The Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon's Decisive Defeat
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2022
- 'What Really Happened At The Battle Of Waterloo In 1815?'
How was Napoleon defeated at The Battle of Waterloo? Why was it the bloodiest battle in history up to that point? What was its significance in European history?
In this video, historian Dan Snow answers all of these questions about the battle and more...
In Spring of 1815 the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history's most accomplished generals, escaped his jailers and returned to Paris in what is known as the 'Hundred Days'. After receiving the news, the powers of Europe formed the Seventh Coalition to remove Napoleon from the French throne and raised a huge army. Napoleon responded by marching into Belgium with the objective of splitting Allied forces and capturing Brussels. He pushed a Prussian army back at the Battle of Ligny on 15 June 1815, and three days later attacked an Anglo-Allied force led by the Duke of Wellington near the village of Waterloo. The battle that followed would be a watershed moment in European history, finally ending Napoleon's military career and ushering in a new era of relative peace.
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#battleofwaterloo #dansnow #historyhit
cant believe you never the mentioned the great colonel sharpe in this
@@fghjjjk you beat me to it lol Harper ya bastard!
@@Chris-tl7pj just rewatched it 🤣
@@fghjjjk same here, Sharpe and Hornblower are still so good
He was in the Dutch Army at the time... under the brilliant command of the Prince of Orange.....
Here here!
I’m literally learning about this in A-level history atm. We watched a couple of Dan’s videos on Waterloo from 2015 in class today, on the 200th Anniversary of the battle. Here we are 7 years later, and I can say that I still LOVE Waterloo, I LOVE my history course, I LOVE history hit and I LOVE seeing how the channel has upped its video quality in that 7 years! Woohoo! Keep it up I love it!
Neek
“Waterloo The Hundred Days” by David Chandler and you’ll be set.
P.S. Don’t forget Blucher and his Prussians.
@@alexauletta3807 might as well go all the way and call me a fatneek while you’re at it
@@chrisjacobs8394
I'm an old bastard (40) and the only time I've heard the expression "Neek" is when I was serving in Afghanistan, as it means "Fuck" in Darl (Afghani Persian language) so I have no idea what he meant by posting "Neek", as I suspect he doesn't speak any Arabic??
Anyway, bollocks to him mate. You get your teeth into your studies and enjoy it. You guys are the future and hopefully not going to make the same mistakes my generation did. Ultimately that can only be achieved through education, so stick with it, come out the other side and try and make the world a better place.
All the best with your studies, mate 👍
@@residentelect crikey multiple things to say! Firstly, thank you for your service, my dad was in the RAF for many years, never went to Afghan though. Secondly, I believe “Neek” is a combination of “Nerd” and “Geek”, my response of “Fatneek” I think was coined by a group of gamers calling KSI (another famous gamer) it. Thirdly, thank you for your support and encouragement! I take no notice of bullies either, and I appreciate your kind words, so thanks! I’m doing my best at school, and History is my favourite! All the best, C
“Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won: the bravery of my troops saved me from the greater evil; but to win such a battle as Waterloo, at the expense of so many gallant friends, could only be a heavy misfortune but for the result.”
A quote attributed to the Duke of Wellington, speaking after the Battle of Waterloo which raged in what is now modern day Belgium in 1815.
The King’s Dragoon Guards, largest of the allied cavalry regiments that day, began the battle with 530 sabres.
By the end, after 13 successive charges against Napoleon’s forces, only 15 men remained in the saddle - two officers, the RSM, one Serjeant and eleven Privates.
Corporal John Stubbings said in a letter home: “It is dreadful to relate the seens [sic] I saw on the 18th. The field for miles around was covered with the wounded and slain and in some places my horse could not pass without trampling on them”
Waterloo was a proud but bitter day for the KDG. After the battle, Sergeants and Officers dined together on the battlefield - a tradition that has continued every year since.
Todays Quee`s Draagoon Guards.
YES THE ARROGANCE AND UNCARNG OF ENGLANDS CLASS SYSTEM WAS RIDDEN AWAY BY THE TRADITION OF EQUALNESS AT THE OFFCERS MESS..PIITY THE FACT FRANCE ANND BONEY COULD HAVE MADE EVEN MORE DIFFERENCE TO UNEQUAL ENGLAND AFTER WELLINGTON'S WOULD HAVE BEEN DEFEAT AND LIKEY THE FROGS GETTING THEIR FEET WET..SADLY THAT WAS NOT TO BE.....DICKENSION BRIITAIN WILL ALWAYS BE WIITH US....TV SHOW RICH KIIDS SLEEP OVERNIGHT WITH POOR UK FAMILIIES..OFCOURSE THE RICH KID ALWAYS KEEPS IIN TOUCH.....= YEAH RIGHT! WILL TEXT YOU...UNTILL I DON'T...
Even though guns and canons were in their infancy then, wars and battles were savage and awfully cruel. I think for two reasons, (1)Swords and pikes were dreadful things that caused terrible injuries on men, and then the New weapons caused New injuries that were just awful, and (2)Doctors and Surgeons weren't too plentiful on the battlefield, there was very poor care for and of the, and it would be many more years before that took place
Are the Dragoon guards now known as the Royal scots dragoon guards a tank regiment now.In Edinburgh they have a pub called the Ensign ewart he took a french eagle at Waterloo i'm led to believe (never been in it i heard about this guy and the pub lol).
@@leggie65 yes but no, KDG and RSDG were different Regiment but served side by side in Waterloo under 1st Royal Dragoons command. RSDG name was Royal Scots Grey during Waterloo campaign. RSDG/RSG took the Napoleonic ensign (banner, not rank) the French Imperial Eagle. ofc, In Waterloo.
@@saltymonke3682 Have you heard of ensign Ewart i thought ensign was the navy lol shows how much i know so it was a banner taken i knew RSGs and RSDG had to have a connection.
Now that's soldiering...
Great video!
So glad that the Dutch bajonet charge at the moment Napoleon's final push was being mentioned here. In so many other (mainly British) accounts the Belgian, Dutch and Hanoverian troops aren't mentioned or only in a mere footnote, as if their numbers and valor hardly mattered. It pleases me to hear that Dan Snow mentions them, however briefly, especially since I served with a Dutch armored infantry regiment (43 NL Armor Infantry Battalion) named after the baron - David Hendrik Chassé - who led the charge from the front. Quatre Bras and Waterloo were firmly on the Colour of the regiment and well, it gave us all the feeling that we stepped into the footsteps of giants at the time.
just in case you didn't know : I am not sure of the numbers, but I believe there were as many Belgian in the French army then in the Belgo-Dutch one - I know; out of subject, sorry
@@jpm8782 Maybe slightly off topic, but quite interesting nonetheless. I know from reading it to be true. It's even worse, in years before the downfall of Napoleon, even Dutch troops were forcifully drafted into the Grand Armee. The (Dutch) Baron whose namesake my regiment bore, even defended the retreat of the French from Russia.
As for the Belgians, the country has always been divided between a Dutch (Flemish) speaking part and a French speaking part (Wallonians) and the animosity between the two endure until this very day. It's quite possible that the Wallonians rather belonged to France, while the Flemish possibly rather belonged to the Netherlands (although they fought for Belgian independence a few years later after Waterloo against the Dutch and won).
Belgium was a creation by the great powers which had to be a buffer state for the French, weaken the Dutch and keep the continent divided for the British (it's true what's being said in one of the episodes of "Yes Minister").
Either way, a fascinating period to study.
@@Pincer88 Well good but in 1814, there were not many Belgians Flemish or Walloon keen on becoming Dutch. We had been separated since Felipe 2 of Spain in the 16th century,
the Protestant and Catholic religions hated each other heartily and divided us.
Belgium had more inhabitants than Holland, yet there were very few Belgian representatives in parliament.
King Willem also has the bad idea of wanting to Dutchize Belgium and discourage the use of French. But there; that no longer has to do with the Flemish or the Walloons. At the time very few people spoke French or Dutch in the farming and working communities; only their respective dialects.
In the upper classes, the prevailing language was French. Their were no separation of any kind between Walloon and Flemish )in that time), just villages speaking their local idioma.
