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Battle of Waterloo

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Neither Wellington nor Blucher retreated along their lines of communication after the battles at Quatre Bras and Ligny. Napoleon had fully expected them to do so, thus widening the gap between the forces opposing him.

Instead they both fell back northwards on parallel courses and so it was that Blucher was able to arrive at Waterloo at the critical juncture.

In the interim, Grouchy, tasked with pursuing the Prussians was searching eastwards - entirely the wrong direction. Grouchy's entire Corps, numbering over 30,000 men, remained absent from the coming battle of waterloo.
 
 

Waterloo Battlefield Tour
 
 

Wellington's HQ

 
Wellington's HQ along the Brussels Road was in the village of Waterloo the night before the battle. He had retreated here trusting that the Prussians under Marshal Blucher would come to his support.

The building where Wellington stayed is now a museum containing a number of artefacts relating to the battle.
 
 

The Panorama

 
The Panorama on the field of battle depicts scenes the location of which can be later identified from the Lion Mound.
 
 

The Allied Centre

 
To the front of his main line, Wellington fortified the farms of Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte and Papelotte. He regarded these outposts as vital to the defence of his position.

Napoleon's energy deserted him during the battle and his subordinates were left very much to their own devices, exposing a serious weakness in the Napoleonic Corps system.

In the centre, following the rebuff delivered to d'Erlon's Corps, Ney launched a series of costly cavalry charges against the Anglo-Dutch squares without either infantry or artillery support to very little effect.
 
 

Hougoumont Farm

 
Jerome's attacks at Hougoumont absorbed increasing numbers of French troops. At one point the French almost forced their way through the doorway, only to be denied by desperate defence, a moment which Wellington later regarded as crucial to the battle's outcome.
 
 

La Haye Sainte

 
Ney's eventual capture of La Haye Sainte, shortly after Papelotte had also fallen, precipitated another crisis in the battle exposing the British centre to close range artillery and musketry.

Wellington's troops in the centre were on the point of exhaustion but Napoleon's hesitancy in committing the Guard contrasted with Wellington's energy in plugging the gaps in his line.

By the time the Guard was finally sent forward, the forces opposing them had been reorganized with Wellington himself on the spot to order Maitland's Guards to their feet. The Prussians' arrival in increasing numbers on Napoleon's left and the Guard's repulse marked the end of the Hundred Days.
 
 

The Lion Mound

 
The Lion Mound was created shortly after the battle and marks the mass grave of the Dutch casualties. It dominates the scene where the Anglo-Dutch squares resisted Ney's cavalry charges and suffered at the hands of Napoleon's Grand Battery.
 
 

Papelotte Farm

 
Having already changed hands briefly earlier in the day Papelotte fell again shortly before La Haye Sainte was captured. The King's German Legion who had defended La Haye Sainte only withdrew when the 43 survivors of the garrison ran out of ammunition.
 
 

Wellington & Blucher

 
The co-operation and trust between Wellington and Blucher was the foundation of victory. The arrival of Bulow around Plancenoit forced Lobau's Corps to be diverted there. The arrival of Zieten's Corps was timely, enabling Wellington to release two cavalry brigades to strengthen the centre. Meanwhile Thielemann's Corps successfully prevented Grouchy from responding to Napoleon's order, late in the day, to march to the guns.


Three Day Tours
 
Tours include local pick-up, coaching throughout, return ferry crossings via Dover, B&B hotel accommodation, tour notes. Guide optional.
 
 

Suggested Itinerary
 
  • Wellington Museum
  • The Lion Mound
  • The Panorama
  • The British Centre
  • Hougoumont Farm
  • Papelotte Farm
  • La Haye Sainte
Further visits may be possible depending on the duration of your tour & proximity to Dover. Please telephone, email or use our contact page to outline your requirements.
 
 
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