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The French at Waterloo: Eyewitness Accounts (Hardback)

2nd and 6th Corps, Cavalry, Artillery, Foot Guard and Medical Services

Military > Pre-WWI > Napoleonic > Battle of Waterloo

By Andrew W Field
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781526768506
Published: 27th October 2020

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This volume of French eyewitness accounts of Waterloo, published for the first time in full in English, completes Andrew Field’s pioneering work on the French experience in this decisive battle. These vivid recollections add a new dimension to our understanding of what happened on 18 June 1815.

Readers will now be in a position to come to their own conclusions and they can compare the French accounts with those of soldiers from the allied armies, in particular the British, which have largely determined our assumptions about the battle for the last 200 years. They will also gain a heightened insight into the trauma that the French eyewitnesses went through on the battlefield and afterwards as they tried to explain and come to terms their loss.

This second volume features graphic descriptions of the battle as it was remembered by men of the 2nd and 6th corps, cavalry, artillery and Imperial Guard and medical services of Napoleon’s army. Their words give us not only a telling inside view their actions during that extraordinary day, but they also record in graphic detail what they saw and show us how they reacted to Napoleon’s historic defeat.

Featured on the website of

Portsmouth Napoleonic Society

This is a valuable source book based on eyewitness accounts of one of the most memorable battles in history. The author has reviewed the French units, including the all-important medical services that are usually omitted from books about the battle – Very Highly Recommended

Read the full review here

Firetrench

"While the general reticence of the French army following their defeat at Waterloo makes this a short collection of first-hand accounts, the information contained within is an invaluable addition to the ongoing study of Waterloo."

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The Napoleon Series

His work is a very readable and welcome contribution to the story of the battle,
deepening and nuancing our understanding of what happened at Mont-Saint-Jean
on 18 June.

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Guide 1815

I'd even go so far as to say that Field's entire oeuvre on this subject is all essential to the genuine Napoleonic/Waterloo buff. In a word, brilliant.

Read the full review here

A Question of Scale

Having read and reviewed the previous volume which dealt with 1st Corps and HQ, this series of eyewitness accounts from 2nd Corps, 6thCorps and the Imperial Guard does not disappoint. The eyewitness accounts, particularly concerning the actions of the Imperial Guard, are most helpful in clarifying the sequence of events in the latter stages of the battle. Likewise, the accounts of artillery officers regarding the dispositions of batteries are also interesting in perhaps identifying the forward positions and movements.

Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide

Michael McCarthy

About Andrew W Field

Andrew Field MBE is a former British army officer whose travels around the world have given him a unique opportunity to explore battlefields from ancient history to present times. He has always harboured a special fascination for the Napoleonic Wars. In particular he has reassessed Napoleon's campaigns in 1814 and 1815, and has carried out extensive research into Wellington's battles in the Peninsula. His books include Talavera: Wellington's First Victory in Spain, Waterloo: The French Perspective, Prelude to Waterloo: Quatre Bras, Grouchy's Waterloo: The Battles of Ligny and Wavre, Waterloo: Rout and Retreat and, in two volumes, The French at Waterloo: Eyewitness Accounts.

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