Could Napoleon have won at Waterloo?
Here's a fun question to kick off the discussion for #WaterlooRemembered. Was Waterloo actually a battle Napoleon could have won? As we deliberately have to indulge in counterfactuals here, we have to be careful, but it might be interesting for people to share their thoughts on what would have had to have been different for Napoleon to win the battle. I'll keep quiet with my thoughts initially, but remember to tune in to the Napoleonicist each day, as the turning points of the campaign is one of many topics I am discussing with experts over the course of the Waterloo Remembered series.
593 Views
@Charles Esdaile Charles, I agree with almost all you say, but at the end of the day, or should I say on the field of battle, it was military effectiveness that was of overriding importance. I do not believe any one of the foreign contingents was likely to defect, but I do wonder how some of them would have performed toe-to-toe with the French. Reading their eye-witness accounts I get the impression they were generally brave and enthusiastic soldiers, but of course, this is not the same as well-trained, disciplined, experienced and determined soldiers with the morale and cohesion to stick it out to the bitter end. Wellington skilfully organised and deployed his army and with his confidence in the appearance of the Prussians ensured that not many of them had to prove whether they were up to it or not.