Published by Greenhill Books, 1994.
hardbound, ISBN: 1-85367-182-7
272 pages, plus 16 pages containing 27 B&W photos, 6 line drawings, 20 maps, three appendices (excerpts from original source material), Bibliography, Index.

Although the title of this book might lead you to believe it is about the Battle of Ligny, The Eagle's Last Triumph: Napoleon's Victory at Ligny, June 1815 describes the opening moves of the Waterloo campaign, the Battles of Quatre-Bras and Ligny, and the aftermath of these twin battles, including a recap of Waterloo. As such, it dissipates much of its energy on events other than, although related to, the actual Battle of Ligny. While not an undesirable trait in a book on the Waterloo campaign, Uffindell's efforts to examine the actual Battle of Ligny amounts to less than half the book.

Certainly the preconceived notion about examining the Battle of Ligny becomes ever more distant as the pages open with a four-page summary of events from the French Revolution to Napoleon's return from exile, then delves into brief profiles of Napoleon, Ney, Soult, Grouchy, Blucher, Gneisenau, Wellington, and various corps commanders, as well as descriptions of the "brilliant but unstable" French army, the "primitive set up" of the Prussian army, and the "erratic" British-Dutch-German army. These are too simplistic to be useful, though blessedly brief.

Quatre-Bras

Arguably, you cannot examine Ligny without looking at Quatre-Bras, and Uffindell dives into Quatre-Bras first, tracking the corp movements and initial dispositions, the Dutch disregard for Wellington's mustering orders that placed them in Nivelles instead of the crossroads, and the quick French march that led Wellington to declare, "Napoleon has humbugged me, by God! He has gained 24 hours march on me!"

Uffindell's examination of the intelligence operation and the communication triangle of Lt. Col. Grant, Gen. Dornberg, and Wellington, including some extensive footnotes and extracts, shows the author at his best. He turns in solid and exacting writing turning on a small yet important point. He switches back and forth easily between the British, French, and Prussian preparations and maneuvers, leading to the 45-minute meeting between Wellington and Blucher at the Bussy windmill near Ligny.

The order of battle is a disappointment on the tactical level. While it certainly lists the corps, divisions, and regiments, that is as far as it goes--you get no idea on the number of battalions per regiment, nor the strength of anything lower than the corps level. Again, this is another example of entering the book with the idea that it is a look at the Battle of Ligny and not about the opening part of the Waterloo campaign. However, since it is the only OOB in the book, it should be reasonably expected to delve into the tactical details.

Ligny

Pages 91 through 120 detail the Battle of Ligny. Uffindell competently weaves the various movements, attacks, and counterattacks together to give you a sense of the tactical-level confusion within the greater operational whole. He breaks the battle down into four distinct phases, which helps readers understand how the battle developed.

Tactical anecdotes, often from memoirs, become embedded within the operational narrative, and indeed, he finds some excellent ones. For example, this one from Captain Charles Francois of the French 30th Regiment as it entered the confused street fighting within the town of Ligny:

"No one," Francois bitterly remembered, "no one was in command. No generals, no staff members, no aides de camps were in sight." (p.94)

Or this, towards the end of the battle, from a Prussian brigade commander (sadly, not named):

My men have fired off all their cartridges and also emptied the pouches of the dead. They cannot fire a single shot more." (p.106)

Style in Your Eye

If Uffindell had let history do the retelling of the battle, all would be well. However, he stamps an over-dramatized style all over the narrative, hammering heavy-handed metaphor and simile into descriptions until it dulls your senses. Worse, after some 100 pages of literary cacaphony, the prose starts to get in the way of the narrative. Although in some ways commendable in the attempt to add some spice to historical narrative, the effect is as deadly as bland recitation of historical maneuvers.

For example, Uffindell peppers the narrative with sentences like these:

"Drilled and disciplined troops had turned into wild animals." (p.95)

"The Prussian skirmishers plunged into La Haye and smote Girard's men with a continuous fusillade." (p. 96)

"The intense heat was like that of a volcanic eruption." (p.99)

In the overall analysis of the battle towards the end of the book, Uffindell quickly devolves into a simile-fest, to wit, comparing Napoleon style of command at Ligny to Montgomery at El Alamein, or likening Blucher to Don Quixote, "but he had a Sancho Panza in Gneisenau." (p. 193).

In limited doses, these admittedly random sentences would be a perfectly acceptable, perhaps an effective method, of injecting some passion into narrative. Indeed, it is all too easy to focus on these literary excesses and overlook analytical points, maneuvers, and actions. But when most of the prose reads like this, the effect is overkill and detracts from the obvious care in which Uffindell researched the battle.

D'Erlon and the March-Countermarch

The link between Quatre-Bras and Ligny, already well investigated by the author, gets another boost from an analysis of D'Erlon's march between two battlefields and who is to "blame" for the march and countermarch, with "blame assignment" in the sense of an examination of the orders and records.

Like the intelligence analysis, Uffindell becomes effective in crafting a tightly-knit version of the events that created the D'Erlon legacy. The actions of ADC Col. Forbin-Janson loom large in the figuring, although the author spreads blame among a cast of characters. It is quite fascinating to look at the march against a backdrop of timing.

An even more interesting nugget of information is the line of march, which was taking D'Erlon behind French lines instead of on the flank of the Prussian position, as Napoleon expected. A fresh corp anywhere would have been a great help, expecially on the left, but against an overview of tracks (roads would be too kind a description), a wrong turn put D'Erlon's corp (or at least the divisions he left behind when he turned about to march back to Quatre-Bras) in a more reserve role than flanking force.

Present Day Battlefield

If you can't visit the battlefield, the black and white photos Uffindell includes helps visualize the salient geographical points. D'Erlon's route of march, village strongpoints (like the Ligny square and Le Haye farm), and views across fields help show the difficulties encountered by troops of both sides.

Indeed, they are far better than the maps, which provide no better service than general positions of brigade and larger formations. The pie and bar charts outlining army strengths and losses are acceptable, neither adding nor detracting from understanding the campaign.

Summary

Think of The Eagle's Last Triumph: Napoleon's Victory at Ligny, June 1815 less as a description of the Battle of Ligny proper, and more as an introductory text about the Waterloo campaign. If this was the only Napoleonic tome about Waterloo, you will be well served by this "reader's digest" version of the campaign.

The text actually devoted to the Battle of Ligny renders the combat as well as most books--with brigades and divisions moving here and there, transcribed unit orders, and individual anecdotes culled from memoirs and punctuating the action. Sadly, the writing style often gets in the way of the narrative, blistering the senses with over-dramatized metaphors and similes better reserved for pulp fiction--a somewhat commendable effort lacking the necessary finesse for success.

Once you get past the tortured prose, you will find bits and pieces of interest about Ligny and its surrounding battles and movements. Probably, the strategic issues will be less appealing than the tactical ones. Finding these tidbits within The Eagle's Last Triumph takes effort, and depending on your level of knowledge and expertise, may be worth the expenditure of time.

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