Robinson The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815

1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7509-8009-8
Verlag: Spellmount
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 416 Seiten

Major Richard Llewellyn, who fought at Quatre Bras, wrote in 1837 that, 'Had it not been so closely followed by the... victory of Waterloo, perhaps the gallant exploits and unexampled bravery that marked that day would... have excited even more admiration than was actually associated with it.' This book stands out from the wealth of Napoleonic literature in that it is the first English-language account to focus solely on the battle of Quatre Bras. It is based upon extensive research and in many cases unpublished personal accounts from all participating countries, as well as a detailed topographic, aerial survey of the battlefield. These combine to provide a highly personal, balanced and authoritative work. The author unravels the controversies of a battle where commanders made errors of omission and commission and where cowardice rubbed shoulders with heroism. This is the story of a battle that turned a campaign; of triumph and disaster. It is a story of two great generals, but more importantly, of the intense human experience of those that they led. It is a book that will appeal to both the scholar and the generalist.

Mike Robinson has studied the Waterloo campaign for thirty years, eight of which have been devoted to this book. He combines television work and writing with a career in business.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Robinson, Mike

Leseproben

FOREWORD
This book is overdue by almost two hundred years. Major Richard Llewellyn, who fought at the battle of Les Quatre Bras, wrote in 1837: ‘Had it not been so closely followed by the very decisive and important, but all-absorbing victory of Waterloo, perhaps the gallant exploits and unexampled bravery that marked that day would have, under other circumstances, excited even more admiration than was actually associated with it.’ My interest in the Waterloo campaign was awakened by a Christmas gift from my parents of Carmigniani’s beautiful conception of Lachouque’s ‘Waterloo’, but like many others, I was beguiled by the climactic nature and iconic status that the final battle of the campaign has received. Some eight years ago, a change in circumstance made it possible for me to consider making my own contribution on the subject and it was only after many months of reflection and a moment of inspiration from Philip Haythornthwaite that I heard Llewellyn’s voice across time and the germ of an idea started forming in my mind. History is littered with books on virtually every aspect of the campaign: one can read about grand strategy; weapons; personal experiences and even the weather. But what I discovered was that, despite this immense body of literature, only one book had ever been written that focused solely on the battle of Les Quatre Bras, by a little-known Dutch author named J. P. Jonxis in 1875. Though Alain Arcq has subsequently published his own treatment of the battle in French, there remains no English language work on the subject. Why has the battle attracted so little attention from historians? At a strategic level, Les Quatre Bras resulted in Napoleon failing in his objective of separating the Allied armies and defeating them in detail; on 16 June 1815 he lost and never recovered the initiative. Despite earlier miscalculations, Wellington gained sufficient time to rectify his mistakes and concentrate his army, but only at the cost of some 5,000 casualties. Though the Prussians were defeated at Ligny on the same day, a French defeat at Waterloo was made infinitely more probable and the two battles can rightly be considered a turning point in the campaign. But whilst this book provides insights into the thinking of those in command, it does not seek to evaluate the performance of the generals, nor offer opinions on strategic or tactical matters. Les Quatre Bras was a confusing battle in many respects and this has led to many discussions between historians, differences of opinion and not a little controversy. Little is known of the sequence of events; long periods of time and large areas of the fighting remain shrouded in mystery; the commanders committed errors of omission and commission; and the soldiers as ever, were inconsistent, with supposedly élite units behaving poorly and the most unlikely formations performing prodigious feats of valour. These characteristics have not been helped by a degree of historical partiality which would have the English language reader believe that the victory was won by Wellington’s redcoats alone, that the German contingents played a negligible role and that the Netherlands troops, to paraphrase Ensign Edward Macready of the 30th Regiment of Foot, ‘Behaved vilely’. I have found the reality to be somewhat different. Finally, I was struck by the drama of the events and the impact that the experience had on those who took part. From the time at which the French invaded in the early hours of 15 June 1815, until the last musket shot was fired at Les Quatre Bras on the evening of the following day, events in southern Belgium escalated to a dramatic conclusion, with anxious Allied generals obliged to disregard orders based on incomplete or faulty intelligence and use their initiative to establish a weak line of resistance. On the day of the battle itself, the French assaults provoked a desperate, improvised defence, which bought time for the arrival of successive reinforcements, each time denying the French the victory that looked inevitable. What I have set out to do in writing this book is simply to tell the story