Waterloo
WHAT BLÜCHER AND GROUCHY HAVE BECOME
Grouchy had stopped at Walhain and when the battle began,
was taking breakfast in the garden of the notary of the district: he was
eating strawberries. Much has been said about those strawberries: historians
having even been known to say that Grouchy did not do his duty through
greediness. A thing beyond contestation is that general Gérard and
his chief of the staff came and told him that cannons could be heard to
the west. Other generals came up, but the question degenerated into a quarrel
between Grouchy and Gérard. "Gérard begged his chief to change
his marching orders and to go to the cannonade like Dessaix at Marengo.
The country people unanimously declared that the battle had begun at Mont-St-Jean.
The generals insisted but Grouchy refused, showing the orders of the Emperor;
he was certain that Blücher had retired to the Chyse and by pursuing
him would keep him from joining the English army.
Gérard asked for the authorisation to march
to the battle with his own troops but his chief remained inflexible and...
asked for another portion of strawberries, abusing Gérard who went
off in tears!".
Where was Blücher? After passing the bridge of
Wavre, he wrote to general Muffling the following letter that Wellington
received about 2 o'clock:
"I beg you tell general Wellington, in my name that,
ill as I am, I am going at the head of my troops, to fall on the right
wing of the enemy when Napoleon commences the battle. If the French don't
attack to-day, I think we should attack them together tomorrow". But the
plain of Mont-St-Jean was already on fire!
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