakeable La Haye Sainte, towards Quatre Bras. It is impossible to miss the cross roads, and at least you can be sure that you are pointing towards the French. However after that things get a bit more complicated.

The battlefield of Quatre Bras is much the same as it was in 1815. The cross roads is easy to locate, and all four roads still follow the originals. Most of the large farms are much the same. However there are a lot of new buildings, and it is not always easy to recognise the ones you want. I could not find any trace of Bossu wood.

This is the vital cross roads on which most of the most desperate fighting was centered. The Dutch Belgian troops holding this junction were soon reinforced by British brigades arriving both along the Waterloo road and from the left. Wellington held this cross roads throughout the battle despite the best efforts of the French led by Marshal Ney.

Picton's was the first British division to arrive, and it was deployed to the left of the photo. The brunt of the French attack was directed at this area, and it was here that the 42nd and 44th were attacked by French lancers.

We walked down the Charleroi road to the Brunswick monument. It was here that the Duke of Brunswick was mortally wounded leading a charge by his hussars to stem a French attack.

A little further down the road is the farm of Gemioncourt farm. It was artillery fire from this position which pursuaded the Prince of Orange to order the 69th out of square and to form line. Cavalry deployed in a fold in the ground near the farm spotted this deployment and swept down on the British infantry. The 69th practically ceased to exist, it lost its colour and played no further part in the battle.

Further still, and to the right of the road, is Pierrepont farm. This area was in French control until the final allied counter attack. The Brunswick infantry pushed the French right back south of this area and took possession of the farm.

We returned to the cross roads and turned right (west) to walk along the area of Pictons battle.
We soon reached the hamlet of Thyle and the nearby Materne lake. This area was the scene of prolonged skirmish fighting between the 95th Rifles and the French light infantry.

Early in the day Wellington sent the 95th Rifles to occupy Piraumont farm. However before they arrived a strong force of French infantry took possession of it. The Rifles fought to drive them out, but they retained possession until the end of the battle.

The old Roman road is no longer in use, but it was then the main road from Quatre Bras to Ligny. It was down this road that Wellington rode for his historic meeting with Blucher prior to the battle.

Conclusion

Quatre Bras is an easy battlefield to find, but we found it a less easy one to explore. Some postions are obvious, for example the cross roads and the Brunswick museum. Others take a lot more effort, even with such a useful guide.

We spent a full day there, but I still feel we did not do it justice. We did a lot of walking but despite our best efforts were unable to find some of the locations. This was mainly because it was a very hot day, and we were covering a big area on foot. We were forced to spend a considerable amount of time in the shade, consulting "Wellington at Waterloo". We got a good "feel" for the battlefield, but did not have the energy to do full justice to the Thyle area in particular

I often thought that I would like to return and do it properly. Either with a knowledgeable guide, or (better still) on bicycles. It is a very flat area, and the wheels would allow us to explore a much wider area in comfort.

Its not the only battlefield I would like to return to. But perhaps one day?

Ohain

2009-04-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

After a sleepless night, due to the heavy and noisy traffic, we woke up feeling tired and weary. Looking out of the window it was a grey sky with light drizzle. Not wishing to waste any more time than necessary we packed, had breakfast and booked out of the hotel.

We left Brussels against the flow of incoming rush hour traffic, and we were soon driving through the peaceful Soignes forest . The sky cleared, and so did our mood. We passed a road sign for Waterloo, and that cheered us even more.

As we neared the town of Waterloo we spotted a nice little bar called Les Couleurs. We stopped for a drink and were delighted that they also offered rooms, and that they were less expensive than our noisy one in Brussels. We dropped off the suitcases and continued to Waterloo.

As we drove through Waterloo we noticed the Wellington HQ museum. This one is well worth a visit. On the day we were there we were the only visitors. I sat at the table where Wellington wrote his famous dispatch, but unfortunately did not take any photographs. I also sat on the bed where Gordon died. Apparently it was Wellingtons bed, but he gave it to the dying Gordon, whilst he sat next door and wrote the dispatch. We stayed there for about an hour.

By the time we left Waterloo it was almost lunch time. We had not seen a cafe, and it was a now a warm and sunny day, so we decided on a picnic. We found a supermarket and bought some bread and cheese and looked for somewhere nice to eat it.

