The Duke of Wellington was victorious over Napoleon at the famous Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Now, 200 years later, a direct descendant and the current Duke of Wellington, Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley is looking forward to honoring his ancestor’s victory with a reenactment of this famous battle.
The current plans are to follow the original “Iron Duke” in every detail. This is going to be done in an effort to maintain the historical accuracy as much as possible. The process of the reenactment will start several days before the actual historical battle took place and will follow the steps that were taken by the 1st Duke of Wellington in his original battle plans. It will follow him all the way through to the end of the battle with the Allied Forces declaring victory.
The Battle of Waterloo actually took place on the 18th of June in 1815. The “Iron Duke” had not faced Napoleon in battle before, so he did not know exactly what to expect. He was in command of the Allied Forces, which included soldiers from the Prussian, British, and Dutch peoples. Approximately 26,000 of the 73,000 total members were British.
The battle that took place at Waterloo could be described as a tug of war of sorts. The French had the initial advantage as they used a diversion to help conceal their true intent. They sent men to ‘attack’ Hougoumont, and then once the Allied Forces had taken the bait, they went after their real goal and charged the Allied troops right in the heart of their defenses. The French then attempted, and failed to take the Allied forces main fortifications.
The Allied forces needed to strategize at this point. They ended up suffering severe losses from the French’s initial assault. The French believed that the Allied Forces were completely retreating when they were helping remove the injured, dead, and dying from the battlefield. As the Prussian allies began to arrive to help support Wellington and his troops, the French cavalry was attacking at full force against the ‘retreating’ allied troops. The Prussians were able to support the Allied Forces and a fierce fight over Plancenoit, a very important village, ensued. The French originally had this village taken over, and then the Allied forces obtained it. Ultimately, the French came back and took it over once again.
The advantage that the Allied Forces were able to gain occurred when the French cavalry continually attacked the British infantry. This resulted in the French suffering heavy losses, and could very well have been the turning point for the Allied Forces. Because the French realized too late that their cavalry alone was not enough to win, there was little that they could do to regain lost territory.
The end of the Battle of Waterloo could best be described as total chaos on the French side, with men running away and shouting to their comrades to flee, as well. Meanwhile, the Duke of Wellington, atop his beloved horse “Copenhagen,” signaled his fellow troops that the battle had been won and it was agreed that the Prussians would proceed to chase the French back to France.
The result of all of this was the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on the 20th of November in 1815, as an agreement that the nations of France, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain would not attack each other again.
