Battle of Waterloo, Belgium, 18 June 1815
Ground Observations
October 2024. Waterloo, Belgium. I have been here before, but this visit was far more comprehensive — walking the ridge, the forward positions, and the ground between them. What stands out immediately is the ‘ordinariness’ of the terrain: low ridges, a few farmhouses, and agricultural land. There are no real dominant terrain features or covered manoeuvre options here.
Standing on the Mont-Saint-Jean ridge, the key feature is the reverse slope. From the French side, you don’t see much of Wellington’s position. The crest blocks your view, and everything behind it disappears. Move just a few metres forward and the ground falls away — that’s where the bulk of the British infantry was positioned, out of sight and largely protected from artillery.
Then you walk forward to Hougoumont or La Haye Sainte, and the battlefield suddenly makes sense. These are not inconsequential buildings. They are forward anchors, projecting forward from the main line of resistance, forcing Napoleon to commit to attacks that don’t directly impact the main position on the ridge.
Battle Overview
Ligny and Quatre Bras
On 16 June 1815, Napoleon attacked and defeated Marshal Blucher’s Prussian army at Ligny, while Marshal Ney fought the Duke of Wellington’s British and allied army at the crossroads of Quatre Bras. Wellington then withdrew to the ridgeline of Mont St Jean near the village of Waterloo, just south of Brussels. Napoleon followed Wellington and tasked Marshall Grouchy with 1/3 of the French army to pursue the Prussians.
Napoleon’s army arrived on the evening of 17 June and deployed across the opposing ridge around La Belle Alliance and Plancenoit.
Château Hougoumont
The battle began around 11:30 hours the next day as Napoleon attacked the British-held farmstead at Hougoumont to try to force Wellington to weaken his centre. The battle for Hougoumont continued for the next nine hours.
D’Erlon’s infantry assault
Napoleon’s massed artillery, ‘The Grand Batterie’, concentrated on Wellington’s centre and was followed by a major attack by D’Erlon’s infantry Corps at about 13:00 hours. This attack was dangerous but was ultimately defeated. A counterattack by the British heavy cavalry, including the famous ‘Scots Greys’, also failed with heavy losses.
Ney’s cavalry charge
Next, at about 16:00 hours, Napoleon ordered Marshal Ney to capture the farmstead of La Haye Sainte. Ney launched a massive cavalry attack against the British positions on Mont Saint Jean, but the attack faltered against the British infantry squares on the reverse slope of the ridge.
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Authored by Mick Prictor, a retired military officer with 40 years’ service, and a military historian specialising in terrain-focused analysis of tactics, doctrine, and command decision-making in land warfare. His work draws on extensive battlefield fieldwork—more than 280 sites worldwide—and one of the world’s largest private collections of historic military arms, uniforms, and equipment. About me
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