Waterloo

Just back in Brussels nursing a blonde (beer!) and a cherry beer for Darranda . Been out to Waterloo today which was a rewarding exercise . I'll post photos later tonight but you can pretty much see the whole battlefield from the top of the Lion monument.

This was erected in 1826 by the dutch to commemorate victory over the great 'Dictator' himself, Napoleon . Of course to the French it looks like the end of the emperor . There is a bit of a paradox to explain the admiration of the Emperor and the ideals of the French revolution but no denying he was a great leader and general .
He met his match with Wellington though . You can appreciate Wellington and his eye for good ground to fight on at Waterloo . He set it up in his favour and exploited it brilliantly.

 

 

This is the plinth on the top of the monument that shows the dispositions on the troops. From the monument we are facing the French lines. The crucuial Prussians are on the left of the British. The Allied forces (ie British, Dutch, Germans etc) are on a ridge. Most of them are 'hidden' on the reverse slope. This is classic Wellington. It helps to shield the troops from artillery fire (a French strong point) and allows you to hide your strength. At key points in front of these positions Wellington put some of his best troops to hold various farms - Hougomont on the British right. La Haye Sainte in the centre and Papelotte on the left. Hougoumont would see bloody action all day - held by elements on the Scotish and Coldstream Guards it was a desparate, close run thing. La Haye Sainte was almost as dramatic - held by Brunswickers from Germany it only fell once ammunition was exhausted. By that time the French had lost the initiative.
I also took away today more of a sense of how small the battlefield was in comparison to the WW1 and WW2 fields visited earlier. Up on the monuments you can see all the ground fought over and even Napoleon's HQ in the distance.

This is a panorama with La Haye Sainte and Papelotte in the left, the French centre and then Hougoumont on the right. The French essentially attacked in a style they were accustomed too and beaten off in a style Wellington was accustomed to. On they came in columns and off they went - beaten by superior firepower and the discipline the deliver it.

There are reams and reams written on Waterloo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

So have your fill! It is a visit where you can genuinely still see what the Generals saw and how that influenced their decisions.

Few other points . The allied side really was diverse with Wellington in overall command of Dutch and German forces . The Prussian effort was immense to get forces into the battle late on and finish things off . The key farms of Hougomont and la Haye Sainte are still there and almost like they were 200 years ago .

Great visit . Looks like a new visitors centre in the works for 2015 which will be the bicentennial.