The Battle of Waterloo bicentenary Infographic

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO 1815 The Battle of Waterloo, the climax of the Hundred Days and the Napoléonic Wars gan Krefeld nSELDORr In 1814, Napoleon had been exiled to the Island of Elba, but Swingen escaped to France in March 1815. Soon, he managed to form a COLOGNE oDüren LOmer l MTeuing lngant new army with which he wanted to reconquer his lost empire. mino buba C it o ulLE urnalt eglour Mostr o F Mon, r OMU The first part that he wanted to reconquer was Belgium and Net , OLens vil s R Levdey SE.Pol Doyai. E Poinant Holland. The European powers, at the Congress in Vienna, T iea ima Bastognes mobilized their armies to defeat Napoleon. Two major armies SUXEMBUR Treves made their way to Belgium. The first one was an army consisting Montdidles olo e Méeières L n o Lann.. ale Sedan Arlon Kalseralat Mannhein ERM ANY arbrücken OLetoUEN Beauvaie Ceb Kouziersl of divisions from different countries (Britain, The Netherlands, Qu isanIMS METZ Hanover, Nassau and Brunswick) under the command of the Duke of Wellington. The second army came from Prussia and ta c VERDUN Evrauxo SDenisa hlerrYEpornayclan Karly Feme Verssille Bare-Due dNanty Hoboken STRASSBURa. was led by Field Marshal Blücher. termonde aTroyes What happened next would mark the end of the dệpinal OAlost oLouv dohaumont Colhar Napoleonic era in Europe. For Napoleon was beaten rde BRUSSELS Waterloo and exiled forever to the South Atlantic island of St Helena, where he died in 1821. The Battle of mmont Quatre re-Bras edelles o oignies Waterloo is commemorating its 200 years Courcelles anniversary, here are some interesting facts about one of the greatest battles in military history. Waterloo is in Belgium, 13 kms south of the capital, Brussels. The battle actually took place in Braine-l'Alleud and Lasne, 2 kilometres or so from Waterloo. ALLIED ARMIES FRANCE UNDER THE COMMAND OF JOINT COMMANDERS The Duke of Gebhard Leberecht von WELLINGTON BLÜCHER NAPOLEON Bonaparte Allied army was made up of Seventh Coalition countries: United Kingdom, Netherlands, Hanover, Nassau, Brunswick and Prussia. The UK and Prussia made up the majority of the force. 191,000 soldiers were crammed into a battlefield that was... km? Allied army soldiers 118,000 73,000 French soldiers The incessant rain... ... on the day was such that shoes and ĉannon balls simply disappeared by their hundreds into the mud. VON RODER Merbe Braine MAN ALUGN la Haye A KILMANSEGGE SAXE WEIMAR Papelotte, Smolhain BRUNSWICK BRUNS MALTLAND 2 COLUMN NGRANT DORNBERG IM PERIAL GUARD MITCHELL AL 1COLUMN LMPERIAL GUARD Retiring) DURfTE -0000000 VONZICTHEN GERMAN LGION BYNG BACHELU Houfomont PIRCH SUBERVIE NOLD GUARD The battle begins... A diversionary attack against British-fortified Hougoumont Farm It results in a fierce, hours long confrontation. 11.30 12.30 80 French cannons open fire on the allied forces, but the cannonballs fail to inflict the hoped-for casualties on Wellington's troops because the water-logged field prevents them from bouncing. 17,000 13.30 infantrymen from the French army's launch an attack between Haie-Sainte and Papelotte farms, but they are pushed back by a bayonet attack, volleys of gunfire and a British cavalry charge. French lancers then charge English cavalry, inflicting heavy losses. 16.00 16.30 For nearly two hours, some The Prussians mount an attack 10,000 in Plancenoit village, on the French flank, where there is hand-to-hand combat. Napoleon sends in the Young Guard and the village changes hands repeatedly. Lord Uxbridge: 'By God, Sir. I've lost my leg.' horsemen break out in successive waves, but allied infantry resist, supported by what remains of the cavalry as well as artillery Duke of Wellington: deployed on a ridge. 'By God, Sir. So you have.' 18.00 The Haie-Sainte farm falls to the French and Wellington's position becomes critical. But Napoleon no longer has the infantry Ney has ordered to exploit this success and the British parry the threat. 19.30 Napoleon launches a last sharp push to smash through British lines before the bulk of Prussian troops arrive. The Imperial Guard advances relentlessly under fire but buckles after Wellington calls in all his reserves, who manage to repel it. 'Never interrupt your enemy while he's making a mistake. That's bad manners.' 20.00 The Prussians pour onto the battlefield. Seeing the Imperial Guard Napoleon retreat, Wellington orders his men to advance. 21.00 The French are routed except for holdouts from the Guard, which manage to protect the emperor's flight to Paris. Wellington and Blucher celebrate their victory near Belle-Alliance farm. Casualities and losses Allied army soldiers French soldiers 4,700. 14,600 4,700 25,000 killed killed and wounded 15,000 wounded missing missing Did you know? Wellington's boots 2,000 Amputations Were the pre-cursor Waterloo Teeth to what we now call 'wellies'. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the problem of rotten teeth was a concern that spanned the classes, and there was a sudden surfeit of teeth up up for grabs after the Battle of Waterloo, and Waterloo Teeth' quickly became applicable to any set of teeth pilfered from the mouth of a dead soldier. Waterloo Medal A medal was given to every British soldier who fought at The Battle of There were 2,000 amputations performed at Waterloo as a result of the battle. Waterloo. Sources The British Library, Wikipedia, BBC iWonder, Waterloo 2015, Royal Engineers Museum, Waterloo Association, The Daily Telegraph.