As for the buffer zone North of France;
I believe you are referring 1814 when BE was attached to Holland.
Belgium was not created by the great power; It has a long rich and also prestigious history . but that is another story.
@@jpm8782 True. The divide between (militant) protestantism and catholicism has endured very long. And looking at how the more devout - if not outright fanatical - protestants behaved in the Netherlands, I can completeley understand why catholics were not at all keen on becoming Dutch.
I'm not certain about the specifics of the post 1815 arrangements anymore (it's a long time ago that I had to study the matter in detail at school), but I think the belgians had every reason to withstand the 10 Day Campaign and oust the Dutch.
Sadly, at some point the language feud became a thing (indeed a complex issue) which endures until this very day. I hope for all involved that Belgium will become a true confederate state like Switzerland is and that relations will become less tense at some point. I've been in both parts of Belgium and to be honest, I've only met kind and hospitable people, though I had some trouble understanding the French in Wallony or Dutch in West-Flanders (to me both were equally intelligible, yet beautiful to listen to).
I'm well aware of the rich history and cultural legacy of Belgium, and I don't mean chocalete or Manneken Pis. I mean Jacques Brel, Guido Gezelle, the Steed Bayard, the gorgeous towns with belforts and churches/cathedrals that are a feast for the eye, Rubens, Bosch and the enormous welath crated during the Hanseatic League and industrial revolution. And even today, Belgium universities are much better than Dutch in terms of education due to high academic standards. I could go on and on.
Seems to me, that a country with such a legacy and such potential should settle the disputes in a satisfactory manner and find ways to unleash the potential through cooperation.
And should Belgium succeed, maybe you could take over the Netherlands (not Holland, please... here in the north of the Netherlands we are not very fond of Hollanders), since it's a big mess here. I for one wouldn't mind: Belgian beer is much better than ours :D
Learn to spell
I just got to say: Somehow, I only found this channel yesterday. And since then, I've made up for all the times I skipped, fell asleep, day dreamed, or otherwise didn't pay attention in high school history class. Really great channel (and, of course, excellent video. I knew what Waterloo was, but the context of everything is really helpful).
Welcome aboard!
0:00 History of the Napoleonic Wars
4:09 Background to Waterloo
6:30 Deployments at the beginning of battle
7:36 Commencement of battle
Superb! Many Thanks.
A really interesting video, with great story telling and visuals. One piece of feedback that I will give though: make sure that Dan’s voice can be heard over the sound of the battle, I found myself struggling to hear some parts because of this. But overall, a great video 👍
Often called " The battle of lost opportunities"..
Often called " The battle of lost opportunities"..
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countires to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
Really enjoyed this video on such a great battle. The detail you described of the various troop movementa. The fact Napoleon found himself surrounded basically and how the battle finally ended. Such a large number of men perished unfortunetly. Yet in the end peace came to pass between these Countries . 💪🏻🙏🏻✨
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countires to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
Often referred to as "The Battle Of Lost Opportunities".. one formation, which could have made a decisive contribution, wasted the day in marching and counter-marching, due to orders and countermanded orders..a wasted opportunity?
I'm just finishing Simon Scarrow's 4 book series (tetralogy?) series about Napoleon and Wellington. Your video is excellent! Thank you for showing how this ground looks now.
I love this: The Duke of Wellington, speaking to a colleague about his victory at Waterloo in 1815, which ended the Napoleonic wars, described it as a "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life."
12:55 Late in the Evening Napoleon re-deployed his men to face the Prussians? Just as the attacks on Hougomont were reaching their climax, (circa 1:00 pm) BEFORE D'Erlon's main assault, the Prussians were already observed in the distance, coming down the hill near Chapelle St. Robert. Napoleon immediately ordered Lobau's infantry corps with Subervie and Domon's half cavalry corps, to re-position themselves between Plancenoit and the Prussian route to the battle, 10,110 men all told with 34 cannon, to be followed at 6:45pm by ALL the Young Guard, 4,800 men and 16 cannon. At 7:15pm two and a half Old Guard battalions were also dispatched, (with another one and half in reserve between Plancenoit and La Belle Alliance), another 1,500 men. That is over 16,000 men and 50 cannon that did not fire a single shot or cannon-ball against the Allied army!
Of the 35 regiments that Napoleon kept in reserve, he had to send 25 against the Prussians to somehow stop them.
He lacked these not only against Wellington, because before that General Ziethen occupied Wellington's left wing with the 1st Prussian Corps, so that Wellington could withdraw soldiers there to strengthen his center, which meant that it withstood the onslaught of the middle guard...
Chapelle St.Lambert
A nice overview of the power of the Prussian arrival drawing away all those French troops mentioned to face Blucher.
The rest of the Old Guard battalions were forced to remain in tactical reserve positions too.
One of my ancestors, George Gillette served under General Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. He was a member of the King's Guard. I always wondered what the area of Waterloo looks like. Enjoyed the video mates!
@Bluepurgatory1 Correct. I meant Duke of Wellington.
Well it was a close shave. BOOM BOOM!
@@peezebeuponyou3774 lol!
@Bluepurgatory1 Read the the so call’t history books off the battle’s off Spanish Armada and Waterloo and it’s
Like they did it on there own the truth is they would have been no where without the Dutch and Belgians.
It were the Dutch who did the most damage to the big ship’s with small fast boats in the Armada.
And with Belgians took the front tacticly at Waterloo.
But some so call’t English historian rewrote the whole battle of Waterloo in favor of the British Empire
And even stated the Dutch as cowards.
Bah.
@Bluepurgatory1 A wel, all by themself ‘s thank for that.
No Americans Canadian’s Polish and O the Russians, etc.
Nothing personal
Waterloo the film made in 1970 is a fairly accurate plus it used real people..(extras).. to play the opposing armies...not CGI.. the glinting of bayonets in the morning sun. The cavalry charge by the Scots Grays and the French Cuirassiers charge coming face to face with defensive squares is especial well done...
It’s the most boring ass film ever made.
Russ... lovely the here from a connoisseur of the big screen giving such a finely detailed critique.
@@russelledwards001 from a movie view it's boring. But from a historical film it's pretty darn cool.
@@russelledwards001 pray tell us all what you think is/was a great film in a historic and entertaining sense…
@@jontyc3479 I believe that the 15,000 troops used were actually Soviets. Much of the movie was actually financed by the Soviet Union.
Thank you Chris for a very engaging and historically correct account of the battle of Trafalgar. I really enjoyed your talk
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countries to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
Thank you Mr. Snow. I fondly remember the History shows your Dad and you used to do. Keep up the great work -- HD from houston, Texas USA
Nicely written. Good and rich in content, and there are some stark statistics here.. 50,000 dead is astonishing for the context.. Cheers! Nice one Dan. 👍
There were not 50,000 dead.
There is a saying in German attributed to Wellington: Ich wollte, es würde Nacht oder die Preußen kämen. I wish it were night or the Prussians came.
German folklore suggests that Wellington was saved by the Prussians who’d covered more ground than deemed possible.
Wellington’s skill was to hold the ground against a slightly larger French force (72,000 to 68,000), with twice the number of cannon and very experienced army.
Wellington fought a defensive battle to hold until Blucher could arrive. Wellington did allegedly say “Either the coming of night or Blucher can save us.” Blucher and his relatively fresh men (who had marched miles!) crashed into the French right flank was what turned the battle into a victory.
But never discount the 8 hours Wellington held the stronger force with a legend in command. His victory raised him to legendary status.
That must of been a sight.
I can't even imagine seeing so many soldiers and horses in such a small area!!!! the French cavalry charged with 9000 horses and men!!!...
Absolute carnage.
