A Model Victory. Malcolm Balen

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ was very anxious to procure accurate information on the subject. It was generally supposed that there would have been a much greater loss in killed and wounded at Waterloo, if the heavy rain on the nights of the 16th and 17th had not well saturated the ground.’ But the soldiers were not initially disposed to see the wet ground as their ally. It was another inconvenience, one of many, as they waited for their commanders to order them into battle. Napoleon inspected his lines, and the Emperor’s headquarters, under Marshal Soult, dispatched orders to the divisional commanders to be ready for battle. Otherwise, both sides held still as if waiting for the other to show its hand. For Wellington’s part, this was because he approached the battle like a game of chess, and he wanted to see what pieces Napoleon would move first before committing himself. Napoleon himself wanted the earth to dry out so that his troops could cover the ground which separated his forces from the Anglo-Allied army more freely and more quickly.

      A quiet descended: the lull after the night’s storm. As the two sides prepared for action, they were observed by Edmund Wheatley, who, at twenty-one, was an ensign in the 5th Line Battalion of the King’s German Legion. Little is known of Wheatley’s career, though he lived in Hammersmith, and his diary suggests he was brave, if a little moody. He was certainly headstrong: he had already fought a duel with a rival from his schooldays, and he had joined the King’s German Legion at its depot in Bexhill in 1812, although the corps was considered vaguely unsuitable for an English gentleman. For much of the time Wheatley’s thoughts were with his girlfriend, Eliza Brookes, although her family had clearly forbidden her to see him: his diary begins with a secret assignation at Hyde Park Turnpike. Now the battle was upon him, and it was unclear if he would ever see her again. ‘About ten o’clock, the order came to clean out the muskets and fresh load them. Half an allowance of rum was then issued, and we descended into the plain, and took our position in solid Squares. When this was arranged as per order, we were ordered to remain in our position but, if we like, to lay down, which the battalion did.’

      There was a feeling of excitement, almost of being on parade. As Wheatley looked around, ‘shoals of cavalry and artillery’ arrived behind him ‘as if by a magic wand. The whole of the horse guards stood behind us. For my part I thought they were at Knightsbridge barracks or prancing on St James’s Street.’

      Wellington blended his troops carefully into the demands of the land. More than thirteen thousand men in the second line of the Anglo-Allied army, which was made up entirely of British and German cavalry, were concealed behind the reverse slope of the ridge, and in the hollows of the ground. Rather than following conventional military practice by protecting his flanks, he placed most of his cavalry behind the infantry on the centre and right of the ridge, where he thought that the battle would be concentrated.

      The artillery was spread out along the front line, generally half a dozen guns at a time, in a wholly defensive role. The heaviest placements were on the army’s right, behind the two main roads – here, there was a gun or howitzer every twenty metres. To bolster the central defences of Wellington’s army, the horse artillery batteries were taken from the cavalry and made static, by placing them among the foot artillery. Their orders were to conserve ammunition, rather than try to destroy enemy guns. Early on, Captain Mercer disobeyed orders, irritated by the French batteries on the Nivelles road. His fire was returned with interest from guns ‘whose presence I had not even suspected, and whose superiority we immediately recognised by their rushing noise and long reach, for they flew far beyond us. I instantly saw my folly, and ceased firing … But this was not all. The first man of my troop touched was by one of these confounded long shot. I shall never forget the scream the poor lad gave when struck. It was one of the last they fired, and shattered his left arm to pieces as he stood between the waggons. The scream went to my very soul…’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4SbDRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbAAAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMyBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTI6MDY6MTIgMTI6NTA6MTAAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAAB//8AAKACAAQAAAABAAACTKADAAQAAAAB AAADGwAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAACWNAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAC/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoAB2AwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQACP/EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAw

СКАЧАТЬ