of this battle: the circumstances that led to it, the fighting itself and the aftermath. History is, after all, an individual’s interpretation of the facts available to them and this book comprises my imperfect effort to present an impartial view of events. At an early stage in my thinking, I wanted to present as balanced a view as possible and I felt it was important to draw on as much primary source material as it was possible to obtain. The reader will note that, whilst I have provided references to this material in the end-notes, I have also included secondary sources where this information is more readily accessible. All the conclusions I have drawn from these accounts – whether correct or otherwise – are incorporated in the narrative and I leave it to each of you to come to your own conclusions as to their value. My starting point was the British Library and the Siborne Collection, but it soon became obvious that the number of British accounts was wholly disproportionate to that of other nations. Despite my best efforts, little of value could be found in French sources, but by a combination of luck and generosity, I was able to access material from Belgian, Brunswick, Hanoverian, Nassau and Netherlands’ accounts; much of which has never been published in English. I chose, therefore, to concentrate on events seen from the Allied side of the hill, using French accounts to corroborate where necessary. It is for this reason that there is no examination of the inactivity of the French on the morning of 16 June, no analysis of the peregrinations of General d’Erlon and no space devoted to the increasingly desperate flow of orders from Imperial Headquarters to Marshal Ney. Instead, this is the story of a battle that turned a campaign; a story of triumph and disaster; of glory and dishonour; and most importantly, a story of the intense human experience of those that took part. It is drama of the highest quality. But it is a drama that would never have been possible to tell without the generosity of those prepared to share unique insights with me. I would like to thank Earl Cathcart for providing access to the journal of the second Earl and to Michael McGarvie for his transcription. Mick Crumplin, possibly the leading expert on military surgery of the period, was kind enough to share his detailed knowledge of this grisly aspect with me. Jean-Pierre Forniaux allowed me to examine the interior of La Bergerie and shared his knowledge of the battle and of the landscape his family has farmed for generations. Julia Muir provided me with Ensign Richard Master’s memoirs and kindly permitted me to quote from them. Diana Short furnished me with information about her great-great-great uncle, Ensign Charles Short, possibly the youngest officer at Les Quatre Bras. A detailed understanding of the battlefield has greatly aided me in interpreting the sequence, timing and location of events. For this, I am deeply indebted to the officers and men of 14 (Geographic) Squadron, Royal Engineers. After two years of planning, delayed by the conflict in Iraq, Major Julian Millard kindly consented to undertake a survey of the battlefield, despite challenging operational commitments. I spent a fascinating time in the fields of Belgium in the care of Sergeant Dave Mills. My thanks to WO2 Kev Brixton, Sergeants Jon McCurry and Phil Wagh, Corporal Neil Fassam and Lance-Corporals Dougie McDougall, Andy Grubb, Lee Leighton, Jim Norton and Karl Reid; Lieutenant-Colonel James Carmichael Smyth, Wellington’s Engineer-in-Chief, would have been proud of them. Of course none of this would have been possible without the active support of Majors Tony Crook and J. P. Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel John Kedar and, finally, General J. D. Moore-Blick, CBE. I must convey my thanks to Raf Muylaert, Commercial Director, and the staff of the Institut Géographique National, Brussels, who were most generous in providing much of the data on which the survey was based. I owe a debt of gratitude also to Hubert Lardinois of the Institute, who was of great assistance in locating rare maps by Ferraris and Capitaine, the series produced for de Bas and Jackowick’s contemporary street plan of Brussels. Martin Brown, my cartographer, has made a splendid interpretation of all this information in the excellent maps he has created. Understanding how this topography has changed over time enabled me to examine certain aspects of the battle in a new light. Mention must be made of my own ‘family’ archaeologist, Chris Jones, who offered his own opinions and put me in touch with several useful experts in his field. Principal amongst these was Dr John Carman of the University of Cambridge, who provided me with his expert observations. Despite his new-found celebrity status, Tony Pollard of Glasgow University did not hesitate to correspond with me on a number of issues. In Belgium itself, I was fortunate to meet Daniel Dehon trudging up the heights of Bati-Saint-Bernard one snowy morning in February. In sharing with me details of the artefacts he has recovered from the field, I gained fresh insights into the movements of various corps, in particular how close the French came to seizing the crossroads. The difference between dream and reality has most notably been made by a small number of individuals, characterised by their unquestioning support, generosity and friendship. George Caldwell’s knowledge of the 95th Regiment of Foot is encyclopaedic. Barbara Chambers shared with me her knowledge of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. André Dellevoet passed on his insights into the Netherlands’ cavalry and van Bijlandt’s Brigade and provided me with rare eye-witness accounts. I am...