2014 when I bought DVD of the battle of waterloo and it was great full length movie with great cinematic video 👍. now you can download that in one of website
Awesome video!!! THANKS!! for the memories of an ALMOST visit to this battlefield!! I was in US Army in 1980s and stationed in West Germany. Think it was 1987 that I took vacation and was traveling to England via Belgium. Made it to Brussels and decided to go exploring the city. Kept seeing signs for "Waterloo" but at the time just could not quite remember IF that was the ACTUAL battlefield or not. Kept exploring the city and finally made it to the train station and headed towards Oostende, then to Dover. Remember seeing BUSES with "Waterloo" destination markers on them but never boarded one to go see IF they were heading to the actual battlefield. To this day, still kick myself in the butt for not boarding a bus if for no other reason than to quell my curiosity!! Imagine - I was roughly a few miles - if that - from one of the greatest battlefields ever and MISSED my opportunity for a visit. Anyway, this video sparking some long-lost memories of a visit that could have been was the reason why I supsribed.
That was a long story just to find out you didn't go there... But I liked it lol. I've done the same so many times in my travels around the world.
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countries to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
come back, belgium is relatively expensive, but not compared to the US in most regards
"The nearest run thing you ever saw" - Wellington. Blucher, who saved the day by arriving back from his rout at Ligny the day before sooner than Napoleon had anticipated and rolling up the French flank as the allies began to crumble, allowed them to go on the offensive as the French began to panic. The Prussians chased them the furthest, capturing their baggage train that included the diamonds that would later adorn the Prussian crown. Blücher was incensed at Napoleon's bridge built to celebrate his victory at Jena and tried to destroy it, but only managed to blow a hole in a pillar. The Congress of Vienna re-established the aristocracy's hegemony over Europe, but Napoleon had sparked a nationalism in the many German states (except Austria) that Bismarck would eventually use to finally turn them into a single nation.
Great video! I learned a lot! This would make an amazing film!
We had to learn about the suffergettes and trade unions in O level history and obviously I failed the exam miserably. What a pity there was no Dan Snow and youtube in my day 😢😢. He is the god of history docs, fair dues.
Waterloo was a single battle campaign that had a long lasting effect on Europe and enabled England to develop its vast empire. Neither British or French army were prepared. Both had been assembled in a hurry. It is arguable that the British being able to let their men lie down before cannon bombardment was a winning tactic. No other army could be relied to stand up again when ordered!
Wellington had chosen the battle field with great skill, ideal ground for a defensive fight. Perhaps Napoleon was not at the height of his mental power and physical fitness. His generals were not known for their strategic competence and relied heavily on his direction for success.
Without doubt heroic bravery was displayed by both sides and without Blucher arriving when he did it could of had a very different outcome.
A really good video thank you. You have done the subject justice.
Multinational army....
Single mom here, because Tristan Tate said to come and watch, I listen and obey to a real man, who leads with stealth and absolute power!! Love you Top T❤
Fantastic channel in information tank you
Been to the Battlefield there,looks fantastic. Great cyclorama,great museum ,gift shop
Spent a week just looking around
The final stand of the old guard grenadiers was, of course, featured in the film 'Waterloo' where they are surrounded and are addressed by a senior British Officer, on behalf of His Grace The Duke of Wellington, inviting them to lay down their arms and surrender as they had completed all that was expected of them in the pursuit of war. On refusing they are slaughtered.
@@michaelmurdock4607 The Guard had never been stopped. Never been defeated. The Imperial Guard were ferocious and enjoyed very high status. Fighting to the end wasn't out of fear of repercussions, imho.
@Ian
The 1st Grenadiers of the Old Guard didn't take part in the final attack on the Allied lines! As far as I red they formed Napoleon's final reserve and escorted him in a square from the field.
From the nine battalions that attacked the Allied lines only two belonged to the old guards while the others were units from the middle Guards.
Btw General Cambrone, who commanded one of the two Old Guard units (Chasseurs) was captured by a Hanoveran Landwehr (unit)... Though under command of British Brigadier Commander and supported by other units...
the"old guard "was made of privileged soliders that hadn`t really fought for a long time. so it was a big mistake to send them in.Napoleons fate was seized when Grouchy was not able to keep the Prussians away from the battlefield.
That was just for the film.
The reality was most retreated and Wellington ordered an advance en masse after the French although a few under their commander attempted to hold the advancing allies back and ,apparently, refused surrender and most of those remaining were killed.
I am pretty sure the Old guard where fighting the Prussians
Currently reading Sharpe’s Waterloo by Bernard Cornwall. Great insight into what the battle was like and exactly as described in this video!
"Your regiment, Sharpe!"
@@farmersboy brilliant ha ha
Does anyone know any napoleonic historical fiction other than sharpe which is good? Whilst the sharpe novels are historically good they’re poorly written. It’s pretty much theres a mission, sharpe has suffer with a posh incompetent officer, he succeeds the mission whilst shagging any women within a 5 miles radius.
Sharpe´s Waterloo - absolutely dreadful. Mostly fiction. Prime example of british exceptionalism sold as history.
@@trevordavies5486 Also a prime example of why Britain is better than France
That is a performance ; the battle of Waterloo in 17 min - good summary, excellent
Great art work with good story and interesting history.
I've lived in Brussels for many years. So I've had ample opportunity to visit the battlefield and all the relevant sites of the battle of Waterloo. What you see today is not what it was. The ridge line that the British held was actaully 12m higher than now. They took the earth away to build the monument. So when Wellington ordered his troops in the center to move off the crest and onto the reverse slope, it wasn't a withdrawl but simply to get them out of the raking cannon fire. Napolean was lying down in his tent with stomach pain. Marshal Ney saw the British move off the crest and made the mistake that lost the battle. He simply could not see the reality of the situation, but took matters into his own hands and ordered the charge. The British had plenty of time to " Form Square ". Napolean was furious with Ney but the damage was done. All he could do was to order an infantry attack but with no hope of following up with his cavalry to create a rout. Advancing in column was impressive to look at but only the front two ranks could fire. So the Old Guard was getting shot to pieces from three sides as they marched up the hill and could hardly shoot back at all. They were forced to a halt and became irrelevant. They didn't break. They formed square. When asked to surrender, the reply was " MERDE! " They then got finished off with grape shot from the British cannons. It was everyone else that broke and ran, Napolean included. Like as not, the survivors of the Old Guard did break and run but it was after everyone else.
You’ve been watching the movie “Waterloo”
@@Demun1649 you are talking out of your backside
In those days the infantry would go in first, followed by the Cavalry, but sadly for the French Ney had destroyed the cavalry in a useless charge that achieved nothing at all, but destroyed a lot of men and horses
@@donallally4892 yup, sure enough it was later reported that Ney's ears had black smoke issuing from them which would suggest a helmet fire. They also recount him shouting of Wellington's percentage in the most unsavoury language while flourishing his cutlass and charging into infamy.
As regarding the french being asked to surrender & then being fired up on after refusing is not correct’ it was just portrayed that way in the movie
"British troops halted a detachment of Napoleon's army at Quattre Bras", really? More accurate would be: "Wellington made a strategic error in leaving Quattre Bras poorly defended. While the duke was attending a party in Brussels, Dutch military command ignored his orders and prevented a military disaster".
Always enjoy these history videos . Such excellent content telling the stories of history so well . Seems like the battle was touch and go at times and could have gone either way. Also so sad to see the suffering wounded and dying bringing home the brutal realities of war.
My mother did say to me that Churchill had said
Jaw jaw jaw was better than War war war. I understand the wisdom of that but l don’t know for sure if Churchill actually said it.
another amazing piece of history hit content - love it and love dan snow. maybe over did it a bit with the theatrical/dramatic music?
Very impressive production. The use of paintings was brilliantly imaginative. Well done, indeed.
You’re easily impressed aren’t you? There was nothing new or insightful here, just the same old narrative told as every other documentary
@@rhysnichols8608 oh, just how insightful do you expect a recounting of a historic event that's been done over every way imaginable for more than a century to be...like some NEW pearl of wisdom hidden there? It's a good, imaginative presentation. And, no. I'm not easily impressed. For instance, YOU do not impress me.
@@serenerepose This presentation simply ignores too many key moments of the battle because they have nothing to do with Wellington, and therefore gives a very distorted history of the battle.
@@raka522 I appreciate your persistance in both flogging this dead horse, and trying to instruct ME - so reflective of Napoleon's woe begotten persistance in refusing to admit defeat at whatever the expense (to everyone but him).
