Discussing Napoleon's Battle Plan for Waterloo (Belgium) over Lunch with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
As my
husband Laurent and I drove towards Belgium for a weekend trip in Brussels, I
thought of how many times Belgium has been a battlefield or subject to foreign
powers. Our touring guide did not gloss
over any of Belgium’s painful history.
Instead the Belgique, Duché de Luxembourg Michelin
guide lists Belgium’s 500 years under
foreign domination before it notes tourist sites. The monarchies or states that controlled
Belgium during this 500-year period include: the Dukes of Burgundy (1384 –
1482), the Hapsbourgs (1482 – 1701), the Austrian Netherlands (1701 – 1795),
France (1795 – 1814), and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1814 – 1831). In the twentieth century, Germany also
occupied Belgium from 1940 – 1944.
On this
trip, Laurent and I visited Waterloo, which is about fifteen minutes
outside Brussels. I had read about
Waterloo in 100 Decisive Battles: From
Ancient Times to the Present Day by Paul K. Davis several years prior to
our visit. Davis writes that Napoleon
Bonaparte’s (1769 – 1821) strategy was one of “a separation of enemy forces” or
“divide and conquer” in the jargon of office politics.
I remembered
Napoleon’s strategy from Waterloo, but not the specifics of this battle, which
took place on June 18, 1815. Laurent
drew a map of the battlefield on my paper place mat at the Wellington Café of the battlefield site.
The A-shaped
battlefield had Napoleon in the center facing the Anglo-Dutch forces under
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (1769 – 1852). Prussian forces under Field Marshal Prince
Gebhard von Blücher (1742 – 1819) arrived on the right flank of Napoleon’s
forces in the late afternoon (after 4 pm), allowing the Anglo-Dutch forces and
Prussian forces to defeat Napoleon at once.
The
Anglo-Dutch forces under Wellington held off Napoleon’s forces until the
Prussian forces could arrive. This
resistance completely undid Napoleon’s plans to defeat each force separately;
instead he had to fight both forces at once from the middle of a triangular
battlefield.
Rainy
weather contributed to Napoleon’s defeat by making intelligence difficult and
creating muddy battleground conditions for his cavalry as well.
The
battleground was hot and dry when we visited.
Laurent walked the entire battlefield on foot as his souvenir of the
site. I hoped that Belgium would never
have to be a battlefield again.
By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Ruth Paget Selfie |
