150 Route 11. WATERLOO. Sketch of

must be borne in mind that the Duke’s army consisted of four or five
different elements, and a large proportion of them were raw recruits,
whilst the soldiers of Napoleon constituted a grand and admirably-discip-
lined unity, full of enthusiasm for their general, and confident of victory.
The superiority of the French artillery alone was overwhelming.

After a wet and stormy night the morning of the 18th of June gave
some promise of clearing, but the sky was still overcast, and rain con-
tinued to fall till an advanced hour. The ground, moreover, was so
thoroughly saturated that the movements of the cavalry and artillery
were seriously obstructed. Some authorities mention eight o’clock, others
half-past eleven or twelve, while the Duke himself, in his published de-
spatch, names ten as the hour of the commencement of the battle. It is,
however, probable that the actual fighting did not begin till between eleven
and twelve. Napoleon dictated his plans before eleyen. The possession
of Mont St. Jean was to be the main object, so that the enemy’s retreat
to Brussels might be cut off.

The first movement on the part of the French was the adyance of a
division of Reille’s comps d’armée under Jéréme Bonaparte, a detach-
ment of which incautiously precipitated itself against the chateau of Hougo-
mont and endeavoured to take it by storm, but was repulsed. This was
but the prelude to a series of reiterated assaults, in which the French
skirmishers in overwhelming numbers were more than once nearly success-
ful. Feats of valour on the part of the defenders, vigorously seconded by
the artillery on the heights, alone enabled the garrison to hold out until
the victory was won. Had the French once gained possession of this
miniature fortress, a point of vital importance to the Allies, the issue of
the day would probably have been very different.

The main operation, however, of the French was directed against
the centre and the left wing of the Allies. Their object was to storm
La Haye Sainte, the key of the British position, break through the centre
of the Allied army, and attack the left wing in the rear. Napoleon,
however, delayed the attack for a short time in consequence of learning
from an intercepted despatch that the Prussians under Biilow were ad-
vancing from Wavre on his extreme right. Soult despatched a messenger
to Marshal Grouchy, directing him to manceuvre his troops so as to inter-
cept the Prussians, but Grouchy was too far distant from the scene of
action to be of any service, and did not receive the order till between six
and seven in the evening.

It was about two o'clock when Ney commenced his attack. The four
divisions of Erlon’s corps moved rapidly in four columns towards the Allied
line between La Haye Sainte and Smohain. Papelotte and Smohain were
attacked by Durette’s division, but were resolutely defended by the
Nassovians in the Dutch service. Donzelot’s division took possession of
the gardens of La Haye Sainte, notwithstanding the brave resistance of a
Hanoverian battalion. The two other French divisions, numbering upwards
of 13,000 infantry, besides cavalry, attacked Bylandt’s Netherlanders, who,
overborne by weight of numbers, fell back on their second rank, where
they rallied instantly. Picton’s division, consisting of the two greatly-
reduced brigades of Pack and Kemp, and mustering barely 3000 men,
received the French attack. The struggle was brief, but of intense fierce-
ness. The charge of the British was irresistible, and in a few moments
the French were driven back totally discomfited. Meanwhile a body of
Milhaud’s cuirassiers had advanced somewhat prematurely to La Haye
Sainte and endeavoured to force their way up the heights towards the left
centre of the Allied line. They were met by Lord Uxbridge at the head
of Lord Edward Somerset's Household Brigade of heavy cavalry, and
a conflict of great fury ensued between the élite of the cavalry of the
hostile armies. Nothing, however, could withstand the impetus of the
Guards as they descended the slope, and the cuirassiers were compelled
to fly in wild confusion. At this juncture two columns of the French
infantry had advanced on Pack’s brigade. Col. Ponsonby, commanding the
Union Brigade of cavalry, dashed to the rescue. The cavalry charge was
a brilliant success, and the French infantry were utterly routed. Somerset's