Waterloo
I am pleased to report a complete and crushing victory yesterday, the 18th of June, the year of our Lord 1815, at the town of Waterloo. Under the command of His Majesty the Emperor Napolean Bonaparte and Marshal Ney, and aided by the able commanders Reille and Lobau, we have crushed the combined forces of Wellington and Blucher once and for all.
While Reille engaged the bulk of the enemy at Hugomout, and the Emperor threatened the center with the guard, Lobau and I encircled and crushed the enemy's left flank, driving him before us until we passed La Haye Saint. As we reached La Haye Saint, Ney took a battery of cannon and advanced to support Reille's finally successful attack, as the guard moved up in its entirety, completing the annihilation of the Anglo-Allied army. A handful of their best cavalry regiments rallied throughout the day, including a group which charged Ney and his battery, wounding him and driving off the guns before being run off by our own cavalry under the command of the Emperor. The bravery exhibited by cavalry of both sides throughout the day was legendary. Many units on both sides were wiped from existence, with not a single man left standing by the end of the day. At this time however, I had begun to reassemble my corps, and move past La Haye in preperation for the soon arriving Prussians. Thankfully, in his haste to arrive in time, Blucher had fragmented his army, and I was able to destroy him piecemeal. A division of cavalry arrived first, which caused annoyance as it ranged across the field, but a brigade of heavy cavalry under the command of General Bruno defeated them reapeatedly and eventually drove them from the field. With them taken care of, and all four of my infantry divisions standing in readiness, the Emperor and Lobau began moving reinforcements to aid me when the real Prussian force arrived. They were barely in time. From the time the first prussian division was repulsed over a little stream near La Haye to the eventual defeat of their army late that evening, they applied consistent and near overwhelming pressure to my position. Quiot, Marcognet, Donzelot, and Durutte exhibited remarkable bravery, and their men were remarkable, holding off superior forces for hours on end despite heavy losses to both infantry and artillery fire. Blucher himself, as well as Prince William of Prussia were unable to break our position. Schmitz was especially exemplary. He was given a position on my extreme left, nearest to the advancing Prussian army, and as the second Prussian division was beginning to break under the pressure of both Quiot and Marcognet, as well as some artillery assigned by the Emperor, the third division arrived, threatening our flank. Lobau was commanding cavalry in the Prussian rear, attempting to disrupt and slow their advance, and Reille was still busy beating back the rallying English. Schmitz was alone. I hoped he would hold long enough to let another brigade reinforce the left when he broke. Instead, he broke nearly the entire enemy division, with some support from Pegue's brigade, and even when a fourth division came up, he held still, routing at least two of their battalions before he was finally driven back. In the end he reformed, and supported by scattered units from my corps he led the charge which drove the Prussians from the field. The battle to my south was also remarkable, though I missed most of it in my concern for my own men, whom I spent much of the battle rallying near La Haye. The Emperor's Guard, under the joint command of his Majesty and Reille, ran off at least a full corps of the enemy, at great loss to themselves. The Emperor's Dragoons suffered great casualties, with one regiment wiped out from death and injury, and the other nearly so. The Gods and The Grognards followed after them, and with a sequence of heroic charges, drove the enemy from the field. We estimated the final casualties for the enemy at more then fifty thousand, while our own men suffered less then twenty-five thousand, half of them among our cavalry, who's bravery I cannot praise enough.
The Allied Army is destroyed, and the Prussians are even now fleeing back to their homes. Who now will dare stand before His Majesty? Let any who think on it remember this day, and this place, the greatest triumph of our Emperor and our Grand Armee. Vive Le Emperor! Vive le I Corps! Vive le Waterloo!
General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, comte d'Erlon, June 19th, 1815
While Reille engaged the bulk of the enemy at Hugomout, and the Emperor threatened the center with the guard, Lobau and I encircled and crushed the enemy's left flank, driving him before us until we passed La Haye Saint. As we reached La Haye Saint, Ney took a battery of cannon and advanced to support Reille's finally successful attack, as the guard moved up in its entirety, completing the annihilation of the Anglo-Allied army. A handful of their best cavalry regiments rallied throughout the day, including a group which charged Ney and his battery, wounding him and driving off the guns before being run off by our own cavalry under the command of the Emperor. The bravery exhibited by cavalry of both sides throughout the day was legendary. Many units on both sides were wiped from existence, with not a single man left standing by the end of the day. At this time however, I had begun to reassemble my corps, and move past La Haye in preperation for the soon arriving Prussians. Thankfully, in his haste to arrive in time, Blucher had fragmented his army, and I was able to destroy him piecemeal. A division of cavalry arrived first, which caused annoyance as it ranged across the field, but a brigade of heavy cavalry under the command of General Bruno defeated them reapeatedly and eventually drove them from the field. With them taken care of, and all four of my infantry divisions standing in readiness, the Emperor and Lobau began moving reinforcements to aid me when the real Prussian force arrived. They were barely in time. From the time the first prussian division was repulsed over a little stream near La Haye to the eventual defeat of their army late that evening, they applied consistent and near overwhelming pressure to my position. Quiot, Marcognet, Donzelot, and Durutte exhibited remarkable bravery, and their men were remarkable, holding off superior forces for hours on end despite heavy losses to both infantry and artillery fire. Blucher himself, as well as Prince William of Prussia were unable to break our position. Schmitz was especially exemplary. He was given a position on my extreme left, nearest to the advancing Prussian army, and as the second Prussian division was beginning to break under the pressure of both Quiot and Marcognet, as well as some artillery assigned by the Emperor, the third division arrived, threatening our flank. Lobau was commanding cavalry in the Prussian rear, attempting to disrupt and slow their advance, and Reille was still busy beating back the rallying English. Schmitz was alone. I hoped he would hold long enough to let another brigade reinforce the left when he broke. Instead, he broke nearly the entire enemy division, with some support from Pegue's brigade, and even when a fourth division came up, he held still, routing at least two of their battalions before he was finally driven back. In the end he reformed, and supported by scattered units from my corps he led the charge which drove the Prussians from the field. The battle to my south was also remarkable, though I missed most of it in my concern for my own men, whom I spent much of the battle rallying near La Haye. The Emperor's Guard, under the joint command of his Majesty and Reille, ran off at least a full corps of the enemy, at great loss to themselves. The Emperor's Dragoons suffered great casualties, with one regiment wiped out from death and injury, and the other nearly so. The Gods and The Grognards followed after them, and with a sequence of heroic charges, drove the enemy from the field. We estimated the final casualties for the enemy at more then fifty thousand, while our own men suffered less then twenty-five thousand, half of them among our cavalry, who's bravery I cannot praise enough.
The Allied Army is destroyed, and the Prussians are even now fleeing back to their homes. Who now will dare stand before His Majesty? Let any who think on it remember this day, and this place, the greatest triumph of our Emperor and our Grand Armee. Vive Le Emperor! Vive le I Corps! Vive le Waterloo!
General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, comte d'Erlon, June 19th, 1815
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