Waterloo E-Book

Manfred Göddert

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 118

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Numerous myths surround the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, as it was most likely Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. The battle probably became so famous because it sealed Napoleon's downfall and led to the deaths of thousands of soldiers. Having only just returned from exile on Elba in March 1815, Napoleon's second reign ended with his defeat at Waterloo and his exile to the South Sea island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821. But what really happened on June 18, 1815? The author provides a precise overview of the events of this historic day and the days leading up to it.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

June 18, 1815

"To my people!"

Blücher

Gneisenau

The campaign of 1815 at a glance

Situation of the Prussian army on 14.06.1815

Budget of the Prussian army

A soldier from 1815

How did one become a soldier?

The infantry

The cavalry

The artillery

Bullet shooting

Ligny

First sign of the Prussians

Plancenoit

Wavre

Casualties

Index of persons

Bibliography

Waterloo - The Prussians

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Orientierungsmarken

Cover

June 18, 1815

"Whether he was afraid of forgiving himself or his army - I do not know, but in his preliminary report to England he (Wellington) had probably already called the battle

"Battle of Waterloo"

for he was in the habit of naming the battles he won in India and Spain after his headquarters."

Müffling, From his life.

"To my people!"

"When, in the time of danger, I called my people to arms to fight for the freedom and independence of the fatherland, the entire youth took to the flags, vying to endure unaccustomed hardships with joyful renunciation and determined to face death themselves; then the strength of the people fearlessly joined the ranks of my brave soldiers and my commanders led an army of heroes into battle with me, who proved themselves worthy of the name of their fathers, as heirs to their glory. Thus we and our allies, accompanied by victories, conquered the enemy's capital; our flags waved in Paris, Napoleon renounced his rule; the German fatherland was given freedom, the thrones security and the world the hope of lasting peace.

This hope has vanished, we must go into battle anew. The man who spread unspeakable misery over the nations for ten years has been led back to France by a treacherous conspiracy. The dismayed people have not been able to resist his armed followers; his abdication of the throne, although he himself still possessed a considerable army, which he declared to be a voluntary sacrifice made for the happiness and tranquillity of France, he respects, like every treaty, for nothing; he stands at the head of soldiers who have broken their oaths and who want to perpetuate the war; Europe is threatened anew, it cannot tolerate the man on France's throne who loudly proclaimed world domination as the purpose of his constantly renewed wars, who destroyed the moral world through continued breach of promise and can therefore offer no guarantee of a peaceful disposition.

So into battle anew! France itself needs our help and the whole of Europe is allied with us. United with your old companions in victory, strengthened by new comrades in arms, you, good Prussians, go with me, with the princes of my house, with the generals who led you to victory, into a necessary, just war. The righteousness of the cause we are defending ensures our victory ...

Vienna, April 7, Friedrich-Wilhelm King of Prussia

Blücher

Napoleon on Blücher:

"Blücher is a very well-behaved soldier, a bon sabreur, a capable sabre-man. He is like the bull who closes his eyes and, seeing no danger, charges. He made countless mistakes; if circumstances had not intervened, I could have captured him and most of his army several times. Blücher is stubborn and tenacious, he does not tire, he fears nothing, he clings to his fatherland with great love, he is not a talented general. I remember that when I was in Prussia, after he had surrendered, he was my dinner guest; he was taken for an ordinary man by those around me."

Barry E. O'Meara, St. Helena, November 09, 1816

Gerhard Leberecht, Prince Blücher von Wahlstadt, was born in Rostock in 1742. He joined the Swedish hussar regiment Sparre at the age of 15. He transferred to the Prussian army in 1760. After he felt he had been passed over for promotion in 1770 and lodged a protest with the king, he was imprisoned for nine months. It was not until 1787 that he was reinstated as a major by Frederick William II. He was appointed colonel in 1791 and major general in 1794. He died on September 12, 1817 near Krieblowitz in Silesia.

According to Müffling, General von Kleist disliked Blücher's coarse, often rough exterior and his light-hearted conversations, which always embarrassed him and often made him blush.

