Waterloo: the French perspective

The story of the Battle of Waterloo - of the ultimate defeat of Napoleon and the French, the triumph of Wellington, Blücher and their allied armies - is most often told from the viewpoint of the victors, not the vanquished. Even after 200 years of intensive research and the publication of hundreds of books and articles on the battle, the French perspective and many of the primary French sources are underrepresented in the written record. So it is high time this weakness in the literature - and in our understanding of the battle - was addressed, and that is the purpose of Andrew Field's thought.

List of Maps; List of Illustrations; Preface; Introduction; Section OneSetting the Scene; 1. The French Army of 1815; 2. Preliminary Moves; Section TwoPrelude to Battle; 3. The Night Before; 4. The Morning of Battle -- 1am to 11.30am; Section Three11.30am to 1.30pm; 5. The First Attacks on Hougoumont; 6. The Grand Battery; 7. The First Sightings of the Prussians; Section Four1.30pm to 3.30pm; 8. Preparations for d'Erlon's Attack; 9. The First Assault on La Haye Sainte; 10. The Attack on the Ohain Road; 11. The Counter-Attack of the British Cavalry; 12. Hougoumont.

13. The Second Assault on La Haye SainteSection Five3.30pm to 6.00pm; 14. The Prussians Arrive on the Battlefield; 15. The Great French Cavalry Attacks; 16. The Prussian Pressure Begins to Mount; Section Six6.00pm to 8.00pm; 17. The Taking of La Haye Sainte and the Real Crisis; 18. The Defence of Planchenoit; 19. The Attack of the Middle Guard; 20. The Rout Begins; 21. The Sacrifice of the Old Guard; Section Seven8.00pm to 1.00am; 22. The Loss of Planchenoit; 23. The Disintegration of the French Army; 24. The Last Squares; 25. The Road to Genappe; Section EightTactical Notes.

Napoleon's Attack OptionsHougoumont; The Co…