@@raka522 Apparently you mind if I disagree. Methinks you are a Napoleon worshipper who just can't stand Nappy getting short shrift. So...yeah, I think you're incorrect. You have figured this out by now, right?
Snow fails to mention that when the square of the Imperial Guard were advancing up the ridge and the British Guards opened fire, Sir John Colborne took his regiment, the 52nd Light Infantry, out of the British line, wheeled them down the slope to face the flank of the French square, fired a volley and charged with the bayonet, breaking the Guard. Strange how the Guards regiments always get the credit and not the 52nd.
Guards mafia is forever :/
@@mrpirate3470 You're not wrong"
Wonderful dramatic story of this famous battle, beautifully illustrated and Dan's excellent narration and explanations of the moves does really bring the drama home.
Thanks for this, very well done, excellent work.
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countries to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
Very good thank you
Worth a visit if you get the chance. A little like ' Les Invalides', The French national army museum in Paris. In as much as you wouldn't realise Bonaparte had lost?
Don't know how much has changed since I went there in 1994 but there was a nice little museum on the Battle site itself and another in the village of Waterloo, where Wellington stayed. Apparently the contours of the land have been changed as the earth was used to make the massive monument. Decent couple of brasserie's in the village too.
Yes, the top of the ridge along the British positions, where the sunken road was, was removed to create the Butte de Lion (Dutch monument to William of Orange). It's quite a significant change. If you stand on the German monument (across the road from the visitor centre) you get an impression of what the view would have been like as that is about the height of the original ground. When Wellington revisited the field after the mound was built he was said to have remarked "They've ruined my battlefield".
: awesome so nice and goodly stuffings of infor
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countries to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
I for one am happy to see more than the perfunctory mention of the Dutch-Belgian and German(ish) allies .
All too often in British productions if they even get a mention at all, it is to state that there were some and that Wellington didn't think much of them.
I've never heard that 8n my 74yrs of life always Bulcher came as agreed. But in war you make plans and as soon as contact is made with the enemy you try not to change too much
@@johnteeling4679
Re sticking to the predetermined battleplan was especially important back in 1815, where orders from the top could only be delivered as fast as the messenger's horse would carry him, or if in the heat of battle your men could hear the bugles and drums to signal a change in formation etc.
There was still an element of that way of thinking during my time in the Forces (1999 - 2009) in regards to not deviating too far from the orders provided by the brass to your platoon commander, but overall in the 21st century individual "units" now have a certain degree of autonomy due to the excellent skill and training of the junior and non-commissioned officer corps (unless you're a private in the Russian army, then you'd better hope your Captain has a working radio and the General at the other end of it hasn't been KIA'd 😬 )
@@johnteeling4679 With German(ish) I meant the Brunswick, Nassau and Hannover troops. In the more pop-history side of things, they are hard pressed to get a mention. Of course, they had relatively small contingent. But Wellington had more Dutch-Belgians than British troops under his command and even they struggle to get more than a grudging mention.
Well he didn't even mention Blücher. Only the guy who saved Wellington. And Wellington knew it.
What do you expect, I'm sure a French production would have a different take on the battle and a German one would give more credit to the Prussians, this is a British production so it favours the British.
Good watch & listen, thanks History Hit.
At school, way back when, our history teacher told the story like this: "Both Napoleon and Wellington were expecting reinforcements. When it turned out to be that Wellington's reinforcements arrived there first, Napoleon saw the defeat was certain, turned back and then surrendered."
By the way, she also told that Napoleon had in his youth read the Roman Law. Then, as a consul (?), even before becoming an emperor, he dictated out of memory the major part of what became the new French law, based outright on the Roman law.
Good video but a bit surprised there was no mention of Wellington's use of the reverse slope to shelter much of his force from the French artillery while keeping Napoleon guessing about the deployment of his troops! Maybe 17 minutes odd wasn't enough to cover all the nuances of this battle.
The Old guard did not break….they formed square and stood at the end, refusing to surrender. The troops that broke in the final french advance were primarily middle guard and old guard chassuers, the classic old guard grenadiers held their ground, never broken. The old guard had also been fighting the Prussians on the flank since 1pm. There’s more nuance to the battle then told here, this is a basic classic retelling. But a nice overview!
The real Downfall of the imperial guard is as follows:
The assault was mounted by 2 battalions of middle guard grenadiers, 2 battalions of middle guard chasseurs, supports by 1st regiment of 1st grenadiers old guards behind them. Also some fleeing units formed rag battalions to assist.
The guard advanced coming upon a Dutch artillery company and routed it, then came across the 73rd highland regiment and another British battalion, who exchange volleys and then fled scattered under the guards advance, then a Dutch company led by the prince of orange fired destructive artillery into the guards left flank, causing heavy casualties to the chasseurs, however these too were beaten back with the prince of orange seriously wounded.
NOW we come to the famous British foot guards under Maitland, who lay in wait on a ridge hidden in corn fields, the french believing if they could occupy the ridge the road to Brussels would be open….suddenly the British poured volleys into the middle guard, breaking the 2nd grenadier company causing another to wheel about, and causing high casualties, the french deployed into line under horrendous fire, but then returned fire and ROUTED the British foot guards…. And continued the advance.
It was now that more British reinforcements joined and again surprised the french, opening close range volleys that dropped 300 Frenchman in the first fire alone, the chasseurs returned accurate fire and caused 150 British casualties. The brits then bayonet charged, which put the middle guard to full flight (finally)
It was then when the supporting old guard formed square and refused to surrender.
You are incorrect. Firstly, the old guard was held in reserve from the fighting until their infamous march to oblivion up the hill - it was the Young Guard getting crushed by the Prussians at Plancenoit. Secondly, the old guard did break, though it was after the 4th Chassuers were repelled off the ridge by Colbourne's Peninsular veterans - the best allied regular infantry on the field. Cambronne, commanding a brigade of the old guard in its squares as the British and Hanoverian troops surrounded them is supposed to have said "buggers like us don't surrender" but surrender he did and the guard, after being blasted by canister and grape, had their morale crushed and fled the field along with the rest of the surviving French forces. Napoleon was already making good his escape by this point, abandoning his troops once again.
Wasn't it mainly the young guard fighting the Prussians on the French right flank including the small village of plancenoit.
@@dynamo1796
“Abandoning his troops once again”
Mate, stfu, was he supposed to stand in square at the end and get blasted by canister? Name one general of the era that would get themselves killed like that.
His job was to lead forces, and lead France, he can’t do that if he’s dead can he?
Napoleon in the 1814 personally sighted his cannon, having his clock torn my enemy fire, and in his early years was nicknamed ‘little corporal’ for his willingness to get stuck in with his men. He personally led the second infantry assault at Toulon getting bayoneted in the thigh.
I don’t think the duke of Wellington ever engaged in hand to hand combat no?
I don’t see why people like you have to make these unrealistic spiteful arguments ‘huh duh hE fLeD tHe bAtTlE’ grow up, when has an army leader ever stayed with the rearguard? 😂
It’s clear you don’t like imperial french with how you worded your comment, but you are incorrect, the old guard didn’t surrender, once they were blasted to pieces and the army fled, the survivors were taken prisoner, after the battle, but they didn’t surrender under enemy fire.
They stood no chance against the platoon volleys of the red coats.
@@jamesbell1707
Red coats beaten many times in the Napoleonic was, old guard lost only once. Stop being a cringe British fanboy, I’m from England but you are chatting shit
On my trip following the route of the band of brothers I stopped at Waterloo. The museum and mound are well worth a visit.
liking the telling of the story with the paintings..
..talking of boring.. went to the site when was a child.. That was boring! (45 yrs later wish i'd payed bit more attention, but i can remember a farm house..?)
I echo the comment by Andrew Morton about the contribution made by the 52nd Light Infantry. Their initiative and timely attack en fillade was the crucial turning point in this battle.
100% correct. Colonel John Colborne's initiative in enfilading the Imperial Guard with his 52nd Regiment of Foot is too often unknown or omitted by commentators. Wellington, of course was most appreciative. Colonel John Colborne went on to become Field Marshall John Colborne, 1st Baron of Seaton.
