napoleon526
Emperor
This is subject very near and dear to my heart. The Duke of Wellington called Waterloo "The nearest run thing you ever saw." Here are some things to consider:
-- The night before the battle, heavy rain had soaked the ground, making it muddy. This delayed the primary French attack until 11:00 AM. If Napoleon had ignored the mud, or if it had not rained, could an earlier attack by French forces have succeeded in defeating the British/Dutch/German army before the arrival of Blucher's Prussians?
-- Marshal Ney squandered the French cavalry by making futile charges again and again against the British squares. What if Ney had shown uncharacteristic restraint and held his cavalry back? Or, what if he had supported the cavalry with horse artillery? Could he have blown the infantry squares apart and routed the Allied army?
-- Napoleon opened the battle with an attack on Hougomont, a chateau forward of the Allied right flank. His intent was to draw British reserves away from their left-center, where he intended to make his primary attack. Wellington was not fooled by the feint, though. However, the force assigned to capture the chateau, the 6th Infantry Division under the command of Napoleon's brother Jerome, continued to attack the strondhold throughout the rest of the battle. Everntually, most of Reille's II Corps became involved in the fruitless attempt to take the stronghold. Could these troops (nearly 15,000) made a difference elsewhere on the battlefield?
-- While the main French army was engaging the allied army, 2 Corps under Marshal Grouchy were pursuing the defeated Prussian army. Grouchy decided to follow his orders to the letter, and ignore Napoleon's standing order to "march to the sound of the guns." If he had arrived at the field of Waterloo, could his 30,000 men have held off the Prussians and allowed more strength to be brought to bear against Wellington?
Well, what do you think? If any or all of these events had gone differently, could Napoleon have marched victoriously into Brussels that evening?
-- The night before the battle, heavy rain had soaked the ground, making it muddy. This delayed the primary French attack until 11:00 AM. If Napoleon had ignored the mud, or if it had not rained, could an earlier attack by French forces have succeeded in defeating the British/Dutch/German army before the arrival of Blucher's Prussians?
-- Marshal Ney squandered the French cavalry by making futile charges again and again against the British squares. What if Ney had shown uncharacteristic restraint and held his cavalry back? Or, what if he had supported the cavalry with horse artillery? Could he have blown the infantry squares apart and routed the Allied army?
-- Napoleon opened the battle with an attack on Hougomont, a chateau forward of the Allied right flank. His intent was to draw British reserves away from their left-center, where he intended to make his primary attack. Wellington was not fooled by the feint, though. However, the force assigned to capture the chateau, the 6th Infantry Division under the command of Napoleon's brother Jerome, continued to attack the strondhold throughout the rest of the battle. Everntually, most of Reille's II Corps became involved in the fruitless attempt to take the stronghold. Could these troops (nearly 15,000) made a difference elsewhere on the battlefield?
-- While the main French army was engaging the allied army, 2 Corps under Marshal Grouchy were pursuing the defeated Prussian army. Grouchy decided to follow his orders to the letter, and ignore Napoleon's standing order to "march to the sound of the guns." If he had arrived at the field of Waterloo, could his 30,000 men have held off the Prussians and allowed more strength to be brought to bear against Wellington?
Well, what do you think? If any or all of these events had gone differently, could Napoleon have marched victoriously into Brussels that evening?
