Left Wing History (4):
Waterloo 1815
Wellington
by Gary Cousins, Germany
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One of Wellington’s earliest statements (probably the earliest – his official despatch was vague) said that the cavalry was brought in from the flanks during the French cavalry attacks, and used to counter them: “The French cavalry were on the plateau
in the centre between the two high roads for
nearly three quarters of an hour, riding about
among our squares of infantry, all firing having
ceased on both sides. I moved our squares
forward to the guns; and our cavalry, which
had been detached by Lord Uxbridge to the
flanks, was brought back to the centre. The
French cavalry were then driven off.” [32]
Sometimes the decisive strokes remembered
after the event hide a more untidy reality.
The movements of the cavalry to or from
the right of the Brussels-Charleroi road during
the middle and late afternoon were:
Ponsonby’s Brigade moved to the right between
3 and 4 p.m. (order-giver not known,
but brought by Major Dawson, 1st Dragoon
Guards and AQMG); Grant’s Brigade was
initially posted on the far right, but not long
after the start of the French cavalry attacks,
(upon his own initiative, as Uxbridge acknowledged)
Grant brought most of his brigade
in towards the centre-right to join
Uxbridge's counter-attacks, where it remained
for the rest of the day; Ghigny’s Brigade
moved from the left to the right in time to take
part in the counter-attacks (order given by the
Prince of Orange – up until then, Ghigny had
been told by Uxbridge to stay on the left); the
Cumberland Hussars (or at least most of them)
were always on the right and departed from
the field at around 5 p.m. (after Seymour,
ADC to Uxbridge, failed to get them to advance
as ordered by Uxbridge and Wellington);
Merlen’s Brigade spent most of the
afternoon on the left but crossed over to the
right towards the end of the battle (order given
by his divisional commander).
These movements were made on a piecemeal basis, rather
than in accordance with a general order at a
specific time; and of the brigades “detached
by Lord Uxbridge to the flanks”, only Grant’s
joined in the counter-attacks (and its movement
was not ordered), and the French cavalry
were certainly not “driven off” by Vivian’s
and Vandeleur’s Brigades, which stayed on
the left wing throughout this period. [33]
But tangible evidence for this order appears
to exist, and is preserved at Apsley
House, formerly Wellington’s London residence:
a politely-worded “order”, written on
goatskin on the 18th June, which reads:
“We ought to have more of the Cavalry
between the two high Roads. That is to say,
three Brigades at least, besides the Brigade in
observation on the Right, & besides the Belgian
Cavalry & the D. of Cumberland’s Hussars.
One heavy & one light Brigade might
remain on the left.” [34]
This has been called the “actual order of
recall” by which Wellington told Uxbridge to
bring the cavalry in from the flanks during the
French cavalry attacks; [35] and although it
bears neither the name of the intended recipient,
nor a time, it does appear to order a
movement of cavalry to between the high
roads, (i.e., the Brussels-Charleroi and Nivelles
roads). But there are reasons to doubt this
interpretation.
For example, would an order speak of leaving a heavy brigade on the left
unless there was already one there, or at least
one available to deploy there? The only heavy
brigade to operate on the left all day,
Ponsonby’s 2nd (Union) Brigade (a brigade in
name only after its earlier charge against
D‘Erlon’s Corps, of which Wellington at least
saw the aftermath), was ordered to the right
between 3 and 4 p.m., where it was combined
with the remains of Somerset’s 1st
(Household) Brigade) - after which there was
no heavy cavalry on the left. [36]
Lack of space
precludes a detailed examination, but it would
be more consistent with the positions and
movements of the cavalry brigades, and with
justifiable assumptions about Wellington’s
plans early on the 18th June, especially regarding
the cavalry, that this order -- one might
rather say proposal – was written before the
battle even began: it is a change to the opening cavalry deployment, to bring one light brigade
from the left to the right. As to why it was
clearly not implemented then, reasons for not
weakening the left wing were suggested earlier;
and what De Lancey told Vivian before the
battle began – to look out for the Prussians,
and to keep his brigade intact, and not to
engage, until they should arrive -- fits the bill
as a “second best”.
Another statement from Wellington,
made in 1836, said that:
“…I was informed that the smoke of the
fire of [Prussian] cannon was seen occasionally
from our line behind Hougoumont at a
distance, in front of our left, about an hour before the British army advanced to the attack
of the enemy's line.
That attack was ordered possibly at about
half-past seven, when I saw the confusion in
their position upon the repulse of the last
attack of their infantry, and when I rallied and
brought up again into the first line the Brunswick
infantry.
The whole of the British and Allied cavalry
of our army was then in the rear of our
infantry. I desired that it might be collected in
rear of our centre; that is, between Hougoumont
and La Haye Sainte ...” [37]
This seems to imply that the whole of the
cavalry was collected in the centre in the early
evening, in time for the final act of the battle,
and perhaps in response to the first sighting of
Prussian support. In reality this process began
much earlier, perhaps even before the start of
the French cavalry attacks and the final approach
and intervention (at around 4.30 p.m.)
of Bülow’s IV Corps. The process was merely
completed when Vivian’s and Vandeleur’s
Brigades were freed up at some time between
6 and 7 p.m., as Zieten’s I Corps approached
the left wing.
Wellington’s statements mention no specific
order to Vivian; it is certain that Welling-ton
wanted to release Vivian’s Brigade from
the left, and the wording may hint at the conciliatory
style in which Wellington achieved his
desires, but perhaps they also reveal some rationalisation
in hindsight of what actually happened,
and they are not sufficiently precise or
accurate to answer the question of whether
Vivian was ordered to move, and if so when
and by whom. But one person claimed to have
been involved in the movement on
Wellington’s instructions…
Left Wing History (4) Vivian’s 6th (Light) Cavalry Brigade on the 18th June 1815
Left Wing History (3) Vivian’s 6th (Light) Cavalry Brigade on the 18th June 1815
Left Wing History (2) Prussian I Corps
Left Wing History (1) Waterloo 1815: Vivian's 6th Cavalry Brigade
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