For those who are unsure of the meaning of en fillade: Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal itself from enfilade and hostile fire. The strategies, named by the English during the Hundred Years' War, use the French enfiler and défiler spoken by English nobility of the time.
I also used to wonder what happens at Waterloo and came to a conclusion there was a battle.
Both Sharpe & Patrick Harper! Bernard Cornwell is my fav historical fiction writer! The GOAT 🐐
Thanks!
That Napoleon was even able to muster so much men, arm them , get the organisation of the French army up and running and then coming close at winning is in itself a miracle and a testament to the mans brilliance.
France always had a big population.
Only really defeated at Waterloo when the Prussians entered the battle and decisively tipped the balance against Napolean and his army.
Another slant on the Napoleonic wars was that as France had declared itself a republic, which was unconscionable to the monarchies of Europe. The fact that the French peasantry had executed its despotic ruling class, had terrified the intertwined and interbred monarchs, France which was consulting with the new republic of America on how to formulate governance for the New France, had to be stopped, Britain as an island had a powerful Navy but not so much a land army which ‘contracted’ troops from other countries to make up its army, fought most of its land war in Spain with its stronghold In Portugal, Napoleon’s biggest mistake happened right there, if he had taken the time to concentrate on Wellingtons army and finish him in Spain, who knows how things would have looked today? Napoleon is certainly one of, if not ‘the’ greatest general ever. The restoration of the despotic Royals To Power did not last too long and another lesser revolution finished them for good. One thing that Napoleon did was to end the Spanish Inquisition, and free the poor victims of of its inhuman cruelty.The British to their shame reinstated it and it carried on for another eighty years.
Stupid English. They ended Democracy in France and reinstalled Feudalism.
How fucked up can it be?
"Britain led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored the Bourbons"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
The English Elite shit their pants when common people could vote in France. They couldnt have that in France, that shit could spillover to England. England waged war against France and also payed other countries to wage war against France. It took several years, alot of dead people and 30% of GDP. You never wounder who took that decision in England?
Btw, now the serfs had to wait another 100 years before democracy popped up again. And that was only because another revolution, the Russian. Now the elite in west knew they had to share power, hence the democracy in Europe.
@@rich11a15 Pretty sure the Spanish Inquisition was quite small in power then it had in the 1600th and 17 century's, even then it was the most lenient of the European Inquisitions
TOO G doing TOP G things
Groovy episode
Great piece 👏 respect from Ireland 🇮🇪
I have always considered the name Blücher gave to the battle "La Belle Alliance" far more appropriate than "Waterloo", which played absolutely no part in the conflict itself. La Belle Alliance did at least, apart from signifying the Alliance of British, Hanoverian, Dutch, Belgian and Prussian forces who fought and won the battle, it was where Blücher and Wellington met after defeating Napoleon that very day.
British battles are traditionally named after the commander's HQ, which was in Waterloo. The Prussians had no such convention.
Yes but it's a big mouthful, it's French and it sounds garbage.
Gebhard von Blücher was the unsung hero of Waterloo. If it wasn't for him Napoleon might have escaped to fight again.
I have felt that in addition to the comment reasons here above, Wellington would have enjoyed that WATER-loo rather poetically echoes the idea of WELL-ington, immortalizing his name in the victory. Furthermore, it captures his sometime name, WELL-esley.
The painting at 1:21 is post-Napoleonic. It's "Liberty Leading the People" by Delacroix, and it was painted in 1830 to commemorate the July Revolution of that same year.
Napoleon was outnumbered by Wellington's and Blucher's combined forces by about 5-to-3. As for it being "the the bloodiest battle in history up to that point," was it really? I think that, just in the context of the Napoleonic Wars, Borodino was not only a larger battle, but it also saw more total casualties suffered. What Waterloo was was DECISIVE.
Very informative - thanks.
Unfortunately, the music drowns or obscures a fair amount of the narrative. It rather breaks the flow to have to replay a sequence to understand clearly what was said. Simply no need for the music to be intrusive. We're here for the history.
Well done Mr. Snow.
Tristan sent me here :)
"Sire, the Prussians are in the woods!
Blücher is in the woods!"
"If I made one mistake in my life, I should have burned Berlin..."
He burned the Kremlin and it brought the russians to Paris
That's my personal motto!
Ifimadeonemistakeinmylifeishouldhaveburnedberlin -Napoleon
Very interesting
It is said that before the battle Wellesley addressing his groups said "to show you that I'm not afraid of dying today in defence of our society I will wear a red shirt so that if I'm wounded I will not see my blood and will continue the fight", and then to his chambellan shouted "Igor, bring me my red shirt!" And with a muffled voice "and bring me my brown trousers too"...
4:36 The force at Quatre Bras was mixed, with a large if not largest Dutch contingent. It was commanded by the Prince of Orange himself, who, unlike the portrayal in Sharpe, did very well and was commended by Wellington for the action.
In fact, it was on the Prince’s initiative to concentrate on Quatre Bras because Wellington was utterly dumbfounded as to where the French were.
@@koookeee This is incorrect. The Prince of Orange didn't actually arrive until much later. The action owes its success to the Prince of Orange's chief of staff, a dutchman by the name of Rebeque. He is the one who disobeyed ordered in light of new info and successfully staged the Dutch militia and skirmishers to defend Quatre Bras at that crucial early phase.
Slender Billy was a complete kneecapping for the allied forces - its often remarked his greatest contribution to the battle was getting shot in the shoulder and retiring from the field.
@@dynamo1796 I stand corrected!
@@dynamo1796 The faster the Slender Billy myth is routed, the better.
The Prince of Orange was NOT an incompetent fop. While De Rebecque was the one who foresaw the importance of Quatre-Bras and deployed his troops there (you are right in that), it actually was the Prince who arrived on the scene early in the battle and rallied, and led, the troops in several counterattacks, which led Ney to believe he was facing a much larger force than he actually was, and therefore proceeded too carefully.
Also, the Prince continued to lead the troops quite effectively the next day. He was well-liked by his men, mostly for his no-nonsense approach and the fact that he shared the dangers of his men by being in the front-lines constantly (to the distress of his staff).
He made mistakes, some of which with dire consequences, but he was NOT the incompetent fool that he was portrayed to be by British historians.
@@koookeee The Prussians had previously told Wellington where the French were, but Wellington wasted precious time before making decisions.
If he had acted in time, Napoleon would have been pinched at Ligny and there would have been no more Waterloo!
The background sound is a tad too loud at certain parts, just a note for future videos
Well, as typically for descriptions of Waterloo, the British tend to marginalize those 50,000 prussian soldiers on the field who stabilized Wellingtons left flank since 13.00 and who also fought with the Old Guard over Plancenoit.
We're used to it with the English. Glory and victory are theirs, at least in appearance...
One aspect of the Battle of Waterloo is hardly ever mentioned- why when Napoleon was so convinced he had beaten the Prussians at Ligny did he detach such a powerful force- 40,000 men, two divisions and one cavalry corps- to go after them. Think what he could have done with only 10,000 more troops at Waterloo!
I’m hoping that Dan will go to Gettysburg to do a series on that battle, and maybe touch on some forgotten parts of the battle like the 1st Minnesota charge, east Calvary hill and strong Vincent stand. Gettysburg hold a large amount of though in the American conscience
I would refer you to another channel here on CZcams called "History Underground," a gentleman named JD travels around primarily America but also Europe and produces exceptionally high quality videos about historical events at the places they occurred. He's actually done an entire extremely in-depth series about Gettysburg, the battle as a whole and individual engagements, the town itself, the preceding and subsequent events, really really great stuff, I think you'll like it
Also, if I may, I believe you'll find the word you meant is "conscience" as opposed to conscious. That just means awake 😉
@@cleverusername9369 thank you for the spelling correction I appreciate that. I have heard of history underground and watched some of his Gettysburg videos. But I would still like Dan to do a series. 👍
@@cleverusername9369 JD makes very spectacular videos, highly recommend 🤗😉
@@TheMormonPower it's a brilliant channel and always insightful on the civil war. He should have a lot more subscribers for the amount of work he does.
