|
|
|
|
The Battle of Waterloo 1815 Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version.
Over the years we've tended to romanticise Napoleonic warfare with the brightly coloured uniforms and gentlemanly codes of honour but the reality must have been very different. Tens of thousands of men and horses sleeping, eating, fighting and dying packed into a relatively small space must have resulted in very unsavoury conditions. Medical aid to the wounded and dying was virtually non-existent especially if you weren't an officer. Food and provisions were a luxury, most having only what they carried in their packs and that had probably been issued to them a couple of days ago. The rank and file and junior officers usually spent the night before battle sleeping in the open. In the case of Waterloo it had been a wet night after heavy rain the previous day. In addition to these discomforts the soldiers of the period fought at very close quarters to the enemy. When infantry engaged infantry the limitations of the muskets meant that they had to stand only a hundred paces or so apart. It is likely that you could tell what colour hair your attacker had, watch him take aim at you whilst you stood upright in full view waiting for the order to fire back. It was considered inappropriate to take cover or duck! Very different compared to today when it is unlikely that you would see your attacker at all. All in all a very un-romantic experience and perhaps that is what is fascinating about this period. What were the reasons that made men endure such hardships and literally look death in the face? Why were the uniforms so colourful? What led them to wear such odd looking hats and helmets? Possible answers are to be found in the books but some questions can't be answered with 100% reliability as the records of the time became lost, destroyed or in some cases misrepresented.
|
