This article aims to offer an unprecedented look at the Battle of Waterloo, since the story of the same has already been published. The main source of inspiration is the book by Nick Foulkes, Dancing in to the Battle. A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo, London, Phoenix, 2007.
The 18 June 1815 was the dawn of the end of a world: the emperor Napoleon, after a daring escape from the Island of Elba, crossed the sword again with the powerful of Europe trying to regain lost power. At the news of the disembarkation of the small course, the king of the Restoration Louis XVIII collected his baggage to escape, while the allies who had composed the coalition of Leipzig handed hands to the guns, ready for yet another fight. The Duke of Wellington hoped in his heart that everything would be resolved quickly because the years of war in Spain had marked the soul and the state of health, but he also knew Napoleon and knew that the only way to assert his power was with the war. The summer season at the door offered a warm climate, the days of the military flowed in complete relaxation between bivouacs, rivers of gin and only for the officers, social holidays in the main buildings of Brussels. In this festive atmosphere, the only one who did not lift the chalice in the sky was the Emperor of the French: he had to take the initiative because only in this way would he have annulled the numerical disadvantage of his troops. Thus began the game of chess between two of the most respected commanders in military history of all time.
The dance of the Duchess of Richmond
For several years now some of the wealthiest families in Britain resided in Belgium because - in spite of the ostentatious wealth - living beyond the Channel cost much less. The English aristocrats had become familiar with the Belgians and the Dutch by integrating themselves into high society thanks to dancing parties, picnics in the open air or galloping through the woods. The Duke and Duchess of Richmond lived in Belgium since the autumn of 1814: they brought with them their five younger sons (two females and three males) and a caravan of servants of seventeen people, including the guardian of the three males such Spencer Madan1. As soon as she arrived, Duchess Charlotte immediately animated the atmosphere by organizing worldly events in her luxurious villa, located in Rue de la Blanchisserie: it was a large building, with beautiful gardens and an infinite space for the games of the three children. Among the best known goers there was none other than the Prince of Orange, a huge Anglophile who in the 1811 became Field Aide of the Duke of Wellington in Spain. Even the three oldest sons of the Richmond were in the army: the count of March enlisted in the 13 ° Dragons and then become Wellington's Adjutant of Wellington, the same happened to the second son Lord George Lennox who played for some time in the 9 ° Light Dragoon and then in the duke's general staff. The last, the youngest, Lord William Pitt Lennox joined the British commander in chief at the Congress of Vienna.
On June 12 the Emperor Napoleon left Paris to reach the army marching towards Charleroi; the news aroused concern among the inhabitants of Brussels, including the Duchess of Richmond who immediately sent a letter to the Duke of Wellington asking him if - according to him - it was appropriate to organize a dance on the evening of 15. The English commander replied with a sting, reassuring the Duchess that there was no plausible reason for not doing so and that at the moment there was nothing to fear.
At the dusk of 15 June 1815 the duchess opened the halls of her residence for a ball in which she invited about two hundred guests, half of whom were senior officers of the British army. Among the most distinguished was the aforementioned Prince of Orange, the Duke of Brunswick, the Earl of Uxbridge (commander of the Anglo-Dutch cavalry) followed by General Thomas Picton, Peregrine Maitland, William Ponsonby and William De Lancey: for some these would have been the last dance.
No one knew what time Wellington would have arrived, together with the Prussian general and liaison officer Karl von Müffling, to prepare the military plans for the next day. Around midnight the English commandant, along with the Prussian, arrived at the villa; as soon as they arrived, many hurried to ask for news from the front, but Wellington's only answer was that the next day would surely be with his armies, nothing more. On the whole, the whole British military establishment was very relaxed and as the historical commander Henry Lachouque points out: "there was neither excitement nor emotion both in Brussels and in the general staff. The officers, Wellington first, wrote to their families talking about big plans for the future "2.
After having dinner in front of a richly laid table, a thrill seized the guests: from the hustle and bustle at the entrance of the villa some unexpected guests had arrived. It was Lieutenant Henry Webster, an aide-de-camp to the Prince of Orange, who had an urgent ticket to deliver to the Duke of Wellington himself. In order not to upset the bystanders, the British officer was invited to stay away from the indiscreet eyes of the ladies: in the meantime the English commander would read his message. Webster, whose uniform was dusty and filthy with mud, received a chair and a plate of soup to refresh himself while awaiting future instructions. His arrival was noticed by an officer of the Picton division who left a memory of that dramatic moment: "Around nine or ten o'clock in the evening (the time is still wrong, because it was midnight) a dragon, covered with mud and dust, he arrived as a general commander, carrying a dispatch from the front that worried the Duke of Wellington "3.