Nah, you got the History Channel over there to cover that. They will make it way more interesting than Dan Snow could. Will involve aliens and how they defeated the confederates with the technology they gave to Lincoln in a secret meeting. Maybe even the lost city of Atlantis played a part. Way more exciting than boring old historical research.
Curiosamente Napoleón Bonaparte se la pasó en guerras defensivas. No es que tuviera ambición de poder por el poder mismo, sino que enfrentaba ejércitos mucho más numerosos que el suyo, con más recursos y más instrucción militar (La República francesa había decapitado a gran parte de la nobleza y sus seguidores, entre los que había muchos soldados y oficiales militares de carrera. Otros que sobrevieron al terror se convirtieron en enemigos del gobierno frances).
Napoleón aplicó la estrategia de "la mejor defensa es el ataque" y desde el sitio de Tolon hasta Waterloo, atacó para evitar que sus enemigos pudieran juntarse.
Precisamente cuando no pudo evitar que se juntaran fue cuando perdió. Varias veces.
Wellington logró encontrar innovaciones tácticas exitosas, tan obvias ahora como que los soldados, en vez de esperar a pecho descubierto las andanadas enemigas, pusieran pecho a tierra, cubiertos además por colinas, usando estrategias defensivas, al estilo de Napoleón.
Just like Gettysburg - the madness of walking troops across a great exposed area and up a hill, both battles showing the advantage of planning to fight from the high ground.
Fascinating and interesting video…shame about the lift music making it hard to hear the commentary at times !
Note how the paintings don't show the the blue of the Belgian/Dutch troops, only the red of the British, and the Blue of the French. The vid doesn't mention the fate of Bylandt's brigade, a Dutch/Belgian brigade that was deployed on the slope facing the French, while the British line had took cover behind downward slope. Bylandt's Brigade was terrorised by the French Imperial artillery before finally breaking and streaming to the rear. as they covered the crest, the British started fring on them taking their blue uniforms for the French.
Bylandt's Dutch-Belgian infantry brigade was deployed in a line along the ridge on Wellington's left flank. Just behind them on their flanks were Picton's two Highland brigades.
The French Grand Battery did not badly damage them in pre-attack bombardment, but D'Erlon/ Ney's mass column attacks did inflict heavy losses and some desertions among Bylandt's Duitch-Belgians. After the attack, the remnants were either used in large numbers to escort the thousands of French taken prisoners back to Brussels, orplaced in the second line for the rest of the battle.
@@BaronsHistoryTimes The brigade was placed in an advanced position in front of Picton, with the british troops on the reverse slope of the Mt. st. Jean ridge. The Brigade took massive fire from the French divisions of Donzelot and Marcognet. Britsh historians have been consistently critical pf German, Belgian and Dutch troops, so your reply does not come as a suprise, even though later historians came to different conclusions on the effectiveness of these troops. I'm not sure why you'd argue Bylandt's did not come under heavy artillery fire when it's easily available information.
@@tenstoelwinder3101 Early on the morning of June 18th, the ever-wise Perponcher and his command staff - of the 2nd Netherlands Division noticed Bylandt's Brigade still on the forward slope, just south of the Ohain roadway ridge line. That's when he had the brigade pulled back just north of the roadway, behind its hedge-lined ridge.
The French guns of the Grand Battery which set-up on the intermediary fill line about 600 yards away opposite could not see Bylandt's main position directly in range.
As a result, the French battery was primarily conducting 'area fire', lobbing with skill, cannoballs and shells just over the ridge line. These shots were largely hitting the Allied cavalry in the rear of the infantry. This caused the British cavalry regiments in the Union brigade to shift several times The Scots Greys shifted closer to the Ohain roadway so that the rear side of the hill gave them some protection from the overshooting French cannon shots. This is well documented from witness survivors in these affected Allied units.
The series of books by Erwin Muilwijk is undoubtedly the best source describing the United Netherlands Kingdom army in the Waterloo campaign, He details the effects of the Grand Battery's opening fire with concise sources.
Infantry in Bijlandt's brigade mostly lay down throughout this opening phase of the bombardment - not an unusual practise for Allied infantry at this stage of the action - meanwhile veteran British cavalrymen dismounted from their horses to be less exposed. Some of these thought is stupid for the Cumberland Hussar novices not to follow suite > and losses those Hanoverians sustained contributed to their early flight from the battle.
Erwin Muilwijl specifically sites that"Few casualties were suffered" by Bijlandt's brigade; they were in protected roadway hedge cover/ behind -and atop the rear slope, and lying down. Those are the actual facts - or at least an overview of them.
It contradicts not 'information', but long unsubstantiated myths that Bylandt's brigade was blasted apart by the Grand Battery; myths that were overly repeated without any actual proof, simply because that's not what happened and no documentation states such.
However, I naturally agree with your point about Bylandt's brigade taking the initial shock of firefight duels all alone against the heads of the massive French column formations of Donzelot and Marcognet.
@@BaronsHistoryTimes You're right, the artillery fire came from the artillery supporting Donzelot and Marcognet, not the grand battery. The initial point wasn't about the Grand Battery though, but about English revisionism after the battle, painting allied troops as inferior. Any thoughts on that?
@@tenstoelwinder3101 I'm like you and other honest historians who know the facts; I always give the United Kingdom Netherlands army their fair share of the role they played in the victory of the Waterloo campaign - especially starting on June 15th when Perponcher and staff elected to disobey Wellington's orders to assemble at Nivelles which would have left Quatre Bras open for Ney to capture without a fight and I suspect easily defend. That would've allowed Napoleon to smash Blucher at Ligny or at least effectively divide Wellington and Blucher and leave the road the Brussels almost entirely open.
I also give the Prince of Orange his fair due, despite several costly blunders; he didn't over-ride Perponcher and his staff, when they elected to defend Quatre-Bras instead of abandon it on the 15th; he also played a very crucial role in rallying and giving morale boosts to the Netherlands army and German troops by getting into front line action with them; something a lot of veteran Allied officers were exceptionally active in doing to keep as many young conscripts as they could in line; in a battle that Marshal Ney stated after, was the worst he'd ever seen.
Also, where I get the chance, I do elaborate on General Chasse's role in the overall defeat of the French Middle Guard attack.
Much is missed in typical history books about his division at Waterloo; they lost casualties and prisoners very early in the battle against probes by Pire's lancers from Reille's II Corps. And they had mostly moved into the second line on Mont St.Jean hill's west end, forming squares against the French cavalry charges.
I hope you get hold of Erwin Muilwijk's series on the Waterloo Netherlands army.... it's very well written and filled with sources.
Wellington had balls...As a Prime Minister he called a man out to a duel...then showed up.
Interesting 🧐
what is the classic music that is starting @ 00:55?? Very nice and epic! Very good with the content of the video! Continue like this!
A video about the in my opinion more important Peoples' Battle of Leipzig would be great.
"(Waterloo) Why was it the bloodiest battle in history up to that point?" he's already in denial about previous battles
@@2adamast I agree.
Waterloo: 47,000 casualities
Leipzig: 126,000 Casualities
@@barbarossarotbart Waterloo was only one day of combat where Leipzig was 3 days.
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- Sorry, but bloodiness of a battle is not measured in casualties per day but in its overall casualties.
@@barbarossarotbart 66,000 casualties in a SINGLE day of combat is worse than 126,000 over 3 days.
Pretty good overall.
Ney sent in 3000 cavalry in the first wave - which 2000 Light cavalry of the Imperial Guard joined by themselves. Napoleon sent in 4000 more an hour later, to which 2000 Heavy cavalry of the Imperial Guard joined by themselves.
The French cavalry mostly lingered below the brow of the hill, not going back to their own lines. They inflicted crushing losses on Wellington's cavalry too that were in the center,
13:06 - that NEVER happened > French artillery was never pushed into the La Haye Sainte farmhouse. It was impossible for snipers of cannons to see over the hill into the Allied lines pushed back beyond the hill top. After the farmhouse's capture, the French pushed infantry and cannons forward onto the ridge line two hundred yards north of the building.
