74,000 French soldiers and 266 cannons were face to face with 67,000 Allies and 184 pieces of Artillery.
 

The battle was opened by Reille's division "Jérôme throws his troops towards the position of Hougoumont".

After an hour of fierce fighting, he chases from it the battalions of Nassau and Hannover and repulses Mitchell's English guards who have come to reinforce them. But the English at the castle have strongly defended themselves; they fight long enough to allow the arrival of new reinforcements and Jérôme, threatened by Chassé's fresh troops is obliged to fall back towards the road to Nivelles.
 

It is to be remarked that this first attack was but a clever diversion projected by Napoleon, the object of which was to occupy Wellington on the left wing whilst an attack was prepared on the centre. This attack, which is commanded by Ney and d'Erlon is under the protection of a battery of 80 cannons round "La Belle Alliance". The first firing begins at 1 o'clock and the whole of the first line marches towards Mont-St-Jean.

"Never was so great a number of combatants engaged on so small a space and the hand-to-hand fighting was of a fierceness and rapidity never known in history."

The centre charges "La Haie-Sainte" whilst the left wing, which had been much tried by the attack on Hougoumont, reforms and the right wing, leaving its position assaults the Papelotte farm.

This attack is so fierce that it throws confusion into the English lines. The imperial infantry attacks La
 

Haie-Sainte where major Barring vigourously defends himself, and whilst the English reinforcements are sabered by general Travers' cuirassiers, the Dutch-Belgians placed in advance, are obliged to retreat before the charges of the enemy ".

It was during that memorable charge that took place an incident much celebrated by poets and painters.

Who has not heard of the charge of Milhaud's cuirassiers into the hollow road of Ohain and written so powerfully by Victor Hugo in "Les Miserables?".

The pictures made of this charge generally represent enormous cavalcades charging into deep ravines over a high cliff. No such incident however ever happened at Waterloo. The following is, according to the most celebrated historians, what really happened: "The road to Ohain is, for about 400 metres, sunken between two banks; Travers' brigade of cuirassiers arriving at this road did not hesitate to cross it. But as they were coming up the other side, they saw charging down on them the 2nd English guards. Not having room enough to
 

charge them, the cuirassiers went back down into the hollow road, turned to the left in the direction of Brussels; but the 2nd lifeguards charging at great speed charged into the hollow road, reformed with great difficulty and gave chase to the cuirassiers". "There was a hand-to-hand fighting in a quarry near by, but most of them got past it and threw back Travers' brigade". This incident that gave birth to the legend of the hollow road has therefore been so changed that it is considered by some as one of the principal causes of the defeat of Napoleon, whereas at the time of it, the battle had not yet seriously begun.

About half past two Jacquinot's cavalry crushes the Brest Hanovarians and sabers the Saxe-Weimar sharpshooters. Under the enemies' bullets the English trenches become unholdable and Wellington onders retreat towards the heights; it takes him all his cavalry to stop the charges of the French; the shock is so fierce that the two cavalries stop a moment as if to take breath!

Wellington anxiously examines the horizon for any sign of Blücher. On the other hand Napoleon appears satisfied, but at that moment an officer gives him a message from Grouchy who, from Walhain, asks for orders, whilst about the same time Soult brings him a prisoner who declares that the 15,000 men of Bülow are arriving!

The lot is thrown and Napoleon's star is waning!

Yet the great soldier understands that there is not a moment to be lost. He must finish off Wellington and then fall on Bülow.

He therefore decides to strike a great blow: "that great cavalry charge for which he has been assembling men since morning and which has to throw confusion into Wellington's lines after having cut to pieces his infantry".

All military writers are unanimous in declaring that it would have given victory to Napoleon and caused Blücher, who was coming up to help his ally, to fall back, if it had not begun an hour too soon. Napoleon had reformed his right wing and thrown Reille's infantry towards "La Haie-Sainte". But before the English infantry was routed and, as already it was reforming its masses and taking up its positions behind the road to Ohain, the imperial cavalry appeared at the top of the neighbouring hills and descended like an avalanche on the army of the Allies. Cuirassiers, chasseurs, dragoons, lancers, hussars, light-horse, guides, horse-grenadiers threw themselves towards the enemy, trotting up hills, galloping down them, passing over the Dutch-Belgians (1), sabering the magnificent Gordon-Highlanders and taking six batteries, the servers of which were cut to pieces. Two English squares are broken and Kruse's reserves only succeed with
 

great difficulty in stopping them. From Mont-St-Jean where he had to go, Wellington coolly directs his reserves of artillery and opens fire from the superior batteries. Without them the army of the Allies would have been done for. The charges at last meet well retrenched troops, as firm as a stone wall.

Then, the duel of artillery being done, the duel of cavalry begins. Wellington throws upon the field two brigades
 

of Van Merlen and Ghigny's Dutch-Belgians, the black, lancers of Brunswick, Dornberg's dragoons, Trip's Dutch carabiniers, Arenschild's hussars and Grant's English guards: six thousand horses against the French squadrons!

But the English are again driven back. With a last effort Napoleon had hoped to rout the enemy and now it is the French Guard that, with the squadrons of Subervie and the cavalry of Denon, is going to charge the enemy.

He thinks the victory is won and commands a supreme charge. From "La Belle-Alliance" he contemplates the massacre and sees the English concentration upon the heights to keep the retreating artillery from falling into the hands of the victors; he discovers to the east, coming out of the wood of Paris masses of infantry, coming as he thinks to his help: "Grouchy! There is Grouchy!" he cries. But the end of the empire had come: It was Blücher!

(1) Their chief, the Prince of Orange, was wounded; he threw his cross in the midst of his men who had saved him and bravely resisted, saying: "My children, everyone of you has merited it!" (Return)