Blücher knew that he was a man of the people. His speeches were about love of country and liberation from the pressure of the tyrant. He had become accustomed to speaking in public at large gatherings. He delivered his speeches so emphatically that they never failed to make an impact. After the victory over the French, he received an invitation from the English king to visit England. There he made the same positive impression on the masses.

But what does Müffling go on to say?

"But what was it really like with Blücher? It was no secret throughout Europe that the old Prince Blücher, now over seventy years old, knew nothing at all about warfare. So little, in fact, that when a plan was presented to him for approval, even if it concerned an insignificant operation, he was unable to form a clear picture of it and make a judgment as to whether it was good or bad.

This circumstance required that a man be placed at his side in whom he had confidence and in whom he had the inclination and skill to use it for the general good. Gneisenau had proved himself to be such a man during two campaigns, and since Blücher had gained his European reputation through these two campaigns, there was no reason not to hand over command of the Prussian army to him in the same way as in the previous two years.

However, the more it became known that Gneisenau commanded the army, and that Blücher was only the bravest in battle and the most indefatigable in his efforts, setting the example and inspiring with fiery speeches, the more dissatisfaction arose among the four generals (Bülow, Kleist, York, Tauentzien) who had led army corps in 1814 and were older in their patents than Gneisenau.

However, it should not be overlooked that there was a mutual dislike between these generals and Gneisenau from the years 1811 and 1812, which the generals von dem Knesebeck and Borstell shared with most of the higher officers in the army. Gneisenau and Boyen Grolmann were described as the most active members of the League of Virtue, which was accused of having very anti-royalist tendencies. Gneisenau, who knew his opponents well, had adopted the system of confronting them openly and with great energy. If his service brought him close to them, he was coldly closed off, and his intention to repel them was recognized, which was amply reciprocated."

So much for Müffling.

To prevent further difficulties, the first three corps were transferred under the command of Zieten, Borstell and Thilemann. These three generals were younger than Gneisenau. The fourth, intended as a reserve in the Rhine provinces, was under the command of Bülow. It was assumed that this corps would not see combat action. Tauentzien, York and Kleist received other honorable appointments.

The fact that Borstell no longer appeared as corps commander was due to the fact that he was suspended by Blücher. The reason was that Borstell had not complied with the order to punish the Saxon Guard Battalion, which had revolted in Liège, as requested. According to the order, the battalion flag, embroidered by the Saxon queen, was to be burned. General von Pirch II was given his post and Borstell was sentenced to imprisonment in a fortress.

After the battle of Lübeck in 1806, Blücher was taken prisoner by the French. He spent this time under the supervision of Bourrienne in Hamburg. What did he say about Blücher? From his memoirs:

Blücher seemed to me to be one of those men you like to get to know better, so I saw him often. I found him to be an exaggerated Prussian patriot, by the way, brave, daring to the point of audacity; he had been neglected in his studies in his youth, had an insatiable desire to amuse himself, and did not spare his health at all as long as he was in Hamburg. He liked to sit at the table for long periods of time, and for all his love of his fatherland, he did full and frequent justice to France's weeping. His passion for women was most intemperate, nor could he find a more agreeable pastime than receiving or spending gold for several hours at the Pharaoh's game.

Blücher was a man of a cheerful character, and, considered merely as a companion, very amiable. I liked his original colloquial language immensely. He was so completely convinced of the future liberation of Germany that all the misfortunes of the Prussian army did not shake his faith.

Gneisenau

The tactician - responsible for execution.

August Wilhelm Anton Neidhardt Count von Gneisenau, born on October 27, 1760 in Schilda, before the Battle of Torgau, as the son of a Saxon artillery lieutenant von Neidhartd, from an old Austrian family. He joined the Wurmser Austrian Hussar Regiment in 1779. He had to leave the Austrian army in the same year due to a duel. In 1782 he became an officer in the service of Margrave Alexander of Bayreuth-Ansbach. In the same year, he went to America with his regiment in English pay as a result of the trade in soldiers and fought against the rebellious colonies.

In 1786, he joined the army of Frederick the Great. In 1806, he fought at Saalfeld. In 1807, he was appointed commander in Kolberg on the Baltic Sea. He held the hard-pressed fortress for three months until the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit.