Despite the discretion, almost all the military understood that it was news concerning the movements of the French army. Wellington immediately called the Duke of Richmond to get a map of the surroundings and retired, together with Müffling, to a secluded room. On laying the paper on the desk, he carefully examined the situation: "Napoleon has cheated me!" - exclaimed the Englishman - "he has gained twenty-four hours of walking on me". Saying this he pointed to the crossroads of Quatre-Bras and in the same tone he exclaimed: "I will order my soldiers to go on that road, but it will not be there that we will fight, but here." His finger pointed at Waterloo.
Napoleon had really deceived him because he had managed to come between the two armies - the English and the Prussian - cutting each line of connection. There was no time to waste: around one in the morning all the officers present at the Richmond house were invited to leave the room to reach their respective units. Wellington went home around two o'clock, but obviously he could not even close his eyes because he knew he had made an unforgivable mistake that could cost him the results of the entire campaign.
The next morning the gallant evening, the walking sticks and the ladies' foulards were replaced by rifles, lead balls and gunpowder. The Battle of Quatre-Bras, fought on June 16, killed numerous soldiers including three of Madame Richmond's distinguished guests: the Duke of Brunswick, Lord Hay, and Colonel Cameron, commander of the 92nd Regiment of Foot or better known as i Gordon Highlanders that the 15 evening had delighted guests with the sounds of bagpipes and typical Scottish dances.
Towards the end
The 18 June 1815, at the 8 in the morning, at the farm of Le Caillou, Napoleon got off his officers to have breakfast. He was in a good mood, even if something betrayed that sooner or later some difficulty would arise. In fact, it had rained all night and the ground, soaked with water, was still impractical for the artillery. Despite these adverse factors, Napoleon hinted at some jokes with his marshals, but suddenly Nicolas Soult interrupted him expressing his complacency and admiration for his adversary. Napoleon's deep gray eyes crossed his gaze: "Why have you been beaten by Wellington then you consider him a good general?" - referring to the bitter defeats suffered by the Marshal in Spain - "Well I tell you that Wellington is a bad general, that the British are very bad troops and that in the evening the affaire d'un déjeuner"4. After the first artillery shot - fired around the 11.00, then fatally delayed on the emperor's plans - it was all another flow of events.
Waterloo still represents one of the most fascinating clashes in military history, but what intrigues most is the study of the leaders who fought you, their intimate thoughts and the psychology with which they faced the duel. Napoleon and his subordinates committed serious errors, but many agree that the emperor was now a tired man, weak in health and with his famous tactical sensitivity in the descending phase. Until the last he believed in the victory, until the last he hoped that the roar of the gun on the side of his army was that of Grouchy, but it was not so. Ironically, Napoleon was defeated thanks to a maneuver he had devised. Despite the ruinous defeat, the posthumous judgment on the military genius of the emperor remained unaltered and his political profile and how much it meant for Europe, continued to be scary.
The same morning as the 18, while Napoleon began to have breakfast, the Duke of Richmond ordered his servants to be ready to leave in case the French had won the battle. As soon as the duke heard the roar of the guns, he rushed to see the bloody show of the battle, mainly because two of his favorite sons were fighting alongside Wellington. The father, proud of his boys, could not hold back the emotion and seems to have even encouraged them to fight, just as the hunters do between them while chasing the fox. For the nobles hunting has always been the transposition of war in peacetime; why not live that carnage as such?
The horrors of what happened on the day of the 18 touched the Richmond family in the form of wounded, more than 8000 arrived in Brussels. In the evening the duke and his sons took the carriage to go and see what had happened: the fox, although it was still alive, was escaping towards Genappe knowing that its hunters would make it harmless once and for all in what cold and cold island in the middle of the ocean.
1 In total the Dukes of Richmond had 13 sons of which 7 females, the oldest males were in the army and followed Wellington in the countryside of the Peninsula, while the three youngest arrived in Brussels with their mother. The daughters (Mary, Sarah, Georgina, Charlotte and Sophia) were aged between 23 and 5 years.
2 Henry Lachouque, Waterloo. The end of a monde, Lavauzelle, Paris, 1985, p. 173.
3 Peter Hofschröer. 1815. The Waterloo campaign. Wellington, his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras, London, Greenhill, 1998, p. 216.
4 Andrew Roberts, Napoleon & Wellington, London, Phoenix Press, 2001, p. 163.
(photo: web)
