1815: The Waterloo Campaign

Excerpts

Reviewed by Arnold Blumberg

From the Preface

"The worst behavior has come from Wellington, who without us would have been smashed to pieces. He did not keep his promises to be prepared to come to our assistance on the 16th [June], but, not considering the defeat he caused, we chivalrously came to his assistance on the 18th. We cleared his way to Paris, for without us, he would not have got there so quickly. We saved him a second battle thanks to our rapid pursuit, for it was we who scattered the enemy, so no Britons needed to fight a battle after the 18th. The man has rewarded our many services with the most contemptuous ingratitude." Letter written by General Gneisenau to Ernst Moritz Arndt, Paris, 17 August 1815.

Page 129, The Prussians Tip the Balance

While the Old Guard were retaking Plancenoit Wellington had gained valuable time to reinforce the weakened parts of his line by moving in troops from his right and others freed from his left by the arrival of Zieten's men. Napoleon's last reserve had also been fatally weakened since some of the Old Guard formations had to stay in position to fend off the Prussians.

Page 153, The Defeat of Napoleon

The Prussian pursuit after Waterloo was limited by the lack of daylight and the general exhaustion of the troops. While many stragglers were cut down or captured, and a substantial part of the artillery fell into Allied hands not a single color was taken, which indicates that the surviving rump of the French infantry regiments retained some sort of order and discipline. Gneisenau's leadership, however, ensured that this part of the Armee du Nord did not rally quickly and become a serious fighting force again. Along with his decision to retreat on Tilly and Wavre after the Battle of Ligny, this was Gneisenau's second major contribution to the Allied success.

Page 336, Waterloo -- A German Victory

The subsequent race to Paris was also largely a one-sided matter, with Blucher's men, by means of several forced marches, reaching the gates of Paris first, then circumventing its northern defenses, before forcing the surrender of that great city from the south. The Duke of Wellington followed in the trail the Prussians had blazed, his army only providing cover to the Prussian move around the south of the city. The role of the Duke's army in the difficult, and largely successful, capture of the fortress belt in Northern France was also minimal. This important achievement was accomplished in the main by Prussian forces supported by various German Contingents, and did much to ensure that prolonged resistance to the Allies did not occur. It also secured the lines of communication of the forces in the field in and around Paris and, without it, the successes the Allies had gained might not have been guaranteed.

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