Napoleon sent in only one third of his Imperial Guard infantry to directly attack Wellington > the Middle Guard.
'1500' British Foot Guards is a much used myth. Prior to the action against the Imperial Guard, the Foot Guard's of Maitland's brigade had suffered somewhat substantial losses during the French cavalry charges and bombardment - they were less than their battle start numbers of 1500 troops.
British infantry did not deploy in 'thin' lines of 2 ranks at Waterloo > they were in compact 4 rank lines.
14:40 - He contradicts himself - earlier he mentioned the correct fact that the first columns of Imperial Guard had been halted by the British and Germans in the center to the east of the Foot Guards, and the Dutch-Belgians (of Gen Chasse) had subsequently blasted with canister, and bayonet charged to rout those first attacking columns of Imperial Guard.
The actual disintegration began because of the Prussians overwhelming Napoleon's entire right flank, and the brilliant counter-charge ordered by Wellington, led by brigade generals Vivian and Vandeleur.
Ummm - 16:40 , seems like the conclusion is glorifying "British Imperial Expansion" with that 'Pomp and Circumstance' musical overlay; Britain did on a global scale for 100 years after Waterloo, what Napoleon did in Europe for 15 years. There was no relative peace in Europe; only less destructive warfare - in the 100 years after Waterloo there was unprecedented social and political strife, civil wars, insurrections, brutal repressions of social justice activists, and smaller wars between nations.
British elites still had slavery going on, invaded, robbed and looted overseas cultures and ripped them apart with Divide and Conquer/ Perfidous Albion strategies, disastrous map changing blunders, thrived from the Irish Famine and child labour, still repressed women, still didn't give most British people voting power... etc, etc.,
Bollocks
Good military facts indeed, but the bias rant at the end is stupid. The British empire outlawed slavery in the 1830s,
There's no bias in simply correcting someone's mistaken belief by adding pure facts. If you don't like those facts that's not the basis to declare bias. It's simply facts. The British elite got obscenely wealthy from the horrors of slavery. That's not to gloss over nor even defend. ps. The slave owners and elites made sure to further obscenely reward themselves with 'compensations' for their 'losses' when slavery was ended..... courtesy of the local masses who never had slaves. Facts are facts, if you judge them to be stupid, well that's your opinion, but not facts..... @@rhysnichols8608
We need a Waterloo chat episode with the man the legend Mike Loades.
thx Tristian
6:10 Correction. The Anglo-Allied army at Waterloo had a total strength of 73,200 men (including 1,000 staff, sappers, engineers etc) of whom 36% were British and 45% were German, (10% KGL, 10% Nassau, 8% Brunswick & 17% Hanoverian).
In other words a Royal army and allies since King George was also Duke of Hanover so Hanoverians served with the British Army in Portugal Spain and at Waterloo,
While I was taught as a kid that Blucher actually won it. Who knows, with History being influenced by politics and national prejudices?
@@petravh4711 The reality was that Wellington fought where he did because he knew that Blucher's army was coming up in support. The 'close run thing' occurred because it arrived later than expected.
Wellington's Waterloo Dispatch was fulsome in praise of both Blucher and the Prince of Orange. Those who seek to create an issue where there is none should simply read the dispatch.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 Okay I have not read that dispatch and would love to do so. However it seems to me that Wellesley did claim the Victory for himself with a little side nod to his Allies.
@@Colin56ish The Dispatch will tell you differently. Wellington, of course, cannot be held responsible for how the Battle was reported in British newspapers.
Then, as now, newspapers only told the absolute and unvarnished truth, of course!
Excellent presentation as always. Only one criticism (but it is a major one, I'm afraid): You refer to Napoleon's army at Waterloo early on as "seasoned veterans" and later the Imperial Guard as his elite - who broke under British fire.
I am sure there were many recalled veterans in that army as a whole along with recent conscripts, and the names & numbers of the regiments of the Imperial Guard were those of Napoleon's elite. But most of the "seasoned veterans" and the men who made the Imperial Guard the force it was reputed to be had mostly died in Russia. (Same btw with the cavalry Ney led.) Flags do not make veterans, and if the veterans are gone, it takes a long time to bring their quality back up to what it was - and I speak in part as a US Marine veteran.
But mostly it is because I have seen the strength & casualty figures for the Grand Army by component that went into Russia, and what came out, from French sources, both contemporary & historical. Cannot tell for sure how many were left behind when they marched into Russia, and/or were sent back early enough in the Russian campaign to get to friendly hospitals and such. But basically the Imperial Guard brought fewer than 3-4% of the strength it took into Russia out again, and the cavalry perhaps 5% (guess they had first go at eating the horses - not joking, as you know). (PS: My research into the Archduke Charles of Austria, at the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna in the summer of 1972, unearthed similar estimates of French strength in 1812-13.)
I found this out while doing a seminar paper in my PhD program at the University of Michigan under Professor John Shy (you may know the name, tho you are much younger) way back in 1970. Never followed it up in my work, and I regret at 80 I cannot come to Britain and talk the subject over with you But please continue your good work, I have the highest respect for it and for you - You have a fine mode of presentation as well.
The troops at Waterloo were 'more veteran' than the ones in 1813 though, as many who were prisoners of war in 1813 had been repatriated by 1815, so, sure, it wasn't an 1806 level of veteranhood, but it was certainly so conscript army.
It's a 17 minute summary of a 10 hour battle. You could cut him some slack on the details, I think.
@@JohnCampbell-rn8rz I understand. But it is far too often overlooked tat most of Napoleon's veterans died in Russia. That single fact dominated everything after - Prussia uprising (1813), Leipzig (1814) and Waterloo itself (1815).
Then napoleon was poor for losing so many men in Russia. Either way the blame lies with napoleon.
Indeed. However, some mistakes are repeated all over again. The forced German invasion of the Soviet Union in WW2, and now NATO exhausting Ukraine (and soon itself)@@mrdarren1045
even when you watch a well filmed portray of the battle, like sharpe`s waterloo, it still does not, even begin to cover, the scale and size of the battle!
Great synopsis.
British troops held the French at Quatre Bras?! It was an army under command of the Dutch Crown Prince and Dutch and German troops that were there first and held them long enough for Wellington to arrive much later with British troops. Simply stating British troops held the French is an insult to the Dutch and Germans!!
You mean silly Billy?
@@cambs0181 been watching/reading too much Sharpe? Bernard Cornwell has a pretty biased view on the Dutch and exploited that big time in his books. Far from the truth. There are more and more historical sources and a general consensus that the Prince and the role of the Dutch troops deserve way more credits. The Brits have done all they could to make it their victory over the years by writing their own history books besides a careful picking of choice of words to make the Dutch and Belgians look like cowards and the Brits as heroes. For example: a retreat by the Dutch simply mentioned as fleeing like cowards whilst the same action by Brits bring described as a tactical advance to the rear...
The Dutch under the Prince held the French advance at Quatre-Bras valiantly. And only after having to lose and retake key positions multiple times with heavy losses did they break. The moment Wellington arrived with fresh troops they didn't even bother to come to the aid of the Dutch. Talking about cowards!
@@cambs0181 "Silly Billy" has been much maligned for obvious failures that cost many lives.
BUT....
He saved the Waterloo Campaign on day one.
He did something no other staff officer who like him, served under Weillington in the Peninsular - he dared disobey Wellington's orders of June 15th.
Wellington had ordered his army to assemble primarily at a town many miles west of the strategic Quatre Bras crossroads, It the French captured it, then effectively they would have solidly split Wellington and Blucher and left a road open to Brussels.
Silly-Billy listened to the expert advice of his staff officers ( veterans themselves) who - in charge of Saxe-Weimar's Nassau and Bylandt's Dutch Belgian brigades stationed in the area on the 15th, insisted to hold the crossroads instead of vacating it as part of Wellington's orders.
Ney's probe to capture the crossroads on the 15th June thus failed against those isolated allied troops.
Crucially, the Allied armies remained somewhat linked and defied Napoleon gaining the significant advantage of dividing them.
