Waterloo : the French perspective / Andrew W. Field.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Field, Andrew W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815.

Waterloo, Battle of, Waterloo, Belgium, 1815--Personal narratives, French.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

309 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Barnsley : Pen & Sword Military, 2012.

Summary:

The story of the Battle of Waterloo -- of the ultimate defeat of Napoleon and the French, the triumph of Wellington, Blucher and their allied armies -- is most often told from the viewpoint of the victors, not the vanquished. Even after 200 years of intensive research and the publication of hundreds of books and articles on the battle, the French perspective and many of the primary French sources are underrepresented in the written record. Here, the author tracked down over ninety firsthand French accounts, most of which have never been previously published in English, and he has combined them with accounts from the other participants in order to create a graphic new narrative of one of the world's decisive battles. Virtually all of the hitherto unpublished testimony provides fascinating new detail on the battle and many of the accounts are vivid, revealing and exciting.

Contents:

Setting the scene. The French Army of 1815

Preliminary moves

Prelude to battle. The night before

The morning of battle

1am to 11.30am

11.30am to 1.30pm. The first attacks on Hougoumont

The grand battery

The first sightings of the Prussians

1.30pm to 3.30pm. Preparations for d'Erlon's Attack

The first assault on La Haye Sainte

The attack on the Ohain Road

The counter-attack of the British Cavalry

Hougoumont

The second assault on La Haye Sainte

3.30pm to 6.00pm. The Prussians arrive on the battlefield

The great French cavalry attacks

The Prussian pressure begins to mount

6.00pm to 8.00pm. The taking of La Haye Sainte and the real crisis

The defence of Planchenoit

The attack of the Middle Guard

The rout begins

The sacrifice of the Old Guard

8.00pm to 1.00am. The loss of Planchenoit

The disintegration of the French Army

The last squares

The road to Genappe

Tactical notes. Introduction

Napoleon's attack options

The columns used in d'Erlon's attack

The French cavalry attacks

French cavalry tactics at Waterloo

The sunken lane as an obstacle

The killing of prisoners

The Grenadier Guards

Summary : the French perspective. Introduction

The attack of the d'Erlon's I Corps

The great cavalry charges

The fighting around La Haye Sainte

The real crisis

The fight against the Prussians

French generalship

Could the French have won the battle?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [301]-304) and index.

ISBN:

1781590435

9781848847941

1848847947

9781781590430

OCLC:

778327493

Publisher Number:

99962801842