Andrew W. Field - The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services

The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...57

The French at Waterloo: Eyewitness Accounts

The French at Waterloo: Eyewitness Accounts

II and VI Corps, Cavalry, Artillery, Imperial Guard and Medical Services

Andrew W. Field

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by

PEN & SWORD MILITARY

An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Andrew W. Field, 2020

ISBN 978-1-52676-850-6

eISBN 978-1-52676-851-3

Mobi ISBN 978-1-52676-852-0

The right of Andrew W. Field to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Aviation, Atlas, Family History, Fiction, Maritime, Military, Discovery, Politics, History, Archaeology, Select, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe True Crime, Military Classics, Wharncliffe Transport, Leo Cooper, The Praetorian Press, Remember When, White Owl, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

PEN & SWORD BOOKS LTD

47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

E-mail:

Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

or

PEN & SWORD BOOKS

1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

E-mail:

Website: www.penandswordbooks.com

Contents

During the Waterloo campaign Reille commanded the II Army Corps.

Reilles account, like that of dErlon, is frustratingly short on detail on Waterloo. It was included in a book published by Marshal Neys son who was writing to defend the honour of his father whose handling of aspects of the battle had been criticised by Napoleon in his various accounts of the campaign. It was published in 1840, but we cannot be sure exactly when it was written. Reille criticises the repeated attacks on Hougoumont, but seems to have done nothing concrete to stop them. He also tells us that by the time the battle started, his corps was only half the strength of which it started the campaign due to the loss of Girards division and the casualties suffered at Quatre Bras.

In 1815 Trefcon served as adjutant-commandant (senior staff officer with the rank of colonel), chief-of-staff to General Bachelu, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, part of II Army Corps (Reille).

The main value of Trefcons account is his description of the infantry attack of Bachelus division and one of Foys brigades onto the Allied ridge after the cavalry charges, which is rarely mentioned by histories of the battle. This also confirms that these formations took no part in the attack on Hougoumont as claimed by almost all British accounts of the battle.

During the Waterloo campaign Jrme commanded the 6th Infantry Division in Reilles II Army Corps.

Jrme claims that once his division was reduced to the strength of just two battalions in the attacks on Hougoumont that he left command of it (presumably to General Guilleminot) and joined Napoleon. He roundly blames Ney for the premature commitment of the cavalry and first mentions the Prussians at six oclock, describing that at first they were mistaken for Grouchys arrival. This seems to undermine Napoleons own account that he was aware of the Prussians before the battle started.

In the Waterloo campaign, Jolyet commanded the 1st Battalion, 1st lgre (Colonel Cubires) in the 1st Brigade (Bauduin) of Prince Jrmes 6th Infantry Division, part of Reilles II Army Corps.

Jolyet gives so little detail on the attacks on Hougoumont that one would be forgiven for thinking that his battalion was not involved and he was just a spectator, but we know this isnt true. However, he does give a few personal vignettes which make his account interesting and he seemingly restricts himself to those things that he saw for himself.

In the 1815 campaign, Lebeau commanded the 1st de ligne , which was part of the 2nd Brigade (Soye) of Prince Jrmes 6th Infantry Division, part of Reilles II Army Corps.

This account is extracted from a letter addressed to Marshal Soult, then Minister of War, dated Prigueux, 16 April 1833. The letter addressed the issue of the utility of rifled carbines, recommending their introduction into the French army. To strengthen his case, Colonel Lebeau, as he was then, drew on his experience in command of the 1st de ligne at Waterloo.

Lebeau rather obtusely claims to have captured Hougoumont and although not the only Frenchman present to do so, it is generally accepted that the French did not come close to occupying it. He makes an interesting reference to using units that had suffered heavy casualties and were unable to function as a formed body, as skirmishers. Allied accounts of the fighting around La Haye Sainte towards the end of the battle suggest this tactic was also used there.

Pierre Robinaux served as the company commander of the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd de ligne (Tripe [or Trippe]), in the 2nd Brigade (Soye), 6th Infantry Division (Jrme), part of Reilles II Army Corps.

Robinaux gives us little detail on the attacks on Hougoumont, but a rather more interesting account of the break-up of II Corps during their retreat.

At Waterloo, Foy commanded the 9th Infantry Division of Reilles II Army Corps.

Foy gives a detailed and interesting account of the actions of his division around Hougoumont and particularly the attack on the ridge conducted by Bachelus division and a brigade of his own division.

At Waterloo Lemonnier-Delafosse served as chief-of-staff to General Foy in the 9th Infantry Division of Reilles II Army Corps.

Here we see the account of an unapologetic admirer of Napoleon who having blamed Wellingtons luck for the loss of the battle, proceeds to stress the defeat of the British army and even names one of Wellingtons aides-de-camp as providing evidence! He makes a number of dubious claims, not least of which was the capture of Hougoumont. Interestingly, he challenges Napoleons assertion that a Prussian despatch was captured that betrayed the Prussian presence. He finishes his account of the battle by claiming that both the British and French were defeated and the Prussians alone were the victors! Despite all these and other rather dubious claims, it is still an account worth reading, including a number of interesting vignettes.

In 1815 Puvis served as a lieutenant in the 93rd de ligne which was commanded by Chef de Bataillon Massot, part of the 1st Brigade (Tissot) of the 9th Infantry Division (Foy), of Reilles II Army Corps.

Puvis only speaks of his own personal experiences and although there is rather thin detail on his regiments attacks around Hougoumont, it gives a good feel for how the actions of II Corps seemed isolated from the rest of the battle until the retreat. He gives a good account of how quickly French morale collapsed at the end of the battle.

Next page

1234567...57

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services»

Look at similar books to The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Andrew W. Field

Waterloo: Rout & Retreat: The French Perspective

Gabriele Esposito

Napoleons Imperial Guard: Organization, Uniforms and Weapons

Andrew W Field

Grouchys Waterloo: The Battles of Ligny and Wavre

Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood

Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign

Gabriele Esposito

Wellingtons Cavalry and Technical Corps, 1800–1815: Including Artillery

Andrew W. Field

Waterloo: The French Perspective

Paul L. Dawson

Battle for Paris 1815: The Untold Story of the Fighting after Waterloo

Field Andrew W.

Grouchys Waterloo: the battles of Ligny and Wavre

Field

Prelude to Waterloo: Quatre Bras: the French perspective

David Buttery

Waterloo Battlefield Guide

Glover

Waterloo : the defeat of Napoleons Imperial Guard ; Henry Clinton, the 2nd Division and the end of a 200-year-old controversy

Andrew Roberts

Waterloo: June 18, 1815: The Battle for Modern Europe

Discussion, reviews of the book The French at Waterloo : eyewitness accounts: II and VI Corps, cavalry, artillery, imperial guard and medical services and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.