As 2ame, comments , Bernard Cornwell is a flawed biased writer regarding Waterloo, if you've read his own 'battle account'.
7:00 Napoleon outnumbered Wellington, seriously? That is an English bubble that burst long ago. Napoleon had 77,500 troops at Waterloo, (including 2,000 Staff, engineers, equipment train etc). That is the Allied army was outnumbered by an unprecedented 1.06 to 1!!!
At the start of the battle Napoleon outnumbered the British Army, you are talking about the Allied Army that included the Prussians which did not join the battle until later, towards the end of the battle. Wellington's Army had 68,000 troops to Napoleon's 72-73,000 troops so Wellington was slightly outnumbered by 4-5,000 troops. Blucher's Army did reverse the the advantage though when he arrived adding his 50,000 to Wellington's troops giving the allies 118-120,000 troops. Of Wellington's Army 31,000 where from the UK (25,000 British and 6,000 King's German Legion), Netherlands 17,000, Hanover 11,000, Brunswick 6,000, Nassau 300 and 156 guns. Napoleon had 50,700 Infantry, 14,390 Cavalry, 8,050 Artillery and Engineers and 252 Guns. So it depends on what part of the battle you are talking about whether your statement is correct or not.
(Data from Wikipedia from sources: Bodart 1908 p.487; Hofschroer 1999 pp. 68-69; Hofschroer 1999 p. 61 cites Sibornes numbers; Hamilton-Williams 1994 p. 258 gives 168,000; Barbero 2005 pp. 75-76; Hamilton-Williams 1994 p. 256; Chesney 1874 p. 4)
@@paulmaxey6377 At the start of the battle (11:20am) the Anglo Allied Army had 53,850 infantry, 13,350 cavalry, 5,000 gunners (with 157 guns and 1 rocket troop) and 1,000 staff, engineers etc. totaling 73,200 men, (I cannot understand why historians still stick to the 67-68,000 figure). This total includes 600 to 800 lightly wounded or sick who chose to stay with their units. Napoleon’s army comprised of 53,400 infantry, 15,600 cavalry, 6,500 gunners and train (with 246 guns) and 2,000 Imperial staff, engineers, medical etc. totaling 77,500 men. Similarly, to Allied total, these numbers also include about 2,000 lightly wounded who remained with the Eagles.
That 16,000 Frenchmen and 44 guns (not 50, I re-checked my source) who did not fire one single musket shot or cannon ball against the Allied army is an undeniable fact. These comprised of Lobau’s 6,930 infantry and 503 artillerymen (16 guns), Domon’s and Subervie’s weak cavalry divisions with 2,337 cavalry and 347 artillerymen (12 guns). These units began moving off from the main French deployment line facing the Allied army, from about 1:00 to 1:15pm and took up positions to the NE of the village of Plancenoit. These were joined at about 6:00pm, by ALL the Young Guard comprising of 4,283 infantry and 491 artillerymen (16 guns), thus denying the Middle Guard’s assault from its skirmishers, flankers and scouters! Sometime after 7:00pm, the first battalions of the 2nd Grenadiers and 2nd Châsseurs à Pied, 1,126 men, were also dispatched.
Anglophiles continue to repeat at nauseum, even to this day, that the Prussians arrived at the end of the battle. The battle ended at about 8:30pm. Losthin’s (15th) and Hiller’s (16th) brigades began deploying in front of Lobau at 4:30pm and went into the attack at 5:00, (one hour even before the fall of La Haie Sainte!). All undeniable facts.
I have both Hamilton-Williams (1994) and Hofschröer (1998 & 1999) books on the battle, but all my figures and timelines come from a single source, namely Mark Adkin’s “The Waterloo Campaign” (2001).
@@joegatt2306 Evidence for your figures? Because they clearly aren't undeniable facts as majority of historians disagree with your source lmfao.
@@paulmaxey6377 Mark Adkin’s “The Waterloo Campaign” (2001) is not a detailed account of the battle, but when it comes to figures, timelines and detailed maps, it is without peer. Can you give a list of your "majority of historians" that disagreed with the above mentioned source. The first time I read about Lobau's re-deployment was in Hamilton-Williams's book, (who also debunked other re-occurring English claims and un-truths, such as the uselessness of the Dutch-Belgians and non-KGL Germans for example) and Hofschröer goes on as far as to claim the Battle of Waterloo as The German Victory! But then of course, you are free to believe Gareth Glover's fantastic revelation in his book "Waterloo - Myth and Reality" (2014) that Napoleon re-deployed 10,000 men just to shore up his right wing, and not to block the Prussians! A claim I did not even find in two other 2014 publications of the battle by Nigel Sale and Bernard Cornwell, just saying.
@@paulmaxey6377 First of all, the Prussians were not part of an allied army, but a completely self-sufficient army that pursued the same target and accordingly communicated with Wellington to achieve this goal.
The Prussians did not arrive near the end of the battle either, but came at half-time when the 1st Corps began to support Wellington's left flank.
The statement about 50,000 Prussians in Waterloo is somewhat irritating, since the Prussian army still had 95,000 soldiers in Wavre, of which only 14,000 men remained there to keep Grouchy's 33,000 French away from Waterloo.
Very interesting history lesson, only marred by the overwhelming background noise. Half the time it was guesswork as to what the narrator was saying.
Peter, merci Mon ami et ton pere. 🇬🇧🙏👏
Its impossible to imagine the effect this battle must have had on small villages all over the UK . I remember many years ago when i was up on the Isle of Skye and there was a small township on the East coast called Waterloo because so many of its young men had died in this battle . All the way up there.... ..amazing .
Situations and decisions have always repercussions and consequences George Washinton was spared in an encounter with a french units in the 7 years war, imagine if they killed him maybe America wouldnt even exist 🤔🧐
There is another Waterloo south of Wishaw, which is a town in Scotland.
There are Waterloos everywhere A suburb of Sydney
Ummm.... Would take issue with your description comment that Waterloo was the bloodiest battle. Borodino (1812)...?
So nice of Abba to sing during the fighting
Why is Beethoven V playing at the start, rather than the Eroica?
Leading his Army into Russia was a huge mistake by Napoleon, that ultimately led to his doom
Hitler did the same mistake
the 33rd british regiment, west yorks, known as the duke of wellingtons were about to run at waterloo but wellington stopped them and encourged them to fight on, hence the title the duke of wellingtons regiment im from west yorkshire
He may have been defeated,but his legacy continues to this day in Europe🇫🇷
General comment to the internet: Please stop using the painting of French revolution of 1830 by Delacroix (Liberty leading the people) as revolution of 1789 🙏 At 1:23.
Also used is the famous redcoat square repelling a French calvary charge - while the narrator talks about the battle of Quatre-Bras, which happened a day earlier and without the same level of cavalry vs infantry fighting (though the Highlanders certainly had some engagements with French curassiers).
It's a very British version of the victory at Waterloo. Wellesley rushed back to England and promoted the news "I (and I alone) have defeated Napoleon". The news was splashed all across England and did wonders for British morale which had taken a battering from the French. What of the Prussians and other Allies who were at the Battle? They were deliberately overlooked by Wellington. Yet the Allies combined effort is what really defeated Napoleon's troops, and not the Brits alone. Wellesley seems to have been more determined to claim all the Glory, than to acknowledge the efforts of the Alliance.
A leader claiming he won the war/battle all by himself ...he wasn't the first and will not be the last to do that
He actually stayed in Europe and became commander in chief of the occupying army in France until 1818 when he returned to England
British morale took a battering what a laugh how does morale take a battering when you win every single battle you fight against the French in the napoleonic wars both on sea and land stop making stuff up
Wellington's first dispatch of the battle actually mentions the utter importance of the Prussian arrival into the battle.
Do you mean the Dutch and Belgian troops running back to Brussels telling everyone that Wellington had been defeated.
love and respect from Karachi/Indianapolis
Just saw the movie Napoleon today. Was not a good movie but I still wanted to learn a little more about that time period and some of the battles that happened in the movie.
Would love to see a time-lapse chronology of european borders as they altered through the last 300 years or so.