In recognition, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded the order "Pour le mérite". In 1807, he was appointed by the king to the Military Reorganization Commission. Together with Stein and Scharnhorst, he worked on the reorganization of the Prussian state. In 1809 he was promoted to colonel and appointed inspector of all fortresses and head of the engineering corps. After Stein's dismissal, he resigned from the Prussian army in 1809 and traveled to Austria, Russia and England.

In 1813, at the beginning of the War of Liberation, he returned. He became Quartermaster General and, after the death of Scharnhorst, Chief of Staff of the Silesian Army. As such, he knew how to masterfully direct Blücher's stormy initiative. The march of the Silesian Army from the battlefield of Ligny to that of Waterloo in 1815, in support of Wellington, is to his credit.

Gneisenau never led an army on his own, yet he was a great general. He retired to private life as early as 1816. When the Polish uprising broke out in 1831, he was recalled. Here he died of cholera on August 24, 1831, as commander-in-chief of four army corps in Poznan.

The campaign of 1815 at a glance

Strength of the Prussian army on June 15

See exact list

Strength of the French army on June 15:

89.400

Infantry men

22.300

men cavalry

12.300

Artillery

124.000

men with 344 guns

Strength of the British army on June 15:

70.700

Infantry

16.000

men cavalry

8.700

Artillery

95.400

men with 186 guns

Course of the campaign:

June 15

4.00 a.m. The Prussian outposts in Thuin are pushed back by the French corps Reille. Corps Reille pushed back. First Prussian losses. Retreat via Marchienne, Dampremy towards Gilly.

8.00 a.m. The Domon Division of the French Corps Vandamme attacks. Corps Vandamme attacks the Prussians near Charleroi. At noon, the Young Guard enters Charleroi. The Prussians, belonging to the Pirch II Brigade of the Ziethen Corps, retreat towards Fleurus, their assembly point.

17.00 The French Corps Reille arrives at Goss. Reille Corps meets the Steinmetz Brigade at Gosselies. After a short skirmish, the Prussians retreat. The Pirch II Brigade, which has entrenched itself near Gilly, is thrown by strong French units under Grouchy and partly cut down. Retreat via Lambusart to Fleurus. The Prussian losses on June 15 amounted to about 1,200 men.

Movements of the other Prussian corps: On Blücher's orders, the Pirch I and Thielemann corps advanced to Sombreffe to assemble here. Blücher had set up his headquarters here. Bülow still had his headquarters in Liège that evening. There was no plausible explanation for this.

20.00 Wellington orders his troops to unite and be ready to march off immediately.

23.00 Wellington orders his troops to take up their designated staging areas.

June 16

8.00 a.m. Napoleon issues the new marching orders. Ney is to advance on Quatre-Bras, while he himself advances on Sombreffe with Grouchy.

10.00 a.m. Wellington arrives at Quatre-Bras with his staff. The French occupy Fleurus.

13.00 Wellington meets Blücher at the mill of Bussy near Ligny. Here he promises to support the Prussians in their fight against the French. On this promise, Blücher accepts the battle of Ligny.

14:30 The attack of 68,000 French (13,000 cavalry and 210 guns) against 87,000 Prussians (8,500 cavalry and 224 guns) begins. The first direction of attack for the French is St. Armand.

15.00 The French attack in the direction of Ligny begins. A murderous battle of houses and streets breaks out all along the line.

18.30 The Erlon army corps (approx. 20,000 men) arrives on the battlefield. Napoleon does not take advantage of the opportunity to roll up the Prussian right wing with fresh troops. The Erlon Corps is no longer deployed on this day.

20:30 The Old Guard and the Guards cavalry, ordered by Napoleon to attack, reach Ligny. The Prussian positions, which no longer have any reserves to fall back on, are blown up by the force of their attack.

21:00 A Prussian attack against the advancing French fails. Blücher is buried under his shot horse. His adjutant Nostitz rescues him from the French.

21.30 The French take up position between Brye and Sombreffe. Napoleon refrains from pursuing the defeated Prussians at night.

Prussian losses: 20,448 dead and wounded

French losses: 11,500 killed and wounded

June 16