The Waterloo Companion

Book Review

review by Robert McLean

The complete guide to history’s most famous battle

As I live only 20 minute’s drive away from Mont St. Jean, I think I must be one of the most frequent visitors to the Waterloo battlefield. Last year I did the exams and qualified as an English speaking guide with the “Société des Guides des sites de la Campagne de Belgique 1815, dont la bataille dite de Waterloo” (or “Guides 1815” for short) and since then I regularly take groups of people across the fields and lanes of the battlefield.

The more I learn of the battle the more I realise how many gaps there are in my knowledge and how a simple question from an innocent tourist can lead to a lot of subsequent reading to fill those gaps. This has lead me to read as many books and magazine articles as I can find on the subject and in the last few years we have seen some excellent additions to Waterloo literature particularly those contributions from Peter Hofschroer, Andrew Uffindel and David Hamilton-Williams. Indeed there are so many books on the Waterloo campaign that I did not think it was possible to produce any more but just when I thought it was safe to go into the bookshops another book appeared - “The Waterloo Companion - the complete guide to history’s most famous battle”. This is a coffee table-sized book and is very bulky and quite expensive. However on opening and reading it I found this to be a truly excellent work and a marvellous addition to my bookcase.

The book does not claim to be a history of the campaign although there a good account in its pages of the events during those dramatic few days. It’s title is “..a guide…” and that is just what it is although I have to say that its size and weight would preclude carrying it around the battlefield on foot and I would not recommend it as a casual pick-up guide book for the average tourist. However I would regard it as essential reading for the serious student.

The book itself is divided into 10 sections including one on the campaign, the orders of battle, the battlefield, the infantry, cavalry etc., highlights of the battle and finally myths and controversies. This last section is particularly interesting and deals with questions such as the positioning of Bijlandt’s Brigade and whether the Prussians could rightly claim the victory. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout and the photographs taken by the author himself are quite superb. I also liked the way he has superimposed on modern panoramic photographs the areas occupied by the different units on the day and in some cases used modern maps to illustrate the positions of the forces. This has the advantage of enabling visitors to get their bearings today rather then trying to navigate with a 200 year old map. There are also 16 pages of truly excellent original paintings showing the uniforms of both sides. These are particularly interesting as they show the uniforms as being well lived in and somewhat ill-fitting and probably more realistic for that.

Another excellent and very helpful feature is that one third of the text is presented in small boxes each containing snippets of fascinating information. These range from personal accounts and anecdotes to reasons why the Mont St. Jean position was chosen, the space taken by an Army Corps on the march, the targets and effects of the Grand Battery and the steps involved in spiking guns. Overall this is an excellent inclusion and provides fascinating reading. The Orders of Battle are of the highest quality and show the deployment of the guns on both sides as well. There are short biographies of all the major characters involved, sections dealing with weapons, uniforms, deployment and formations and an interesting account of the operations of D’Erlons Corps. Finally there is a very comprehensive timechart in three colours which I find to be invaluable.

Overall I found this to be a brilliant book, very informative and an absorbing read. I hope it will not be over analysed by the Waterloo experts as it is not intended to be a definitive account of the campaign but rather a guide. The book is not cheap (£40.00 is the jacket price) but is excellent value for money. It has certainly caused me to revise my guided tour notes. Extremely highly recommended.

The Waterloo Companion - the complete guide to history’s most famous battle. By Mark Adkin Aurum Press Ltd. London. Jacket Price £40.00

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