Case Study: The Battle Of Waterloo 1815 Flashcards
What where the composition of both armies ? Include: leaders, amounts and both French and allied
Allied: Lead by Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. 50,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry and 6,000 artillery
Total: 67,000
French: lead by Napoleon Bonaparte. 48,000 infantry, 14000 cavalry and 7,000 artillery
Total: 69,000
Stage 1: positioning of the troops.
Think: 4 different positions
Wellington was worried the French would decide to attack his flanks so with this in mind he
Put a small amount of troops to the east of TBF
Put a decent amount of troops on the west of the battlefield
Occupied and reinforced Chateau d’Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte
Put the majority of his troops in the centre behind a ridge line
Stage 2: The French attack Chateau d’Hougoumont
Large amounts of French infantry attack Chateau d’Hougoumont
If successful it would leave Wellingtons flanks vulnerable
The French sent more and more to Hougoumont
Wellington decided to reinforce Hougomont but didn’t take troops from the centre
Stage 3: French artillery Bombarment
Hougoumont is never captured by the French
Large numbers of French artillery begins to rain down on the British lines at 1pm which is an hour and a half since the French began their assault
Due to poor conditions the French artillery isn’t very effective but still deals some damage
Wellington responds by ordering infantry in the centre to lie down on the reverse side of the ridge to cover them from the fire
Stage 4: The French infantry attack
Think: timing, and the three allied responses think CIA
At 1:30 pm 18,000 French infantry advance towards the British infantry lines
Allied response
1. Cavalry charges at the French infantry and the French infantry beings to retreat
2. Infantry stand in lines (two men deep) with fixed bayonets and open fire
3. Artillery begins to fire from the allied side
Stage 5: the French cavalry charge
Think: numbers lost and timings of the attack also remember the squares
The french infantry may have failed but half of the allied cavalry was now also killed
At 4pm 5,000 french cavalry charge against the allied infantry
Wellington responded by:
1. Ordering the infantry to hide behind the ridge and form thirteen hollow squares
2. The allied artillery fired at the french cavalry
Stage 6: the fall of La Haye Sainte
What two things does Wellington do in response to
Allied infantry discipline and determination ensures all thirteen squares held firm causing the French cavalry to eventually stop
At 6pm the French take control of La Haye Sainte leaving the centre of wellingtons army vulnerable
Wellington acted by
- sending reinforcements to strengthen the line near La Haye Sainte
-making himself visible to the troops by riding up and down the line ,despite possible personal danger, and saying they must fight and hold the line
Stage 7: the charge of the French imperial guard
Hint: someone arrives and Napoleon decides it’s his last chance to win
After the fall of La Haye Sainte wellingtons troops begin to waver. Help arrives as the Prussian troops arrive forcing the French to divert their attention. Napoleon knew it was his last chance at victory
He orders his elite imperial guard infantry to advance
Wellington responded by
Ordering allied artillery fire on them
Making the infantry to stand up in lines and fire at the imperial gaurd
The outcome of the battle
Imperial guard struggle through the artillery fire but where forced back by the allied infantry.
French are defeated
Casualties where high with French losses estimated at around 25,000
Allied just over 23,000
Large losses like this were typical given the tactics at the time
When was the battle of Waterloo ?
18 June 1815