Jan was map reading, which is not her strong point. But this time she did quite well, found a pretty little village with a small park. It was the village of Ohain. At this time I did not know a lot about the battle of Waterloo, but I was fortunate that I had got hold of a book called "Waterloo" by Jac Weller. This proved to be the most perfect battlefield companion. It looks very old fashioned by today's standards, with lots of black and white photographs. However these are ideal for locating exactly where on the battlefield you are. As we had lunch I checked the Index of Places at the back, and read aloud the part this little village had played in the battle.

Ohain was on the far left of Wellingtons battle line, and was held by Dutch Belgian troops. Because there were no British troops in this area, it is not (at least in 1971) particularly well known. Fortunately there is a section about the area in the book, so we got a grasp of the confused fighting that took place here.

There is no mention in the book about the church in relation to the battle, but it is a very interesting building to look around

To be best of my knowledge this card did not play any part in the events of 1815, but it was the closest we could come to something that might have been there at the time.

We bought these old black and white post cards in the local shop. I think they give a much better feel of the village than the colour photos I took. You can almost feel the infantry marching down the cobbled streets.

Another timeless picture of Ohain. Although the post cards were old, the village was not at all changed when we were there. And I felt that this gave a much better impression of what it musts have looked like in 1815 than parts of the battlefield itself - particularly around the Lion Mound.

We spent all afternoon walking around the village, and as evening arrived we returned to our hotel. Very tired, but feeling that the holiday was looking up. We had not yet explored the battlefield itself, but we did have a feel for the area.

Tomorrow we would start to walk the ground. But not at Waterloo, we would start where Wellingtons campaign started - at Quatre Bras.

Brussels

2009-04-09T01:49:00.000-07:00

Our first battlefield walking holiday was to Waterloo in July 1971.

The Lion hill in the centre of waterloo.

Three things contributed to our decision to visit this most famous battlefield.

First we had recently discovered Napoleonic wargaming and were interested in anything Napoleonic.

Our first wargames room, not stills from "Waterloo" on the wall. The wargame also looks like Waterloo with Airfix cavalry and Hinton Hunt infantry

Second the movie "Waterloo" had just been released. We went to see it in a German cinema, and though we could not understand what Rod Steiger was saying, the battle scenes were fantastic.

A still from "Waterloo". I used to have nice photographs, but they have disappeared over the years.

Third we had just bought our first car. It was a very old, and very rusty, Opel Kadett.

Parked for a picnic lunch somewhere near Waterloo

We were living in Osnabruck in north Germany at the time. So how better to combine all of the above, than to drive the 235 miles to Waterloo and spend a week walking the battlefield. Old car, no breakdown cover, but we were young and didn't worry about such things,and if we had we could not have afforded it.

Fortunately the car was not a problem and we arrived safely. Accommodation was to be a different matter. Needless to say we did not book in advance, nor did we give too much consideration that that problem. Again we were young, and confident fate would be kind!

We found Waterloo without difficulty, and drove around looking for a cheap hotel. We only spoke English, so asking for advice was not an option. There is much to see at Waterloo, but a tourist information office is not amongst them.

Having wasted a lot of time, and petrol, we decided to head for Brussels, surely there would be plenty of hotels there. There were, but driving through a major city in the rush hour is not the best way to find one. Eventually we just parked the car, took our suit cases and walked until we found one.

Being in the centre of a city is great if you want to explore that city. But not so good if you just want a good nights sleep before finding a more suitable hotel. We were too tired to explore Brussels, and just went to bed. The noise of the all night traffic made sure that we did not sleep a lot.

This first holiday was proving to be a major learning experience in planning a visit to a battlefield. First do some planning. And first thing on the plan is where to stay and how to get there.

Like I said before, we were very young, and very confident that tomorrow would solve all of our problems.

Introduction

2009-04-09T01:15:00.000-07:00

Over the years my wife and I have visited many of the Napoleonic battlefields in Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Germany and Italy. Throughout this time our main interest has been Napoloeonic history and walking.

So visiting Napoleonic battlefields was an ideal way to combine both hobbies. We have spent many happy days walking battlefield during our annual holiday, and have taken many photographs over the years.

The objective of this blog is to record those holidays. I plan to do so by writing a diary of each holiday, starting with our first visit to Waterloo. I will publish a short blog each week, recording one, or possibly more, day on each one.

We hope that you enjoy reading about these visits as much as we enjoyed them at the time.