As yesterday's question sparked some fun and interesting chat, here's another one with no right answer that we can throw out there (especially off the back of the Forgotten Foreign Forces pods): Which unit in any of the three armies of the Waterloo campaign do you think has been unfairly underrated, and why? (If you would rather talk about a brigade or type of unit, rather than a specific regiment, then be my guest!)
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British line Infantry. Okay they are more talked about than the Dutch Milita & Infantry, but line regiments, such as the 33rd/69th combined took part in the desperate defence of the ridge.
Whereas British historians tend to focus on the Heavy Cavalry & Guards...
But then that leads me onto the Light Cavalry (of all allied nations) who can a fraction of the attention of the Union and the Household brigades of cavalry. And of course the Nassau troops that help Hougoumont too...
Lots indeed. But I want to remember the normal Thomas Atkins in the story who were "That article there" which Wellington depended upon.
This is a really tricky one for me; I have been wracking my brains for a unit which performed really creditably, but has had little recognition. I tend to agree with Marcus; the 'unfashionable' British line regiments fought magnificently but tend to be forgotten. But as that seems to be a 'kop out', I would like to nominate Lobau's VI Corps of two weak divisions which faced the ever -increasng numerical superiority of the Prussians which bought the time for Napoleon to launch his last, hopeless(!) attempt to break Wellington's line.
the Nassau battalion which heroically defended Hougomot (along with British and Brunswick units) - one gets the impression it were some heroes of the British Guards doing it by single hand.
Yes, that's a myth that annoyed me massively when I learnt the truth.
In the beginning Hougoumont was also defended by Hanoverian "Feldjäger" under Captain v. Reden and a detachment from the FB Lüneburg. In the end the KGL brigade of Colonel du Plat was heavily engaged in the gardens around Hougoumont. And from the "unnoticed" cavalry: the 1st Light (formerly Heavy) Dragoons and the 3rd Hussars, KGL were engaged and head heavy casualties but are mostly forgotten.
@Michael-Andreas Tänzer
Any Brunswick units as well??
Could be by an series of articles by Wacker or Schirmer, can find only part one - but alas than a huge amount of dust and finding other stuff - which I forgot to have - no success so far.
Terrible, I cannot find it any longer, I still remember 40 years ago, you had to know somebody who knew somebody to get after some begging a third class photocopy where the images were already blurred but the text still readable - they were prized items of my collection, reading original accounts of people who were there.