An infantryman of the 9th Foot One of Wellington's 'Redcoats'

Europe had been at peace for some time as the 'Corsican Ogre' Napoleon Bonaparte had been imprisoned on the island of Elba. The French King had been returned to the throne and victory songs were being sung throughout the continent. Then, on 1st March Napoleon, having escaped from his island prison, landed near Cannes in southern France with 1,000 men and marched upon Paris.

Marshal Ney was sent by the French King to arrest Napoleon but threw in his lot with his former emperor. Napoleon Bonaparte was effectively back in power in France.

He could not rest however until those who had imprisoned him, the allied armies of Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia and their allies had been 'neutralised' in combat. Austria and Russia had withdrawn their troops from western Europe by now and were in no position to fight him for some time but he knew that the British and the Prussians would not allow the crown he 'had picked up from the gutter' to rest easily upon his head for too long. War was inevitable.

Napoleon would strike first. He knew that the Prussian army under Marshal Blucher was of a comparable size to that of his own, some 170,000 men, while the British led by the Duke of Wellington, stood at only some 70,000 men. With the Prussians close to hand he realised that he would have to delay, and hopefully stop, the two allied armies from massing together against him.

Wellington's army was British mainly in leadership; Approximately 82 percent of the men he commanded were from Brunswick, Hanover, Belgium and the Netherlands. The loyalty of these varied allies was applauded by Wellington in that he wore the cockades of each of their nations in his hat while forbidding the playing of 'Rule Britannia' by his British bands. The 'Iron Duke' was famed for his belief in his men being 'the scum of the earth' and through the threat of corporal punishment he inspired many a man to fight to his last. Napoleon preferred to let his leadership qualities inspire his men, and these they duly did. He was much loved by his men.

The French had crossed the Belgian border near Charleroi, with an engagement against the Prussians being to the French favour, and thus these two diverse generals were destined to meet near a village named Waterloo.

The ominous rainclouds of the previous night had passed over to give that Sunday a typical June brightness. At around one o'clock in the afternoon Napoleon began the battle by having his artillery open up on the British centre. After half an hour of devastating fire the French infantry, in the form of some 16,000 grenadiers and tirailleurs moved forward. The tirailleurs (sharpshooters) were renown for their marksmanship while the grenadiers were generally tall men who could throw a grenade a distance and still use his musket to good effect.

At the prospect of being faced by this combination several Belgian units are said to have fled.

It was two of the veteran regiments that showed their allies how it should be done. The 95th Rifles and the 79th Highlanders waited until the advancing French were only some 20 to 30 yards away before they opened fire. The volley fire into the massed column of French was murderous. The French attempted to re-group but by now the British had charged with bayonets fixed, the attackers retreated rapidly.

There is one thing on a battlefield that is as nearly as dangerous as cowardice, that is being over eager. It is at this time that the British cavalry was guilty of this crime. The Household Cavalry and the Scots Greys, some of the finest cavalry in Europe, charged after the retreating French. The Scots Greys were met with particularly harsh rebuke as the famed Polish Lancers hit into them from their flank which killed many of their number, including their commanding officer.

There was then a break in the fighting with both generals considering their next move. Wellington had virtually lost the best of his cavalry and although he had set out to fight a defensive battle would be sorely disturbed at this. He decided to re-deploy some of his troops. Whether Marshal Ney, once described as 'the bravest of the brave', mistook this for a prelude to withdrawal we do not know.

What we do know is that he decided to launch his 5,000 cavalry into the attack against perhaps the best defensive formations of the time, the British squares.

The British infantry was supported by artillery and though they attacked five times the French were beaten back with heavy losses to the pride of their army.

Le Haye Sainte, an outpost set up at a farmhouse, was taken by the French which gave Ney the opportunity to assail the Hanoverian auxiliaries who were proving to be unreliable. It is perhaps now that the battle slipped from Napoleon's grasp. If he had supported Ney with his reserves of infantry the British would have been hard pressed to halt him, but he did not. The British had time to embolden the resolve of the Hanoverians with the deployment of British regiments to stand by their side.

Both Wellington and Napoleon were mindful of the time. Wellington was relying on the chance that his men could stand off the French until Blucher arrived while Napoleon also kept an eye out for the Prussian general, fearful of his arrival.

Napoleon had sent Marshal Soult to shadow Blucher and to report on the Prussians progress but he had heard nothing back. By six in the evening this had all changed, the Prussians had been spotted by the French and had sent riders to alert Wellington of their arrival.

At around half past six Napoleon, fearing Blucher's imminent arrival, ordered the famous Imperial Guard, the 'Old Guard', to attack and destroy the British. It would be the Emperor's final gamble. To inspire his troops even further, they were the cream of his army, it is said that Napoleon cried "A Bruxelles, mes enfants, a Bruxelles".

With this the Guard marched towards the British in two columns. The sight of a French column had been enough to make many a soldier run in the past but the British held firm.

An experienced British officer then took control by ordering his men, the 52nd Rifle Regiment, to wheel out of line and take position to the enemy's left. This move surprised the Guard who duly halted and fired into the 52nd. The Rifleman was the most dangerous marksman on the battlefield at these times and though the 52nd had lost some 140 of it's number the returned fire was direct and deadly accurate. The Guard then broke and fled. Wellington, on seeing this, ordered a general advance by all units.

With Blucher arriving and the Guard having retreated the French knew that the battle had been lost. In a brave rearguard action the 'Old Guard' made a last stand to cover their Emperor as he attempted to flee the battlefield. These dedicated soldiers turned down a request by the British for them to surrender.

The British then fired volley after volley into the distinctively uniformed Guards until not one remained standing. The era of Napoleonic France was at an end.