18 June 1815 · Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium
All casualty figures are approximate and vary between historical sources.
Prince Jérôme Bonaparte's division assaulted the walled chateau and farm complex on Wellington's right flank. What Napoleon intended as a diversion drew in ever more French troops throughout the day, while the British and Nassauer defenders held the buildings and the orchard against repeated infantry attacks.
Four divisions of the Comte d'Erlon's I Corps, approximately 16,000 men, advanced in dense columns against the Allied line east of the Brussels road. They overran La Haye Sainte's garden and reached the crest of the ridge before being thrown back by Picton's division and the charge of the Household and Union cavalry brigades.
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, commanding the 5th Division, was shot through the head while leading his brigade forward to meet d'Erlon's columns. He was the most senior Allied officer killed in the battle; he had fought in civilian clothes, his uniform having been lost in transit.
Marshal Ney, possibly misreading a realignment of Allied units as a withdrawal, launched wave after wave of unsupported heavy cavalry against Wellington's infantry squares on the right-centre of the ridge. Without infantry or horse artillery support the cuirassiers and lancers could not break the squares, and over two hours were repulsed with devastating losses.
The King's German Legion garrison under Major Baring, having exhausted their rifle ammunition, was overwhelmed by French infantry. The fall of this central position opened a gap in Wellington's line and allowed French skirmishers to fire directly into the Allied squares at close range, causing severe casualties.
Blücher's leading corps under Bülow attacked the village of Plancenoit on Napoleon's right rear, threatening the French line of retreat along the Brussels road. Napoleon was forced to divert the Young Guard and eventually two battalions of the Old Guard to hold the village, weakening his reserves at the critical moment.
Napoleon committed his last reserve. Five battalions of the Middle and Old Guard advanced up the slope of Mont-Saint-Jean in echelon towards the Allied line. They were met by devastating musket volleys from Maitland's Guards brigade, who had been lying down behind the crest, and were then struck in the flank by the 52nd Light Infantry under Colonel Colborne.
The Imperial Guard broke and retreated, the first time the Old Guard had ever been seen to give ground in battle. The cry 'La Garde recule!' spread through the French army. Wellington, standing in his stirrups, waved his hat forward and ordered a general advance. The French army disintegrated into a rout pursued by Prussian cavalry into the night.
The walled chateau, farm and orchard on the Allied right. Defended throughout the day by the Coldstream and Third Guards, Nassauers and Hanoverians, against repeated French infantry and artillery assault. Its defence pinned down a disproportionate number of French troops. Wellington later said that the outcome of the battle turned upon the closing of the gates of Hougoumont.
The farmhouse astride the Brussels road in the centre of Wellington's line. Garrisoned by the 2nd Light Battalion of the King's German Legion armed with Baker rifles, it held out for most of the day until its ammunition was exhausted around 18:00. Its fall was the crisis of the battle, opening a gap through which French skirmishers poured fire into the Allied line.
The hamlet and farm complex on the Allied far left, held by Nassauer troops under Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. It formed the hinge between Wellington's line and the arriving Prussian forces. Fighting here was fierce but secondary to the main action; its importance lay in anchoring the junction between the two Allied armies.
Wellington's chosen defensive position: a low east-west ridge bisected by the Brussels road. His infantry were deployed on the reverse slope, sheltered from direct French artillery fire. They rose to deliver volleys only when the French crested the ridge, then retired behind the crest again. This use of ground was Wellington's signature tactic from the Peninsula, and it blunted Napoleon's artillery advantage throughout the day.
Directed the battle from the ridge of Mont-Saint-Jean, repeatedly riding forward to the most threatened points under heavy fire. He later described Waterloo as the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life. He survived the battle unscathed.
Commanded the French army from the inn of La Belle Alliance, south of the battlefield. He committed the Imperial Guard too late and with too little support. After the rout he fled to Paris and abdicated four days later; he died in exile on St Helena in 1821.
Led the great cavalry charges against Wellington's squares and personally directed the Imperial Guard's final advance. He had five horses shot under him during the day. He was tried and executed by the restored Bourbon government in December 1815.
Seventy-two years old and only two days recovered from being ridden over at the Battle of Ligny, he marched his army to Wellington's aid and struck Napoleon's right flank at Plancenoit in the late afternoon. His arrival decided the battle.
The most senior Allied officer killed at Waterloo. He was shot through the head while leading Kempt's brigade in a counter-charge against d'Erlon's corps at approximately 14:30. He had fought the day concealing a wound received at Quatre Bras two days earlier.
Commanded a battalion of the Old Guard in the final stand. Tradition attributes to him the defiant reply when summoned to surrender; the exact words are disputed by historians. He was wounded and captured on the field.
Skirmished ahead of the main line throughout the day
Received the Imperial Guard's final charge at the crest
Flanked the Imperial Guard under Colonel Colborne
Defended La Haye Sainte until ammunition ran out
Held squares against cavalry on the right-centre
Charged with the Household Brigade against d'Erlon
Advanced up the ridge at 19:30 and were repulsed for the first time in their history
Led Ney's great cavalry charges against Wellington's squares
Blücher's IV Corps under Bülow struck Plancenoit on Napoleon's right flank from late afternoon; I and II Corps arrived progressively through the evening, completing the pursuit after the French rout.
Genuine verbatim extracts from published public-domain memoirs
I had never yet heard of a battle in which everybody was killed; but this seemed likely to be an exception, as all were going by turns.
SourceAdventures in the Rifle Brigade by Captain John Kincaid, 1830. Public domain.
On they came in compact squadrons, one behind the other, so numerous that those of the rear were still below the brow when the head of the column was but at some sixty or seventy yards from us, and all the while the ground shook beneath their thundering tramp.
SourceJournal of the Waterloo Campaign by General Cavalié Mercer, 1870. Public domain.
The word of command, “Prepare to receive cavalry,” had been given, every man in the front ranks knelt, and a wall bristling with steel, held together by steady hands, presented itself to the infuriated cuirassiers.
SourceReminiscences and Recollections of Captain Gronow, 1862. Public domain.
The modern visitor centre at the foot of the Lion’s Mound offers an immersive underground exhibition covering all three days of the campaign (Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo) with panoramic film, artefacts and a 3D battle model. It is the starting point for any visit to the battlefield.
waterloo1815.beThe walled farm complex on the Allied right has been restored and opened as a museum. The north gate, where the fighting was fiercest, is preserved; the chapel and courtyard still show marks of the battle. It is a short walk across the fields from the Mémorial.
The 40-metre artificial hill topped by a cast-iron lion was raised by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the 1820s on the approximate spot where the Prince of Orange was wounded. Two hundred and twenty-six steps lead to a panoramic view of the entire battlefield. Wellington is said to have complained that the construction of the mound had altered the landscape he fought over.
The battlefield is approximately 20 km south of Brussels. Regular buses run from Brussels-Midi station to Braine-l’Alleud (line W); the journey takes about 40 minutes. By car, follow the N5 south from Brussels towards Charleroi. The Mémorial car park is well signposted from the motorway exit. Allow a full day to visit the visitor centre, the Lion’s Mound, Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte on foot.
Cornwell’s own non-fiction account of the campaign, drawing on letters, diaries and dispatches to reconstruct the four days from Napoleon’s crossing of the frontier to the rout on the Brussels road.
Buy on Amazon →The single-volume standard in English on Napoleon as a soldier. Chandler’s account of the Waterloo campaign runs to over a hundred pages and remains essential reading for any serious student of the battle.
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