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The Commanders at Waterloo. Blucher Napoleon Wellington Willem Frederik

The Commanders at Waterloo. Blucher Napoleon Wellington Willem Frederik. Field Marshal Blucher.

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The Commanders at Waterloo. Blucher Napoleon Wellington Willem Frederik

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  1. The Commanders at Waterloo.BlucherNapoleonWellingtonWillem Frederik

  2. Field Marshal Blucher Blucher was a charismatic soldier who loved the Prussian army. He was one of the few generals of any nation who had met and defeated Napoleon in battle. Despite being 73 at Waterloo, he led from the front and was loved by his soldiers who called him ‘Father Blucher’ and ‘Marshal Forwards!’ Defeated at Ligny on the 16th June he was trapped under his horse for some time during this battle. He re-joined his HQ to discover that his brilliant Chief of Staff, Gniesenau had organised the army to march towards Wellington. Beaten, cold, wet and hungry the German soldiers marched on. On the 18th Blucher had them marching again, threatening and pleading with themto march on to Waterloo to break the French Army.

  3. Emperor Napoleon I Napoleon was both feared and admired across the world as the greatest military man of the age. Having finally been defeated in 1814 he was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. Early in 1815 he realised that the returned Bourbons were changing many of the liberal laws enacted by him and alienating many people. He decided to ‘seize the moment’ and return as the saviour of France. What he did not realise was that many ordinary people, after almost 25 years of continual war wanted him back only if the wars ceased. To many ordinary soldiers of the humiliated French Army the return of ‘Him’ or ‘the little Corporal’ promised a return to the glory days of the Empire.

  4. The Duke of Wellington Wellington came from an Anglo-Irish family. He was never loved by his soldiers in the way that Napoleon was by his but they did trust him. He was careful of their lives and tried to ensure that they were paid, fed and clothed. He fought in Flanders in the 1790’s and then in India. By 1815 he had defeated every French Marshal who had been sent against him in Spain and Portugal. However he had never met Napoleon in battle. In Belgium in 1815 he was very worried that he had ’an infamous army’, as many them were inexperienced compared to his Peninsular veterans. Many of the latter had been sent to America to fight the United States.

  5. Prince Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange Willem Frederik was born at the start of the French Revolution. His family had to leave Holland for England to avoid the civil war and the invading French Revolutionary soldiers. In 1811 he served as an ADC to Wellington in Spain and was nicknamed ‘Slender Billy’. He was brave and popular and promoted to the rank of General but these were political appointments and he was never a serious professional commander. In 1815 he had to be given a senior appointment in Wellington’s allied army. Wellington minimised this potential disaster by placing Willem’s troops in between those of the other Allied commanders. Willem did encourage his troops and was wounded towards the end of the battle..

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